Far-field coseismic gravity changes related to the 2015 M_W7.8 Nepal (Gorkha) earthquake observed by superconducting gravimeters in China continent

Using data from five SGs at four stations in China continent, obvious permanent gravity changes caused by the 2015M_W7.8 Nepal (Gorkha) earthquake were detected. We analyzed the gravity effects from ground vertical deformation (VD) using co-site continuous GPS (cGPS) data collocated at the Lijiang and the Wuhan station, and hydrological effects using GLDAS models and groundwater level records. After removing these effects, SG observations before and after the earthquake revealed obvious permanent gravity changes: −3.0  μGal, 7.3  μGal and 8.0  μGal at Lhasa, Lijiang and Wuhan station, respectively. We found that the gravity changes cannot be explained by the results of dislocation theory.