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The empirical attenuation functions for Local Magnitude (ML) currently used in Taiwan have been known for overestimated magnitudes around 0.2 compared with moment magnitude (MW) for shallow earthquakes (depths = 35 km). Moreover, for deep earthquakes (depths > 35 km), ML (> 6) can be larger than MW around 0.5. Based on global observations and seismological theory, ML is equal to MW for magnitudes 4 - 6, whereas ML is smaller than MW for magnitudes > 6. This indicates that the attenuation functions for the Taiwan region need to be re-calculated. In this study, we used the new data set collected at the upgraded Central Weather Bureau Seismic Network (CWBSN24) from January 2012 to April 2019 and totally there are 692 events with ML = 3 and 35228 amplitude data used for analysis. To accommodate the complicated tectonic environment in Taiwan, there are four attenuation functions, logA0(?), based on the focal depths and hypocentral distances, which are: ( ) . . ( ) . . . ( ) log log log A R R R R 0 00401 0 58 0 80 0 00234 0 83 111 80 km km km < < 0 # D D D = - - - - - - ) for shallow earthquakes (focal depth, h = 35 km), and ( ) . . . . . . ) ) log log log A R R R R 0 00077 0 83 126 0 00176 0 83 116 23 ( 23 (Latitude N Latitude N < 0 c c $ D = - - - - - - ' for deep earthquakes (h > 35 km), where is epicentral distance, R (= 2 h2 D + ) is hypocentral distance. ML calculated by using the old attenuation functions for deep and large (ML > 5.5) earthquakes is larger than that by using the new ones about 0.4. With the new empirical attenuation functions, the relationship between ML and MW follows the global observations and also the new ML avoids the confusion for the public when releasing the official earthquake reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mw 6.4 Meinong earthquake occurred on 6 February 2016 in southern Taiwan, resulting in more than one hundred casualties and several collapsed buildings. The aftershocks occurred mostly at mid-to-lower crustal depths (10 - 30 km), related to a blind fault system. However, several centimeters of cosesimic surface uplift within the Liushuang, Erhchungli, and GutingKeng Formations, composed mainly of mudstone, was recorded from the InSAR results. The uplifted pattern is similar to that of GPS and leveling data from 2000 - 2010, which indicates the deformation is accomplished by creeping due to the shallow mudstone structure related to mud diapir. Previous studies have shown limited information about the shallow structure in this region due to few deployed seismic stations. We deployed 36 temporary seismic stations (~5 km spacing) in this study around one month after the main shock to obtain a 3-D shear wave shallow crustal velocity structure using ambient noise tomography. The reliable periods of group and phase velocities from Rayleigh waves were 0.6 - 5 s, corresponding to around 0 - 5 km at depths. As a result, the low S-wave pattern speeds at 0 - 4 km depths correspond to the uplift region from both InSAR data for the coseismic period and GPS and leveling data for the interseismic period. The results from this study are compatible with the reflected seismic profile. The results show that with dense seismic array deployment we can obtain high subsurface image resolution to link the relationship between the surface observations to the subsurface structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taiwan is known as a strongly anisotropic region observed from SKS 1 - 2 s delay time and other teleseismic phases. An estimate of the crustal contribution to the total anisotropy from the foliated Central Range is essential to understanding the overall teleseismic results. We used P wave arrivals from the dense seismic arrays deployed during the TAIGER active source experiments and the permanent broadband seismic stations to determine the crustal anisotropy. From the arrival time analysis as a function of azimuth, we detected a clear cos(2θ) pattern. The strength of the crustal anisotropy (0 - 15 km depth) reaches 8 - 10% and the fast direction azimuth is around 35 - 43° for the overall mountain ranges. The anisotropic variations from the central to the north are found in detail. The results could indicate that the upper crustal delay time contribution of teleseismic shear waves reaches up to 0.45 s. The geological data at the surface and geophysical observations imply a coherent deformation from the surface to the lower crust or even down to the upper mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During arc-continent collision, buoyant sections of sediments and rifted continental crust from a subducting plate will accrete to the forearc of the upper plate as long as this backstop remains intact. Deformation of the oceanic arc and forearc block may ultimately lead to accretion of these mafic rock units to the new orogen. The Taiwan mountain belt, which formed at ~6.5 Ma by oblique convergence between the Eurasian passive margin and the overriding Luzon arc in northern Taiwan, offers important insight in this process, since the collision is more advanced in the north than in the south. The incipient stage of arc-collision can be studied in southern Taiwan, while the northern portion of the orogen is presently undergoing collapse due to a flip in the subduction polarity between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. In this study, we seismically image the structure of the northern section of the mountain belt with a tomographic inversion. We present marine and land-based seismic refraction data, as well as local earthquake data, from transect T6 of the Taiwan Integrated Geodynamic Research (TAIGER) program across the Taiwan mountain belt and the adjacent Ryukyu arc. Our 2-D compressional seismic velocity model for this transect, which is based on a tomographic inversion of 10 213 P-wave arrival times, shows that the Eurasian crystalline continental crust thickens from ~24 km in the Taiwan Strait to ~40 km beneath the eastern Central Range of Taiwan. The detailed seismic velocity structure of the Taiwan mountain belt shows vertical continuity in the upper 15 km, which suggests that rocks are exhumed to the surface here from the middle crust in a near-vertical path. The continental crust of the westernmost Ryukyu arc is almost as thick (~40 km) as in the adjacent northern Central Range of Taiwan, and it appears to override the leading edge of the Philippine Sea Plate offshore northeastern Taiwan. If we assume that the western Ryukyu arc crust also thickened in the collision, then the mountain belt is wider and less thick in northern Taiwan than in central Taiwan (~50 km), which may be the result of post-collisional extension in the north. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signals from ten explosions were used to examine earthquake location uncertainty in Taiwan. Location errors for explosion sites determined using a relocation process were expressed in terms of statistical measurements for standard errors in the depth (ERZ), the epicenter (ERH), the root-mean-square of the travel time residuals (RMS), and the station coverage gap (GAP). In general, for this study, major factors in location errors resulted from the poor coverage of seismic stations (e.g., a large value of GAP). Using the relationship between location errors and parameters from the explosion location assessment, uncertainties for earthquake locations in the Taiwan region for a total of 384064 events from 1991 to 2011 were evaluated. Offshore regions in southwestern and northeastern Taiwan had larger location errors. For the inland locales, location errors in longitude, latitude, and depth were approximately 3.1 ± 2.7, 1.3 ± 1.6, and 4.6 ± 3.9 km, respectively. The uncertainties estimated from this study could offer a good reference for other related studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A deadly Mw 6.4 earthquake occurred in the Hualien area of eastern Taiwan on 6 February 2018. It caused severe damage to infrastructure and creating surface ruptures in several areas mostly near the Milun Fault in Hualien City. In this study, we investigated the distribution of co-seismic surface ruptures by measuring the orientations of the ruptures, classifying the fracture patterns, and measuring the fracture geometries to calculate the principal displacement zone (PDZ) and the regional stress directions. As a result, local PDZ is observed to rotate anti-clockwise along the Milun Fault from north to south. Considering the deformation behaviors of the fractures and their relative positions along the Milun Fault, the shear zone in Qixingtan area is a horsetail structure derived from the right side of the end of the left-lateral strike-slip fault. In addition, the 170° trending fault splay in the middle segment and the fault branch corresponding to the Beipu Fault are elements of the Riedel shear structure associated with the left-lateral moving Milun Fault. Our results show that Riedel shear structures are common within co-seismic surface rupture zones in this area, and the variations in the orientations of Riedel structures reflect the influence of the pre-existing Milun Fault. We can also determine the most recent geometry, kinematics, and displacement characteristics of the Milun Fault through co-seismic surface ruptures and macro-scale Riedel shear structure analysis. This study provides a good example of understanding the relationship between the outcrop scale and the macroscale of the Riedel shear model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]