Rapid deployment of a seismic network to record the aftershocks of the Mw=6.2 Aisen earthquake in Southern Chile
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Liverpool
Department Name: Earth Surface Dynamics
Abstract
The largest earthquakes (e.g. Chile, 1960; Andaman-Sumatra, 2004) are generated at convergent plate boundaries, where oceanic plates subduct beneath other tectonic plates. During plate convergent, large stresses build up causing major earthquakes. Understanding the stress distribution would foster our knowledge of earthquake occurrence and might lead to better prediction of maximum possible magnitudes in the future at given segments of a subduction zone. However, a detailed knowledge of the coupling forces and the stress distribution in the overriding plate is still lacking, especially in the case of oblique subduction in which bulk transpressional deformation is expected. Precise earthquake locations together with fault plane solutions provide important constraints to solve this problem. The Aisen Southern Chile earthquake at 45.4 S on April 21, 2007 gives a unique possibility to study the stress distribution since it occurred in an ideal natural laboratory. Different segments of the Southern Chilean margin have been studied recently (2004/2005) by several temporal seismic networks also incorporating the rupture area of the 1960 Chile earthquake (Rietbrock et al, 2004; Haberland et al., 2006; Lange et al., 2007). However, due to the low seismicity of the Aisen region, this important segment, where the rupture of the 1960 earthquake ended, could not be studied so far. Using the current aftershock activity this can be rectified; it may be the only chance for such a study in the foreseeable future.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Andreas Rietbrock (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Nippress S
(2010)
Optimized automatic pickers: application to the ANCORP data set
in Geophysical Journal International
Blake O
(2012)
The Effect of Varying Damage History in Crystalline Rocks on the P- and S-Wave Velocity under Hydrostatic Confining Pressure
in Pure and Applied Geophysics
Agurto H
(2012)
Seismo-tectonic structure of the Aysén Region, Southern Chile, inferred from the 2007 Mw= 6.2 Aysén earthquake sequence 2007 Aysén Fjord seismic sequence
in Geophysical Journal International
Rietbrock A
(2012)
Aftershock seismicity of the 2010 Maule Mw=8.8, Chile, earthquake: Correlation between co-seismic slip models and aftershock distribution?
in Geophysical Research Letters
Agurto H
(2012)
Seismic-afterslip characterization of the 2010 M W 8.8 Maule, Chile, earthquake based on moment tensor inversion
in Geophysical Research Letters
Ryder I
(2012)
Large extensional aftershocks in the continental forearc triggered by the 2010 Maule earthquake, Chile Maule extensional aftershocks
in Geophysical Journal International
Lin Y
(2013)
Coseismic and postseismic slip associated with the 2010 Maule Earthquake, Chile: Characterizing the Arauco Peninsula barrier effect
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
Bedford J
(2013)
A high-resolution, time-variable afterslip model for the 2010 Maule Mw = 8.8, Chile megathrust earthquake
in Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Beck S
(2014)
Advancing Subduction Zone Science After a Big Quake
in Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union
Moreno M
(2014)
Locking of the Chile subduction zone controlled by fluid pressure before the 2010 earthquake
in Nature Geoscience
Agurto-Detzel H
(2014)
Seismicity distribution in the vicinity of the Chile Triple Junction, Aysén Region, southern Chile
in Journal of South American Earth Sciences
Hicks S
(2014)
Anatomy of a megathrust: The 2010 M8.8 Maule, Chile earthquake rupture zone imaged using seismic tomography
in Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Hicks S
(2015)
Seismic slip on an upper-plate normal fault during a large subduction megathrust rupture
in Nature Geoscience
Description | We have for the first time given an appropriate account of seismicity distribution in Southern Chile. |
Exploitation Route | Seismic hazard assessments in this region |
Sectors | Environment |
Description | Our findings have been used in a hazard assessment for a hydro power plant in the Aysen region |
First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
Sector | Environment |