Active fault-related folds  >  Deep structure and cumulative shortening across Tainan tableland, Taiwan

- Setting: The Tainan anticline is located at the front of the southwestern Taiwan fold-and-thrust belt. The tableland hosts the historical city of Tainan and more than a million inhabitants. A wealth of recent geodetic studies have shown that the anticline is growing rapidly, consuming 1.5-2 cm/a of shortening with an uplift rate up to 1.6 cm/a. By contrast, the underlying deep structure that produces such surface deformation has not been well constrained yet. 

- Objectives: Determine sub-surface structure of Tainan tableland, quantify cumulative shortening and shortening history

- Approach: Interpretation of depth-converted seismic lines north of the tableland, application of the area of structural relief analysis to the mapped reflectors, correlate the reflectors with strata dated using bio- and magneto-stratigraphy, interpret high-resolution topographic data in term of structure (axial surfaces) and potential geomorphic marker of deformation, account for geodetic data to fit in large-scale structure and folding mechanism

>> Reference: Marc, O., J. Suppe, Huang, S., Le Béon M., Huang, M., Hu, J., Deep structure and deformation history of the rapidly growing Tainan anticline, southwestern Taiwan, AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, USA, December 13-17 2010, Abstract.  

  

3D view of the northern Tainan tableland

Source of banner photograph:Tainan night panorama: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tainan