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Magnitude 8.8 earthquake strikes Chile, February 2010
Image courtesy USGS
From March 17–24, an international team of scientists will map the seafloor off Chile to learn about the rupture site of the Feb. 27 8.8–magnitude earthquake.
Read about their expedition in their blog 
The central coast of Chile experienced a magnitude 8.8 earthquake at 0334h local time on Saturday 27 February. The epicenter was 115 kilometers north northeast of the city of Concepcion with a population of about 900,000. A 500 kilometer section of the Peru-Chile Trench, where the oceanic Nazca Plate descends beneath the continental South America plate, moved suddenly during the earthquake. A tsunami warning was issued for the Pacific Ocean; fortunately the wave heights were smaller than predicted. Damage to buildings and infrastructure in Chile was extensive.
For more information on this earthquake, visit: