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AGU: Journal of Geophysical Research, Solid Earth

 

Keywords

  • Pisco earthquake
  • source model

Index Terms

  • Seismology: Earthquake source observations
  • Geodesy and Gravity: Satellite geodesy: results
  • Seismology: Subduction zones
  • Oceanography: Physical: Tsunamis and storm surges
  • Geographic Location: South America
Abstract
Cited By (2)
 

Abstract

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 115, B02405, 27 PP., 2010
doi:10.1029/2009JB006429

Source model of the 2007 Mw 8.0 Pisco, Peru earthquake: Implications for seismogenic behavior of subduction megathrusts

A. Sladen

Tectonics Observatory, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

H. Tavera

Instituto Geofísico del Perú, Lima, Peru

M. Simons

Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

J. P. Avouac

Tectonics Observatory, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

A. O. Konca

Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

H. Perfettini

Laboratoire de Géophysique Interne et de Tectonophysique, Université Joseph Fourier, IRD, Grenoble, France

L. Audin

LMTG, Université de Toulouse, UPS, Toulouse, France

LMTG, IRD, Toulouse, France

E. J. Fielding

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

F. Ortega

Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

R. Cavagnoud

Instituto Francés de Estudios Andinos, Lima, Peru

We use Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar, teleseismic body waves, tsunami waveforms recorded by tsunameters, field observations of coastal uplift, subsidence, and runup to develop and test a refined model of the spatiotemporal history of slip during the Mw 8.0 Pisco earthquake of 15 August 2007. Our preferred solution shows two distinct patches of high slip. One patch is located near the epicenter while another larger patch ruptured 60 km further south, at the latitude of the Paracas peninsula. Slip on the second patch started 60 s after slip initiated on the first patch. We observed a remarkable anticorrelation between the coseismic slip distribution and the aftershock distribution determined from the Peruvian seismic network. The proposed source model is compatible with regional runup measurements and open ocean tsunami records. From the latter data set, we identified the 12 min timing error of the tsunami forecast system as being due to a mislocation of the source, caused by the use of only one tsunameter located in a nonoptimal azimuth. The comparison of our source model with the tsunami observations validate that the rupture did not extend to the trench and confirms that the Pisco event is not a tsunami earthquake despite its low apparent rupture velocity (<1.5 km/s). We favor the interpretation that the earthquake consists of two subevents, each with a conventional rupture velocity (2–4 km/s). The delay between the two subevents might reflect the time for the second shock to nucleate or, alternatively, the time it took for afterslip to increase the stress level on the second asperity to a level necessary for static triggering. The source model predicts uplift offshore and subsidence on land with the pivot line following closely the coastline. This pattern is consistent with our observation of very small vertical displacement along the shoreline when we visited the epicentral area in the days following the event. This earthquake represents, to our knowledge, one of the best examples of a link between the geomorphology of the coastline and the pattern of surface deformation induced by large interplate ruptures.

Received 3 March 2009; accepted 4 September 2009; published 9 February 2010.

Citation: Sladen, A., H. Tavera, M. Simons, J. P. Avouac, A. O. Konca, H. Perfettini, L. Audin, E. J. Fielding, F. Ortega, and R. Cavagnoud (2010), Source model of the 2007 Mw 8.0 Pisco, Peru earthquake: Implications for seismogenic behavior of subduction megathrusts, J. Geophys. Res., 115, B02405, doi:10.1029/2009JB006429.

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