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Abstract:
On 16 September 2015, the MW = 8.2 Illapel megathrust earthquake ruptured the Central
Chilean margin. Combining inversions of displacement measurements and seismic waveforms with high
frequency (HF) teleseismic backprojection, we derive a comprehensive description of the rupture, which
also predicts deep ocean tsunami wave heights. We further determine moment tensors and obtain accurate
depth estimates for the aftershock sequence. The earthquake nucleated near the coast but then propagated
to the north and updip, attaining a peak slip of 5–6 m. In contrast, HF seismic radiation is mostly emitted
downdip of the region of intense slip and arrests earlier than the long period rupture, indicating smooth
slip along the shallow plate interface in the final phase. A superficially similar earthquake in 1943 with a
similar aftershock zone had a much shorter source time function, which matches the duration of HF seismic
radiation in the recent event, indicating that the 1943 event lacked the shallow slip.
