1. An updated and refined catalog of earthquakes in Taiwan (1900-2014) with homogenized M magnitudes.
- Author
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Chang, Wen-Yen, Chen, Kuei-Pao, and Tsai, Yi-
- Subjects
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EARTHQUAKES , *EARTHQUAKE magnitude , *EARTHQUAKE hazard analysis , *SEISMOLOGY , *EMPIRICAL research - Abstract
The main goal of this study was to develop an updated and refined catalog of earthquakes in Taiwan (1900-2014) with homogenized M magnitudes that are compatible with the Harvard M. We hope that such a catalog of earthquakes will provide a fundamental database for definitive studies of the distribution of earthquakes in Taiwan as a function of space, time, and magnitude, as well as for realistic assessments of seismic hazards in Taiwan. In this study, for completeness and consistency, we start with a previously published catalog of earthquakes from 1900 to 2006 with homogenized M magnitudes. We update the earthquake data through 2014 and supplement the database with 188 additional events for the time period of 1900-1935 that were found in the literature. The additional data resulted in a lower magnitude from M 5.5-5.0. The broadband-based Harvard M, United States Geological Survey (USGS) M, and Broadband Array in Taiwan for Seismology (BATS) M are preferred in this study. Accordingly, we use empirical relationships with the Harvard M to transform our old converted M values to new converted M values and to transform the original BATS M values to converted BATS M values. For individual events, the adopted M is chosen in the following order: Harvard M > USGS M > converted BATS M > new converted M. Finally, we discover that use of the adopted M removes a data gap at magnitudes greater than or equal to 5.0 in the original catalog during 1985-1991. The new catalog is now complete for M ≥ 5.0 and significantly improves the quality of data for definitive study of seismicity patterns, as well as for realistic assessment of seismic hazards in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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