On 27th February 2010 a magnitude 8.8 earthquake stuck central Chile. The earthquake, the fifth largest instrumentally recorded, caused a moderate tsunami, exceeding 2.3m in Talcahuano, Chile, 1.7m in the Marquesas and 0.9m in Hawai’i. The earthquake and tsunami resulted in over 500 deaths and a financial cost exceeding $20bn.

The earthquake filled a seismic gap, a section of the Chilean subduction zone that had not ruptured since 1835. Significant land level changes accompanied both the 1835 and 2010 earthquakes. We are making a rapid assessment of the sedimentary record associated with the land level changes and tsunami.



Saturday, 28 August 2010

Concepcion and Tubul

In Concepcion we met with a group of academics led by Professor Marco Cisternas of the Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Together with Lisa Ely, Rob Wesson, James Goff, Catherine Chague Goff and Zamara Fuentes we visited the coastal plain between Talcahuano and Penco, where 2010 tsunami deposits overlay evidence for older events. Marco suggests that the area lies on the hingeline – with the land to the east subsiding and the ocean to the west uplifting during the February earthquake.

From Concepcion we continued south to Tubul. Our accommodation appeared slightly precariously balanced, with several key supports removed by the tsunami, however we were assured it was safe. The Arauco Peninsula, on which Tubul lies, has been uplifted significantly by numerous major earthquakes. We cored a number of areas of the wetland system that lies to the west of the town, struggling though torrential rain and impenetrably stiff clay.

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