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Vertical deformation through a complete seismic cycle at Isla Santa María, Chile

Nature Geoscience volume 8, pages 547–551 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Individual great earthquakes are posited to release the elastic strain energy that has accumulated over centuries by the gradual movement of tectonic plates1,2. However, knowledge of plate deformation during a complete seismic cycle—two successive great earthquakes and the intervening interseismic period—remains incomplete3. A complete seismic cycle began in south-central Chile in 1835 with an earthquake of about magnitude 8.5 (refs 4, 5) and ended in 2010 with a magnitude 8.8 earthquake6. During the first earthquake, an uplift of Isla Santa María by 2.4 to 3 m was documented4,5. In the second earthquake, the island was uplifted7 by 1.8 m. Here we use nautical surveys made in 1804, after the earthquake in 1835 and in 1886, together with modern echo sounder surveys and GPS measurements made immediately before and after the 2010 earthquake, to quantify vertical deformation through the complete seismic cycle. We find that in the period between the two earthquakes, Isla Santa María subsided by about 1.4 m. We simulate the patterns of vertical deformation with a finite-element model and find that they agree broadly with predictions from elastic rebound theory2. However, comparison with geomorphic and geologic records of millennial coastline emergence8,9 reveal that 10–20% of the vertical uplift could be permanent.

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Figure 1: Isla Santa María.
Figure 2: Surveys of Rada Santa María.
Figure 3: Elevation changes at Isla Santa María inferred from changes in water depth.
Figure 4: Modelling elevation changes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Chilean National Fund for Development of Science and Technology (FONDECYT) grants 1110848 and 1150321 (M.C.), National Geographic Society Scientific Research grant 8577-08 (L.L.E. and M.C.), German Science Foundation (DFG) grants ME 3157/2-2 (D.M.) and MO 2310/1-1 (MARISCOS) (M.M.), and the US National Science Foundation (NSF) grants RAPID EAR-1036057 (L.L.E. and R.L.W.) and EAR-1145170 (L.L.E.). Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado 80225, USA

    Robert L. Wesson

  2. Institut für Erd- und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany

    Daniel Melnick

  3. Escuela de Ciencias del Mar, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 1020 Valparaíso, Chile

    Marco Cisternas

  4. GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 14473 Potsdam, Germany

    Marcos Moreno

  5. Department of Geological Sciences, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington 98926, USA

    Lisa L. Ely

Authors
  1. Robert L. Wesson
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  3. Marco Cisternas
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  4. Marcos Moreno
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Contributions

R.L.W. and D.M. conceived the project and performed the bathymetric surveys. M.M. and D.M. carried out survey GPS measurements. M.M. processed GPS data and calculated Green’s functions for estimating model subsidence rates. M.C. provided historical data and interpretation. M.C. and L.L.E. participated in fieldwork. All authors contributed to data interpretation and writing of the paper.

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Correspondence to Robert L. Wesson.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Wesson, R., Melnick, D., Cisternas, M. et al. Vertical deformation through a complete seismic cycle at Isla Santa María, Chile. Nature Geosci 8, 547–551 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2468

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