Evidence for prehistoric coseismic folding along the Tsaotun segment of the Chelungpu fault near Nan-Tou, Taiwan

Abstract

Taiwan's 1999 Mw 7.6 earthquake generated over 85 km surface rupture along the Chelungpu thrust fault. Paleoseismic studies at the Shi-Jia site near Nantou city, reveal folding as the predominant form of deformation. Stratigraphic relations across the 1999 fold scarp show the style and degree of deformation caused by the penultimate event is similar to observed 1999 deformation. A boring transect across the fold scarp provides additional evidence of an earlier earthquake. Investigations at the Shi-Jia site revealed three prehistoric events; accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon ages indicate that the penultimate earthquake occurred between 1160 and 1440 A.D. Paleoseismic studies north of the Shi-Jia site reveal much younger penultimate earthquakes, suggesting a 1999-type event may not be characteristic along the Tsaotun segment of the Chelungpu fault. Coypright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.