The Taiwan mountain belt is composed of a Cenozoic slate belt (Hsuehshan Range units, HR, and Backbone Slates, BS) and of accreted polymetamorphic basement rocks (Tananao Complex, TC). Ongoing crustal shortening has resulted from the collision between the Chinese continental margin and the Luzon volcanic arc, which initiated ∼6.5 Ma ago. The grade and age of metamorphism and exhumation are a key record of the development of the orogenic wedge. Because the Taiwan mountain belt is mostly composed by accreted sediments lacking metamorphic index minerals, quantitative constraints on metamorphism are sparse. By contrast, these rocks are rich in carbonaceaous material (CM) and are therefore particularly appropriate for RSCM (Raman Spectroscopy of CM) thermometry. We apply this technique in addition to (U‐Th)/He thermochronology on detrital zircons to assess peak metamorphic temperatures (T) and the late exhumational history respectively, along different transects in central and southern Taiwan. In the case of the HR units, we find evidence for high metamorphic T of at least 340°–350°C and locally up to 475°C, and for relative rapid exhumation with zircon (U‐Th)/He ages in the range of 1.5–2 Ma. Farther east, the BS were only slightly metamorphosed (T < 330 °C), and zircons are not reset for (U‐Th)/He. From the eastern BS to the inner TC schists, T gradually increases from ∼350°C up to ∼500°C following an inverted metamorphic gradient. Available geochronological constraints and the continuous thermal gradient from the BS to the basement rocks of the TC suggest that the high RSCM T of the TC were most probably acquired during the last orogeny, and were not inherited from a previous thermal event. Zircons yield (U‐Th)/He ages of ∼0.5–1.2 Ma. Peak metamorphic T and the timing of exhumation do not show along‐strike variations over the TC in the studied area. In contrast, exhumation is laterally diachronous and decreases southward in the case of the HR units. In particular, our data imply that the HR units have been exhumed by a minimum of 15 km over the last few Ma. In the case of the BS, they show far less cumulated exhumation and much slower cooling rates. We propose that most of the deformation and exhumation of the Taiwan mountain belt is sustained through two underplating windows located beneath the Hsuehshan Range and the TC. Our data show significant departures from the predictions of the prevailing model in Taiwan, which assumes a homogeneous critical wedge with dominant frontal accretion. Our study sheds new light on how the mountain belt has grown as a possible result of underplating mostly.

We combine light detection and ranging (LiDAR) digital terrain model (DTM) data and an improved mesh implementation to investigate the effects of high- resolution surface topography on seismic ground motion based upon the spectral- element method. In general, topography increases the amplitude of shaking at mountain tops and ridges, whereas valleys usually have reduced ground motion, as has been observed in both records from past earthquakes and numerical simulations. However, the effects of realistic topography on ground motion have not often been clearly characterized in numerical simulations, especially the seismic response of the true ground surface. Here, we use LiDAR DTM data, which provide two-meter reso- lution at the free surface, and a spectral-element method to simulate three-dimensional (3D) seismic-wave propagation in the Yangminshan region in Taiwan, incorporating the effects of realistic topography. A smoothed topographic map is employed beneath the model surface in order to decrease mesh distortions due to steep ground surfaces. Numerical simulations show that seismic shaking in mountainous areas is strongly affected by topography and source frequency content. The amplification of ground motion mainly occurs at the tops of hills and ridges whilst the valleys and flat-topped hills experience lower levels of ground shaking. Interaction between small-scale to- pographic features and high-frequency surface waves can produce unusually strong shaking. We demonstrate that topographic variations can change peak ground accel- eration (PGA) values by ! 50% in mountainous areas, and the relative change in PGA between a valley and a ridge can be as high as a factor of 2 compared to a flat surface response. This suggests that high-resolution, realistic topographic features should be taken into account in seismic hazard analysis, especially for densely populated moun- tainous areas.