Geomorphic mapping and analysis of neotectonic structures in the piedmont alluvial zone of Haryana state, NW-India: a remote-sensing and GPR based approach

Abstract

The Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT) and the surrounding piedmont alluvial region represent a zone of active deformation in the Indo-Gangetic plains. We investigated the Piedmont zone between the Ghaggar and Yamuna River basins in Haryana, India, for geomorphic signatures of active tectonics using remotely sensed data and validated by Geophysical Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys. The possible locations and the types of active tectonic features such as sub-surface fault, ridges, lineaments and warps were identified based on the presence of geomorphic signatures such as drainage gradient anomalies, abrupt change in flow direction, river offset, compressed meanders, paleochannels and topographic breaks. We used various optical satellite imageries to detect and map the temporal changes in the flow pattern of rivers in the study area. GPR investigations were done at selected test sites to locate and verify the continuity of subsurface fault. The GPR profiles were taken in the North-South direction using the common midpoint technique with 40 and 100 MHz antennae. Low frequency bi-static GPR scanning confirmed a number of dipping reflectors due to fault planes and warp surfaces in the study area. It is concluded that the piedmont zone of Haryana is actively deforming and could become a future seismic hazard zone.

Keywords:

• Active tectonics
• piedmont
• morphometric analysis
• ground penetrating radar

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Data availability

The data used to support the findings in this study will be available by the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Restrictions are applied to data, such as GPR radargrams.

Acknowledgements

The study was funded by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) under the Earth Observation Application Mission (EOAM) project scheme. The first author acknowledges the grant of CSIR-JRF fellowship from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi. This work forms a part of the doctoral work carried out of the first author in the Department of Geophysics, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, India. Authors are very grateful to the editor-in-chief and two anonymous reviewers for reviewing this paper. Excellent critical reviews by Dr Salvatore Ivo Giano and one anonymous reviewer helped greatly improve the quality of the manuscript. This manuscript is benefitted from constructive comments by the handling Editor Prof Ramesh Singh and Associate Editor Prof Manfred Buchroithner. We express our deepest gratitude for their painstaking help.

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) under the Earth Observation Application Mission (EOAM) project scheme. Harsh Kumar extends acknowledgment to Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), India, for providing financial support (JRF) for research work.