Interplay between seismic and aseismic deformation on the Central Range
fault during the 2013 Mw 6.3 Ruisui earthquake (Taiwan)
Abstract
The 2013 Ruisui earthquake represents the first unequivocal evidence of
the activity of the Central Range fault in central Longitudinal Valley,
Taiwan. Using a joint Bayesian finite-fault source inversion of Global
Navigation Satellite System and strain time series, we infer that
coseismic rupture occurred between 4 to 19 km depth with maximum slip of
0.5 m located near the hypocenter. We then apply a variational Bayesian
Independent Component Analysis approach to displacement signals to infer
a 3-month long afterslip located in the near-source region. This
observation represents the first evidence of aseismic slip on the
Central Range fault. Combining geodetic and seismological analysis with
simulations based on rate-and-state friction mechanics, we analyze the
interplay between seismic and aseismic deformation during the earthquake
sequence. We observe that afterslip represents the dominant postseismic
deformation mechanism, with > 95% of the moment being
released aseismically in the postseismic phase. Besides, afterslip
likely represents the driving force controlling aftershock productivity
and the spatiotemporal migration of seismicity. Finally, we infer the
presence of a shallow velocity strengthening zone (∼ 0-4 km depth)
associated with spatially heterogeneous slip during the postseismic
phase with maximum slip of 0.15 m located above the zone of maximum
coseismic deformation.