This project is funded by ALECHILE, which is a bilateral research program between the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Chilean National Commission for Technological and Scientific Research (CONICYT).

Understanding of processes related to megathrust earthquakes has long been one of the main challenges of geosciences. Although important progress in theoretical and observational approaches during recent years has allowed a better comprehension of these processes, the inter-relation between different phases of the seismic cycle and its expression in the long-term deformation of upper plates is still largely unknown. In this study, we quantify the seismic cycle deformation field using GPS observations and perform numerical modeling of the spatial and temporal evolution of the relevant processes at two seismotectonic segments of the Chilean margin that have experienced some of the largest earthquakes recorded on Earth, i.e. the 1960 Valdivia (Mw 9.5) and 2010 Maule (Mw 8.8) events.

Principal investigators:
Dr. Marcos Moreno (Section 4.1, GFZ Potsdam)
Dr. Andres Tassara (University of Concepción, Chile)
Jonathan Bedford (PhD student, Section 4.1, GFZ Potsdam)
Marcelo Contreras (PhD student, University of Concepción, Chile)