Chile has been the location of some of the largest earthquakes ever recorded. Few earthquakes in the southern hemisphere, or even in the entire world, compare to The Great Chilean Earthquake in May of 1960. In Figure 1.1, Richard Aster places the most powerful earthquakes from the last one-hundred years in a pie chart. The Great Chilean Earthquake accounts for nearly 20% of the total global seismic moment release. At a moment magnitude of 9.5, the earthquake caused astronomical amounts of damage to the Chilean coast, not only from the initial shockwaves, but also from the subsequent aftermath of tsunamis and volcanic eruption2. The earthquake came at a time when instruments used to measure seismic activity and warn of imminent hazards were
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Earthquakes occur deep below the surface at locations called hypocenters or focuses (Marshak 350). This is where the fault motion originates causing an earthquake. The Nazca plate subduction zone is an active fault, meaning earthquakes are common and produced more frequently in this region compared to inactive faults, or places where the fault has not slipped in some time. During an earthquake, body waves radiate across the interior of the earth from the hypocenter; whereas surface waves travel across the surface of the earth. Surface waves can be pinpointed to an epicenter, or a location situated above the hypocenter on the surface (Marshak …show more content…
Thirty-eight hours after the earthquake and tsunamis overtook the Chilean coast, the volcano erupted after forty years of inactivity. Scientists concluded the shifting of the earth after the megathrust cause the caldera to open. The volcano erupted from May 24, 1960 until July 30 of the same year (Global Volcanism Program 2013). Not much damage was caused by the eruption as it was mostly a release of sulfur dioxide and in a region where there were low numbers of population (Global Volcanism Program 2013). The cataclysmic nature of the earthquake and subsequent natural disasters led to an overhaul in the predicting of these types of events and the prevention of extensive
Earthquakes occur deep below the surface at locations called hypocenters or focuses (Marshak 350). This is where the fault motion originates causing an earthquake. The Nazca plate subduction zone is an active fault, meaning earthquakes are common and produced more frequently in this region compared to inactive faults, or places where the fault has not slipped in some time. During an earthquake, body waves radiate across the interior of the earth from the hypocenter; whereas surface waves travel across the surface of the earth. Surface waves can be pinpointed to an epicenter, or a location situated above the hypocenter on the surface (Marshak …show more content…
Thirty-eight hours after the earthquake and tsunamis overtook the Chilean coast, the volcano erupted after forty years of inactivity. Scientists concluded the shifting of the earth after the megathrust cause the caldera to open. The volcano erupted from May 24, 1960 until July 30 of the same year (Global Volcanism Program 2013). Not much damage was caused by the eruption as it was mostly a release of sulfur dioxide and in a region where there were low numbers of population (Global Volcanism Program 2013). The cataclysmic nature of the earthquake and subsequent natural disasters led to an overhaul in the predicting of these types of events and the prevention of extensive