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Abstract:
The Integrated Plate Boundary Observatory Chile (IPOC) is an international network of institutions and scientists organizing and operating a distributed system of instruments and projects dedicated to the study of earthquakes, deformation and other
subduction processes at the continental margin of Chile.
This megathrust plate boundary between the South American plate and the oceanic Nazca plate exhibits some of the largest earthquakes on Earth. Earthquakes, volcanoes and other active margin processes are driven by ongoing convergence between
the two tectonic plates. Our goal is to improve the understanding of both the physical mechanisms underlying these processes and the natural hazards induced by them. We therefore integrate modern ground- and space-based technologies to observe and interpret active deformation related to the megathrust seismic cycle.
The northern part of the Chilean margin offers an exceptional opportunity for such studies: the more than 400 km long plate boundary segment between Antofagasta and Arica, capable of a giant M9+ earthquake, has not been broken for more than 100
years. This is the longest time period between large earthquakes along the Peru-Chile coastal margin, putting this segment presumably in the terminal stage of a seismic cycle. The neighboring segments to the south and north have been broken in 1995 and 2007 and 2001 respectively, enhancing the stress in between.
