Seismotectonic Update of the Philippines-Taiwan Region (original) (raw)

Two maps with symbols to indicate seismic events.

USGS hypocenters in the Philippines and Taiwan for events at depths ≥70 km and magnitudes M ≥ 4.6 between 1 January 2000 and 31 March 2021. Intermediate earthquakes (depths 70–300 km) occur throughout the region and deep earthquakes (depths >300 km depth) are only found in the southern Philippines. (b) Distribution of events of magnitude M ≥ 6.0 at depths ≥70 km. Such events are most abundant in the Ryukyu trench, southern Manila trench, and in the southern Philippines. The largest recent events are in the Moro Gulf region (labeled) of the southern Philippines. Events are colored by depth and scaled by magnitude. Credit: Hutchings and Mooney [2024], Figure 5

Editors’ Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU’s journal editors.
Source: _Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems

The Philippines-Taiwan region is, tectonically, very active with both countries sandwiched by subducting slabs of various features where destructive and tsunamigenic earthquakes are possible. Understanding the characteristics of such earthquake activities at all possible levels helps to mitigate earthquake and tsunami risks in these densely populated island countries.

Hutchings and Mooney [2024] analyze the seismicity of the Philippine and Taiwan subduction region based on earthquake data compiled from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2021. This 21-year seismicity record reveals that the region is dominated by subduction zone activity at various depths where the deepest events (depth > 300 km) are located in the southern Philippines south of 10° N. This work improves our understanding of the area which is indispensable for both scientific understanding and disaster risk management.

Citation: Hutchings, S. J., & Mooney, W. D. (2024). Seismotectonics of the Philippine and Taiwan subduction systems and implications for seismic hazards. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 25, e2023GC010990. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC010990

—Atalay Ayele, Associate Editor, G-Cubed

Text © 2024. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

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