A rapid response network to record aftershocks of the 2015 M 7.8 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal

The Himalaya has experienced large damaging earthquakes over the past few centuries, most recently the damaging 25 April 2015 M 7.8 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal. Because of the continued earthquake risk presented by the continental collisional plate boundary at the Main Himalayan thrust and the high population densities in the region, collecting and processing data related to recent large earthquakes in this region is critically important for improving our understanding of the regional tectonics and earthquake hazard. Following the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, we deployed a National Science Foundation-funded rapid-response aftershock network known as the Nepal Array Measuring Aftershock Seismicity Trailing Earthquake network across the rupture area for 11 months beginning 7 weeks after the mainshock. The network consisted of 41 broadband and short-period seismometers, and 14 strong-motion sensors at 46 sites across eastern and central Nepal. The network spanned a region approximately 210 km along strike by 110 km across strike with a station spacing of 20-25 km. In this article, we report lessons learned from this deployment as well as details of the publicly accessible dataset including data recovery, data quality, and potential for future research.