Electrical structures of the source area of the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan, earthquake: Spatial correlation between crustal conductors and aftershocks

Wide-band magnetotelluric (MT) data were collected on an east–west profile, approximately perpendicular to the local strike of the Chelungpu thrust, through the hypocentral area of the Chi-Chi earthquake for imaging the seismogenic structure. MT data were then inverted for two-dimensional resistivity models plus best-fitting static shift parameters using a nonlinear conjugate gradient algorithm that minimizes the sum of the normalized data misfits and the smoothness of the model. As shown in the inverted 2D resistivity models presented in this paper, an electrical conductor beside the hypocenter of the Chi-Chi earthquake indicates that deep-crustal fluids may participate in the rupture process of the Chi-Chi earthquake. A striking spatial correlation between the crustal conductor and occurrence of aftershocks beneath the Chelungpu fault suggests a postseismic pore pressure adjustment ongoing after the mainshock. Additionally, the hypocenter exhibits an electrical resistive zone, consistent very well with a predicted compact zone from a crustal deformation and transient fluid flow modeling.