RAPID: Chilean Earthquake Rupture Survey

University Of California-San Diego Scripps Inst Of Oceanography, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

In the aftermath of the catastrophic M8.8 earthquake in Chile there is an urgent need to record aftershocks and capture ephemeral data that will help to assess both short term (immediate) and long term earthquake risk in the region and elsewhere. Reliable models of strain accumulation and seismogenic release along the fault zone, and improved tsunami models for the Pacific basin, are urgently needed. U.S. teams are already on the ground onshore, and another team is preparing to deploy a suite of ocean bottom seismometers offshore. The February 27th mainshock ruptured a 300 km long segment of the Peru-Chile subduction zone that borders South America, causing ground displacements of as much as 7 meters. This bathymetric survey of the offshore portion of the main rupture zone and the deployment of four highly sensitive pressure gauges to record vertical motions will complement efforts to document the surface effects and possible earthquake hazards, such as tsunamis. The principal broader impact of this study is its very high and immediate societal relevance.