The Earth Still Moves : 20 Years After the 2005 Kashmir Earthquake

Fig. 5. Post-earthquake ground movements (2005–2010) measured by Envisat and GNSS, showing displacement along the fault and key monitoring points.




Almost 20 years after the devastating 2005 Mw 7.6 Kashmir earthquake, the land in northern Pakistan continues to move. Using GNSS (GPS) stations and InSAR satellite imagery, ISTERRE researchers have tracked ongoing slow slips along the Balakot-Bagh fault and the deeper Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT).







These movements are subtle but measurable. In the northwest of the MHT, a large slow slip occurred in the years immediately after the earthquake, while in the southeast of the MHT , a smaller slip has persisted over time. This motion is consistent with the spatial pattern of aftershocks and shows that the fault is still releasing stress.

So far, these post-seismic slips have released an energy equivalent to 19% of the energy released during the earthquake. The study also reveals that structural features, like the Jhelum strike-slip fault, influence how the slip is distributed along the main faults.



These findings highlight the importance of long-term GNSS and InSAR monitoring to understand how earthquake energy is released and to improve seismic hazard assessments in the region.

Fig. 1. Simplified map of the northwestern Himalayas showing major faults, past earthquake rupture zones, and satellite observation footprints.


The full study is published in : Earth and Planetary Science Letters


References :

Baker, D.M., Lillie, R.J., Yeats, R.S., Johnson, G.D., Yousuf, M. & Zamin, A.S.H. (1988) Development of the Himalayan frontal thrust zone : salt Range, Pakistan. Geology 16(1), 3. 10.1130/0091-7613(1988)016<0003:DOTHFT>2.3.CO ;2

Chen, Y., Li, J., Wang, Q. & Fang, Z. (2024) Lithospheric rheology in West Tibet and Pamir constrained from the postseismic deformation of the 2005 Mw7.6 Kashmir (Pakistan) earthquake. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 645, Article 118954. 10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118954

Doin, M.-P., Cheiab, A. & Thollard, F. (2023) Strategy Used for Phase Unwrapping in the NSBAS MT-InSAR Chain, in : IGARSS 2023 – 2023 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Presented at IGARSS 2023, IEEE, Pasadena, CA, USA, pp. 8210–8213. 10.1109/IGARSS52108.2023.10283158

Scientific contacts :

  • P. Meyer – ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel, Grenoble, France
  • F. Jouanne – ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel, Grenoble, France
  • M.-P. Doin – ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel, Grenoble, France
  • D. Marsan – ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel, Grenoble, France
  • A. Ahmed – Geoscience Advance Research Laboratories, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • A. A. Awan – Geoscience Advance Research Laboratories, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan