The first 30 min hidden aftershocks of the 2022 September 17, ML 6.4, Guanshan, Taiwan earthquake and its seismological implications

Abstract

The first 30 min of the aftershock sequence following the 2022 September 17, ML 6.4, Guanshan, Taiwan earthquake is investigated by the back-projection (BP) method. Based on the Automatic Gain Control (AGC) to process individual earthquake record and sort waveforms by epicentral distance, 80 events are identified near the Guanshan earthquake epicenter to verify its temporal variation. However, most of these events cannot clearly image by the BP method to determine its spatial locations for its small amplitude and short time separation. In total, 29 aftershocks are imaged by this study to identify its spatial locations during this time period. The relocated events are compared with the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) rapid report catalogue. Only 5 events have been reported by the CWB rapid report catalogue. These unreported hidden aftershocks are identified to distribute surrounding the epicenter and extended to the east. This extracted information of hidden aftershocks is crucial for assessing the potential for future large aftershocks and estimating the associated seismic hazards in a given region, and provide extra message to evaluate the source physics in general.