Abstract:Focal depth is an important parameter in seismic studies, seismotectonics, seismic risk assessment, and seismic event identification. Its accuracy has an effect on the understanding of focal processes, fault tectonics, and stress fields. Depth from the epicenter to the source of an earthquake is defined as its focal depth and is divided into three categories, i.e., less than 70 km, between 70 km and 300 km, and greater than 300 km called shallow, intermediate, and deep earthquakes, respectively. Because tectonic plates push into each other, the activities of intermediate and deep earthquakes reflect the driving forces of these plates. Northeastern offshore Taiwan is an active earthquake region because of its location where the Eurasian and Pacific plates meet. Some intermediate and deep earthquakes have seismic phases that are different from shallow earthquakes. Therefore, finding a fast and accurate method for locating intermediate and deep earthquakes is of great importance for rapid earthquake reporting. The Fujian network monitors earthquakes in the Taiwan region. Better seismic parameters in the location methods used for intermediate and deep focus earthquakes would directly affect rapid earthquake reporting. The Fujian network has access to 16 Taiwanese stations. This paper uses the method in MSDP-an interaction analysis software in JOPENS, to locate the same earthquake twice (using the Taiwan stations or not). The results are compared with data on Taiwan's official website to identify appropriate methods for locating intermediate and deep focus earthquakes in the Taiwan region. Finally, we analyze the feasibility of using the Taiwan stations to produce rapid earthquake reports and provide operating methods and recommendations.