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Tectonic Implications of the Deformation Front in Southwest Taiwan: Revealed by 3D Seismic b Values

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Abstract

We conduct a study on 3D seismic b values in southwest Taiwan and provide new insight into the characteristics of seismogenic structures through the heterogeneity of stress distribution and the variations in stress states in a seismic cycle. Our results indicate that, prior to the 2010 Jiasian earthquake and the 2016 Meinong earthquake, significantly low seismic b values occurred in the upper crust. For depths greater than 14 km, stress heterogeneity was more significant. We also propose a new scenario with a block rotation model derived from GPS data to explain how the rupture directions of the 2010 Jiasian and 2016 Meinong earthquakes are associated with the development of new fault systems in the mid-crust region.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Central Weather Bureau, Taiwan, for providing the seismic catalogue. Figures were produced with The Generic Mapping Tools http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu. We would like to thank Uni-edit (www.uni-edit.net) for editing and proofreading this manuscript. This study is funded by MOST-105-2116-M-194-009-MY3 and MOST-106-2116-M-194-016.

Funding

This research is supported by Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, under grant number MOST-105–2116-M-194–009-MY3 and MOST-106–2116-M-194-016.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Seismology, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan

    Yu-Lien Yeh & Strong Wen

  2. Central Weather Bureau, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chien-Hsin Chang

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  1. Yu-Lien Yeh
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  2. Strong Wen
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Contributions

SW conducted of calculating angular velocity using GPS data. C-HC was in charge of seismic catalogue collection, and Y-LY initiated the project, calculated 3D b values, and wrote the manuscript text. All authors were engaged in the discussion and reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yu-Lien Yeh.

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The seismic catalogue is available upon request from the Central Weather Bureau, Taiwan.

Code Availability

The ZMAP6.0 software can be download from the website: http://www.seismo.ethz.ch/en/research-and-teaching/products-software/software/ZMAP/

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Yeh, YL., Wen, S. & Chang, CH. Tectonic Implications of the Deformation Front in Southwest Taiwan: Revealed by 3D Seismic b Values. Pure Appl. Geophys. 178, 1631–1641 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-021-02721-2

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