The April 1, 2014 Pisagua (Mw 8.2) Northern Chile Earthquake Seismo-Geodetic Intervention
Francisco H Ortega Culaciati1, Daniel Carrizo2, Edmundo O. Norabuena3, Diana Comte4, Jorge Jara5, Eduardo Contreras Reyes4, Mohamed Chlieh6, Arthur Delorme7, Joachim F Genrich8, Emilie Klein9, Marcos Moreno10, Ismael Ortega11, Sophie Peyrat12, Efrain Rivera4, Sergio Ruiz4, MariaCarolina Valderas Bermejo11, Klaus Dieter Bataille13, Prof. Mark Simons, Ph.D.14, Anne Socquet15, Christophe Vigny9 and Jean-Pierre Vilotte16, (1)University of Chile, Santiago, Chile, (2)Universidad de Chile, Advanced Mining and Technology Center, Department of Geology FCFM, Santiago, Chile, (3)Instituto Geofísico del Perú, Lima, Peru, (4)University of Chile, Department of Geophysics, Santiago, Chile, (5)Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, CNRS UMR 8538, Laboratoire de Géologie, Laboratoire de Géologie, Paris, France, (6)Université Côte d’Azur, IRD, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Géoazur, Valbonne, France, (7)Université de Paris, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, CNRS, Paris, France, (8)California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, (9)Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, CNRS UMR 8538, Laboratoire de Géologie, Paris, France, (10)Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany, (11)Universidad de Chile, Centro Sismologico National, Santiago, Chile, (12)Geosciences Montpellier, UMR5242, Universite Montpellier 2, Montpellier, France, (13)Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile, (14)California Institute of Technology, Seismological Laboratory, Pasadena, United States, (15)University Grenoble Alpes, ISTerre, Grenoble, France, (16)Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris, France
Abstract:
The April 1, 2014 Pisagua (Mw 8.2) Earthquake occurred at the Central Andean segment of the Nazca-South American subduction margin, partially rupturing a known seismic gap that has not experienced a great seismic event since the 1868 southern Peru and 1877 northern Chile mega-earthquakes. In a collaborative effort between Chilean/Peruvian/French/German and USA institutions, we performed seismic and geodetic intervention campaigns in response to the Pisagua earthquake, with the ultimate goal of achieving a better understanding of the mechanical properties and physical processes occurring at the subduction zone that control, for instance, the generation of large earthquakes and potential tsunamis. The deployment of the temporary geodetic and seismic instruments complements the spatial distribution of existing permanent GPS and seismic networks on the region. We present estimates of crustal deformation along the seismic gap, from southern Peru to Mejillones peninsula, including the co-seismic displacement field observed at the GPS stations, as well as our preliminary insights on the mechanical behavior of the subduction zone inferred using the available geodetic and seismic observations.
