Browsing by Author "Huang, Ting-Chung"

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Relationship Between Earthquake b-Values and Crustal Stresses in a Young Orogenic Belt
(2018-02-28)
Wu, Yih-Min
;
Chen, Sean Kuanhsiang
;
Huang, Ting-Chung
;
Huang, Hsin-Hua
;
Chao, Wei-An
It has been reported that earthquake b-values decrease linearly with the differential stresses in the continental crust and subduction zones. Here we report a regression-derived relation between earthquake b-values and crustal stresses using the Anderson fault parameter (A) in a young orogenic belt of Taiwan. This regression relation is well established by using a large and complete earthquake catalog for Taiwan. The data set consists of b-values and A values derived from relocated earthquakes and focal mechanisms, respectively. Our results show that b-values decrease linearly with the A values at crustal depths with a high correlation coefficient of -0.9. Thus, b-values could be used as stress indicators for orogenic belts. However, the state of stress is relatively well correlated with the surface geological setting with respect to earthquake b-values in Taiwan. Temporal variations in the b-value could constitute one of the main reasons for the spatial heterogeneity of b-values. We therefore suggest that b-values could be highly sensitive to temporal stress variations.