UC San Diego

Abstract We use space geodetic data to investigate coseismic and postseismic deformation due to the 2015 M w 7.8 Gorkha earthquake that occurred along the central Himalayan arc. Because the earthquake area is characterized by strong variations in surface relief and material properties, we developed finite element models that explicitly account for topography and 3‐D elastic structure. We computed the line‐of‐sight displacement histories from three tracks of the Sentinel‐1A/B Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) satellites, using persistent scatter method. InSAR observations reveal an uplift of up to ∼70 mm over ∼20 months after the main shock, concentrated primarily at the downdip edge of the ruptured asperity. GPS observations also show uplift, as well as southward movement in the epicentral area, qualitatively similar to the coseismic deformation pattern. Kinematic inversions of GPS and InSAR data and forward models of stress‐driven creep suggest that the observed postseismic transient is dominated by afterslip on a downdip extension of the seismic rupture. A poroelastic rebound may have contributed to the observed uplift and southward motion, but the predicted surface displacements are small. We also tested a wide range of viscoelastic relaxation models, including 1‐D and 3‐D variations in the viscosity structure. Models of a low‐viscosity channel previously invoked to explain the long‐term uplift and variations in topography at the plateau margins predict opposite signs of horizontal and vertical displacements compared to those observed. Our results do not preclude a possibility of deep‐seated viscoelastic response beneath southern Tibet with a characteristic relaxation time greater than the observation period (2 years). Key Points We developed FEM of the 2015 Gorkha earthquake that accounts for variations in topography and material properties across the Himalayan arc Space geodetic observations reveal transient deformation following the Gorkha earthquake that is best explained by downdip afterslip Observed deformation is inconsistent with models of a low‐viscosity (order of 10 18  Pa s or less) channel in the lower crust beneath Tibet