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Crustal Structure of the High Magnetic Anomaly Belt, Western Taiwan, and its Implications for Continental Margin Deformation

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Abstract

A joint analysis of gravity anomaly and seismic travel-time data has been used to construct a three-dimensional velocity structure for the northeastern extension of the northern South China Sea’s high-magnetic belt in the Taiwan region. The earthquake data used in this study was collected by the Central Weather Bureau Seismological Network from 1991 to 2002, while the gravity data around Taiwan was compiled by Hsu et al. (1998), Terr. Atmos. Oceanic. Sci., 9, 509–532, and Wang et al. (2002), >Terr. Atmos. Oceanic. Sc., 13, 339–354. A modified velocity model obtained by local earthquake tomography was used to construct an initial three-dimensional gravity model, using a linear velocity–density relationship. To derive a crustal velocity–density model that accounts for both types of observations, this study performed a sequential inversion of travel-time and gravity data. The main features of our three-dimensional velocity model are:(1) an uplifted zone with velocity greater than 6.5 km/s being observed in the lower crust, (2) the width and the shape of the uplifted zone being found to be strongly correlated with the high-magnetic belt, (3) a trend by which the lower crustal high-velocity zone turns from northeast to north in central Taiwan, where the high-magnetic zone was truncated. A combination of seismic, gravity, and structural interpretations suggests that the crustal deformation relating to the magnetic truncation observed in northwestern Taiwan could be correlated closely with the collision between the Philippine Sea plate and the Asian continental margin.

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  1. Department of Environmental Management, Jin-Wen Institute of Technology, 99 Ann-Chung Road, Taipei County, Hsin-Tein, Taiwan

    Win-Bin Cheng

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Cheng, WB. Crustal Structure of the High Magnetic Anomaly Belt, Western Taiwan, and its Implications for Continental Margin Deformation. Mar Geophys Res 25, 79–93 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-005-0735-3

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