Dr. Nitin Sharma
Scientist-D , Seismology
Specialization
Injection Induced Seismicity, Ground Motion Prediction Equation, Seismic Hazard, Earthquake rupture process
Research Area
Dr. Nitin Sharma is a Senior Scientist at CSIR–National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, and an honorary Assistant Professor at AcSIR. He earned his Master’s degree in Applied Geophysics from Kurukshetra University (2009). He completed his PhD at the University of Naples, Italy (2013) and did postdoctoral research at INGV, Italy (2013–2014). He is recipient of the “Order of Merit,” award by Indian Society of Earthquake Science (ISES). His research focuses on seismic hazard from fluid injection induced seismicity, physics of earthquake rupture, earthquake early warning systems, characterization of Strong Ground Motion and site-specific hazard assessment.
Prior to joining CSIR–NGRI, he worked as a Scientist at the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, where he led the establishment of IIG’s first seismic network in northeast India and during his four-year tenure as Scientist-in-Charge, he supervised the establishment of the North-East Geophysical Research Laboratory in Shillong.
Dr. Sharma has contributed to major European Union projects like GEISER (Geothermal Engineering Integration Mitigation of Induced Seismicity in Reservoirs) and S4CE (Science for Clean Energy). His research is among the first to highlight seismic hazard from fluid injection in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), developing the first ground motion models for geothermal regions applicable to sites such as Basel & St. Gallen (Switzerland), Geysers (USA), Hengill (Iceland), Roswinkel & Voerendaal (Netherlands), and Soultz (France). He has been engaged in development of time-dependent seismic hazard assessment during real-time monitoring of micro-seismicity. In collaboration with Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, he studied a seismic sequence induced by gas injection in Spain’s Castor region, revealing the potential reactivation of nearby faults and higher-magnitude events, the work received international attention.
(https://www.elmundo.es/comunidad-valenciana/castellon/2017/06/20/59491e9ae2704ef0708b45f9.html
Additionally, he developed the first GMPEs for the Korean Peninsula as part of an early warning system project with the Korea Institute of Geo-sciences and Mineral Resources (KIGAM).
He is the recipient of the CSIR–SEED research grant, under which he is investigating the early rupture processes of earthquakes in Himalayan region. His research focuses on the development of novel techniques for rapid and robust estimation of earthquake source parameters, particularly earthquake magnitude, with a strong emphasis on their application to earthquake early warning (EEW) systems in the Uttarakhand Himalaya. This work aims to strengthen real-time seismic monitoring capabilities and contribute toward effective seismic risk mitigation in Himalayan region.
In addition, as a key contributor to the ambitious AMOGH (Assessment and Mitigation Strategy for Geohazards in the Himalaya) project, he is actively engaged in advancing the understanding of strong ground motion characteristics in the Himalayan region. This includes the development of region-specific ground motion prediction models and implementation of high-resolution physics-based numerical simulations to capture source, path, and site effects. The overall goal of this work is to robustly quantify and systematically reduce the uncertainties in seismic hazard assessments, thereby improving the reliability of seismic risk estimates across the Himalaya.
He is also supervising many graduate and post-graduate students during their internship and dissertation. Despite his commitment to basic R & D work, he is also working on various sponsored projects acquired from several government (State departments of Telangana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu etc.) and private agencies (e.g. Reliance Industries Ltd., etc.) to evaluated site specific seismic hazard assessment for critical infrastructures like Dams etc. and large industrial setups.
Ongoing Research Projects
"Early magnitude estimation for earthquake hazard assessment" CSIR - R&D SEED Grant (PI)
"Assessment and Mitigation Strategy for Geohazards in the Himalaya (AMOGH) " CSIR Mission mode project (Co-PI).
"Ground Motion Studies for Installation of Sensitive Equipment’s at Ingot & Wafer Factory at Giga Complex-Integrated PV Manufacturing Facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat." Sponsored project (PI).
"Various Dam Projects funded by State Govt. Departments". (Team member)
Honors & Awards
- Post-doctoral fellowship by Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, (2013 – 2014), Italy.
- International Ph.D. fellowship (fully funded) by University of Naples Federico II, Italy, 2010 – 2013.
- Qualified both CSIR-UGC JRF & NET including lectureship (Assistant Professorship) organized by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – University Grant Commission of Govt. of India, (CSIR-UGC) 2010.
- Merit Scholarship for Post-graduation by Kurukshetra University, 2006 – 2009.
- Scholarship for outstanding performance in examination conducted by Central Board Secondary Education at school 2003.
- IUGG early career research travel grant to attend the 28th IUGG General Assembly in Berlin, Germany (11-20 July 2023).
- Honored with Order of Merit – Young Scientist Award 2019, by Indian Society of Earthquake Sciences (ISES.
- Awarded with many prizes in electronic science exhibitions, science quiz contests, declamation contests and essay-writing at State level and National level.
Publications
- Sharma Nitin, Ravi Kumar M., and R. Vijaya Raghvan (2024). Earthquake Magnitude Estimation through Mixed‐Effects Ground‐Motion Modeling of Early P‐Wave Arrivals. Seismological Research Letters, 95 (6): 3316–3330, doi:doi.org/10.1785/0220240183
- Sharma Nitin (2024) Earthquake Monitoring In India: as status report (2019-2023), Proc. Indian Natl. Sci. Acad. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43538-024-00306-w
- Prezioso Edoardo, Sharma Nitin, Piccialli Francesco , Convertito Vincenzo (2022) A data-driven artificial neural network model for the prediction of ground motion from induced seismicity: The case of The Geysers geothermal field, Frontiers in Earth Science,10, doi: 10.3389/feart.2022.917608
- Sharma Nitin, Vincenzo Convertito, Raffaela De Matteis and Paolo Capuano (2022). Strong Ground-motion Prediction Equations from Induced Earthquakes in St. Gallen geothermal field, Switzerland, Journal of Geophysics and Engineering, Vol 19(4), 820–832, https://doi.org/10.1093/jge/gxac044
- Sharma Nitin, D. Srinagesh, Gudpati Suresh, Dakuri Srinivas (2021) Stochastic simulation of strong ground motions from two M> 5 Uttarakhand earthquakes, Frontiers in Earth Science,9, doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.599535 .
- Surve Ganpat, Jyotima Kanaujia and Nitin Sharma.(2021). Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment studies for Mumbai region. Natural Hazards 107, 575–600 . doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04596-x
- Susheel Kumar and Nitin Sharma* (2019) The seismicity of Central and North-East Himalayan region, Contribution to Geophysics and Geodesy, Vol 49(3), 2019, p. 265 – 281, https://doi.org/10.2478/congeo-2019-0014 ,*Corresponding Author
- Sharma Nitin and Vincenzo Convertito (2018). Update, Comparison and Interpretation of the Ground Motion Prediction Equations for the Geysers Geothermal Area in the light of new data. Bulletin of Seismological Society of America (BSSA),Vol 108(6), p. 117 - 130
- S. Ruiz-Barajas, Nitin Sharma, V. Convertito, A. Zollo and B. Benito (2017). Temporal evolution of a seismic sequence induced by a gas injection in the Eastern coast of Spain, Scientific Reports-Nature , Vol.7: 2901.,p. 1-15 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02773-2
- John Douglas, Benjamin Edwards, Vincenzo Convertito, Nitin Sharma, Anna Tramelli, Dirk Kraaijpoel, Banu Mena Cabrera, Nils Maercklin, Claudia Troise (2013). Predicting ground motion from induced earthquakes in geothermal areas, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. (BSSA),Vol. 103, n. 3, p. 1875 – 1897 doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0120120197
- Nitin Sharma, Vincenzo Convertito, Nils Maercklin, and Aldo Zollo (2013). Ground-motion prediction equation for The Geysers geothermal area based on induced seismicity records, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. (BSSA), Vol. 103, no.1, p. 117-130. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120120138
- Vincenzo Convertito, Nils Maercklin, Nitin Sharma and Aldo Zollo (2012). From induced seismicity to direct time-dependent seismic hazard, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. (BSSA), Vol. 102, n.6, p. 2563-2573. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0120120036
- Antonio Emolo, Nitin Sharma, Gaetano Festa, Aldo Zollo, Vincenzo Convertito, Jung-Ho Park, Heon-Cheol Chi, and In-Seub Lim (2015). Ground-motion prediction equations for south Korea Peninsula, Bulletin of Seismological Society of America (BSSA), Vol. 105, n. 5, 2015, p. 2104 – 2111. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0120140296
- Gail M. Atkinson, Emrah Yenier, Nitin Sharma, and Vincenzo Convertito (2016). Constraints on the Near‐Distance Saturation of Ground‐Motion Amplitudes for Small‐to‐Moderate Induced Earthquakes, Bulletin of Seismological Society of America (BSSA), Vol. 106, n. 5,, p. 2625 – 2640. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120160075 .
- A. S. Sunil, Mala S. Baghiya, J. Catherine, L. Rolland, Nitin Sharma, P. S. Sunil, and D. S. Ramesh (2017). Dependence of co-seismic ionospheric perturbations on surface deformation: a case study based on April, 25 2015 Gorkha Nepal earthquake, Advancesin Space Research (ASR), Vol. 9, n. 5, 2017,p. 1200-1208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2016.11.041
Books
Research Scholars
Educational Qualification
Dott. Ric. (Ph.D.)
Proffessional Experience
Senior Scientist
Organization : CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India, 2023 - Present.
Scientist
Organization : CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India, 2019 - 2023.
Reader (Academic Designation)
Organization: Indian Institute of Geomagnetism(IIG), Navi Mumbai, India, 2014 - 2019.
Post-doctoral Research
Organization : Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Italy, 2013 – 2014.
Proffessional Affiliations