El terremoto del último 7 de septiembre : tiembla, todo tiembla

Fil: Folguera, Andrés. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Laboratorio de Tectónica Andina; Argentina.Fil: Triep, Enrique. Instituto de Sismología Volponi; Argentina.Fil: González Díaz, Emilio M. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil: Ramos, Víctor A. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Laboratorio de Tectónica Andina; Argentina.Los terremotos no son un fenómeno del pasado y las placas que conforman los niveles móviles más\nsuperficiales de la Tierra están aún en pleno movimiento. Con respecto a la intensidad de los mismos y\nsus desplazamientos asociados, la actividad actual, en especial la deformación permanente asociada\na estos terremotos, se ha mantenido en el mismo orden de magnitud que en los últimos 10 millones de\naños. La frecuencia con la que ocurren estos movimientos está también dentro del mismo orden,\nsiendo quizás la diferencia más significativa el avance de la tecnología y las comunicaciones de este\nmundo global que nos permiten conocer al instante este tipo de eventos en cualquier parte del planeta,\npareciendo de esta forma un fenómeno más periódico en la actualidad

Megathrust Slip Behavior for Great Earthquakes Along the Sumatra-Andaman Subduction Zone Mapped From Satellite GOCE Gravity Field Derivatives

During the last two decades, space geodesy allowed mapping accurately rupture areas, slip distribution, and seismic coupling by obtaining refined inversion models and greatly improving the study of great megathrust earthquakes. A better understanding of these phenomena involving large areas of hundreds of square kilometers came from the last gravity satellite mission that allowed detecting mass transfer through the Earth interior. In this work, we performed direct modeling of satellite GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer) derived gravity gradients up to degree/order N = 200 of the harmonic expansion and then corrected this by the effect of topography. Cutting off the model up to this degree/order allows inferring mass heterogeneities located at an approximate depth of 31 km, just along the plate interface where most (but not all) significant slip occurs. Then, we compared the vertical gravity gradient to well-constrained coseismic slip models for three of the last major earthquakes along the Sunda interface. We analyzed seismic rupture behavior for recent and for historical earthquakes along this subduction margin and the relationship of the degree of interseismic coupling using the gravity signal. From this, we found that strong slip patches occurred along minima gravity gradient lobes and that the maximum vertical displacements were related quantitatively to the gravity-derived signal. The degree of interseismic coupling also presents a good correspondence to the vertical gravity gradient, showing an inverse relationship, with low degrees of coupling over regions of relatively higher density. This along-strike segmentation of the gravity signal agrees with the along-strike seismic segmentation observed from recent and historical earthquakes. The thermally controlled down-dip ending of the locked fault zone along central Sumatra also presented an inverse relationship with the density structure along the forearc inferred using our modeling. From this work, we inferred different mass heterogeneities related to persistent tectonic features along the megathrust and along the marine forearc, which may control strain accumulation and release along the megathrust. Combining these data with geodetical and seismological data could possibly delimit and monitor areas with a higher potential seismic hazard around the world.Fil: Alvarez Pontoriero, Orlando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Pechuan Canet, Stefanie Nadia. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Gimenez, Mario Ernesto. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Folguera, Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; Argentin

Goce derived geoid changes before the Pisagua 2014 earthquake

The analysis of space – time surface deformation during earthquakes reveals the variable state of stress that occurs at deep crustal levels, and this information can be used to better understand the seismic cycle. Understanding the possible mechanisms that produce earthquake precursors is a key issue for earthquake prediction. In the last years, modern geodesy can map the degree of seismic coupling during the interseismic period, as well as the coseismic and postseismic slip for great earthquakes along subduction zones. Earthquakes usually occur due to mass transfer and consequent gravity variations, where these changes have been monitored for intraplate earthquakes by means of terrestrial gravity measurements. When stresses and correspondent rupture areas are large, affecting hundreds of thousands of square kilometres (as occurs in some segments along plate interface zones), satellite gravimetry data become relevant. This is due to the higher spatial resolution of this type of data when compared to terrestrial data, and also due to their homogeneous precision and availability across the whole Earth. Satellite gravity missions as GOCE can map the Earth gravity field with unprecedented precision and resolution. We mapped geoid changes from two GOCE satellite models obtained by the direct approach, which combines data from other gravity missions as GRACE and LAGEOS regarding their best characteristics. The results show that the geoid height diminished from a year to five months before the main seismic event in the region where maximum slip occurred after the Pisagua Mw = 8.2 great megathrust earthquake. This diminution is interpreted as accelerated inland-directed interseismic mass transfer before the earthquake, coinciding with the intermediate degree of seismic coupling reported in the region. We highlight the advantage of satellite data for modelling surficial deformation related to pre-seismic displacements. This deformation, combined to geodetical and seismological data, could be useful for delimiting and monitoring areas of higher seismic hazard potential.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Tectonic segmentation across Patagonia controlled by the subduction of oceanic fracture zones

Fil: Orts, Darío Leandro. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología. Río Negro, ArgentinaFil: Orts, Darío Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET). Buenos Aires, Argentina.Fil: Álvarez, Orlando. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. CONICET. Instituto Geofísico y Sismológico Ing. Volponi. San Juan, Argentina.Fil: Zaffarana, Claudia Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología. Río Negro, ArgentinaFil: Zaffarana, Claudia Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET). Buenos Aires, Argentina.Fil: Gimenez, Mario. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. CONICET. Instituto Geofísico y Sismológico Ing. Volponi. San Juan, Argentina.Fil: Folguera, Andrés. Universidad de Buenos Aires–CONICET. Instituto de Estudios Andinos “Don Pablo Groeber”. Buenos Aires, ArgentinaFil: Ruiz, Francisco. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. CONICET. Instituto Geofísico y Sismológico Ing. Volponi. San Juan, Argentina.A set of fracture zones left by transform faults segmenting the active Chile Ridge that separates the Nazca and Antarctica Plates has been subducting beneath western Patagonia in the last 18 Myr. The subduction direction of these fractures zones has remained almost unaltered during this time lapse since these intersected the Chilean trench. In this context, the analyzed Patagonian sector is associated with the subduction of a highly buoyant oceanic floor due to its relatively young age that contrasts with the ocean floor bathymetry to the north where oceanic crust gets progressively older up to the Eocene and consequently isostatically subsides. Short-term elastic deformational patterns associated with the earthquake cycle have been linked to this segmentation imposed by subducting fracture zones in previous works. Similarly, this work explores the relationship between long-term topography, seismicity, gravity, and magnetic anomalies as a proxy for upper crustal structure, deformation, exhumation, and consequently surface geology segmented nature associated with this pattern of oceanic fracture zones. Through these analyses, we have identified a series of ENE structural trends or lineaments across the continental crust that could be directly related to the segmented mechanical behavior of the plate interface and enhanced by particular climatic and tectonic history of the Patagonian region. These evidences could contribute to the understanding of how fracture zones can control, to a certain extent, the segmented nature of the upper plate in a subduction setting.

Crustal structure of the high Andes in the North Pampean flat slab segment from magnetic and gravity data

The Main Andes at the northern Chilean-Pampean flat slab segment were formed by the inversion of late Oligocene to early Miocene extensional depocenters in Neogene times. Their structure, size and depth are loosely constrained by field data since these sequences have amalgamated forming an almost continuous blanket with scarce basement outcrops. Satellite and aerial gravity and magnetic data are used in this work to define a 3D model that shows the basement structure at depth and adjust 2D structural sections previously based on field data. The results indicate complex basin geometry with depocenters of variable size and depth buried beneath Mesozoic (?)-Paleogene and Neogene sections. Additionally, previously proposed crustal heterogeneities across this orogenic segment are geophysically constrained with a new crustal heterogeneity identified on the basis of a modeled 2D crustal section. We propose hypothetically, that this crustal discontinuity could have played a role in controlling Paleogene extension at the hanging wall of an asymmetric rift basin, explaining the locus and development of the Doña Ana Basin. Finally, this work provides new information about Cenozoic structure and Paleozoic basement architecture, presumably derived from amalgamation history of one of the highest and more inaccessible regions of the Andes.Fil: Sanchez, Marcos Ariel. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Winocur, Diego Alejandro. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Geologicas. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez Pontoriero, Orlando. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Folguera, Andrés. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Geologicas. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Martínez, Myriam Patricia. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentin

Constraints on trenchward arc migration and back-arc magmatism in the North Patagonian Andes in the context of Nazca plate rollback

Fil: Fernandez Paz, Lucía. Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber" (IDEAN)Fil: Bechis, Florencia. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Instituto de Investigaciones de Diversidad Cultural y Procesos de Cambio (IIDyPCa). Río NegroFil: Litvak, Vanesa. Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber" (IDEAN)Fil: Echaurren, Andrés. Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber" (IDEAN)Fil: Encinas, Alfonso. Universidad de Concepción, Chile, Departamento de Ciencias de la TierraFil: González, Javiera. Universidad de Concepción, Chile, Departamento de Ciencias de la TierraFil: Lucassen, Friedrich. University of Bremen, MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences and Faculty of GeosciencesFil: Oliveros, Verónica. Universidad de Concepción, Chile, Departamento de Ciencias de la TierraFil: Valencia, Victor. Washington State University, USAFil: Folguera, Andrés. Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber" (IDEAN)Geochemical and geochronological data reveal that late Oligocene‐early Miocene time is a break point in the evolution of Andean magmatism. The Patagonian Andes registered the onset of arc volcanism since the late Eocene forming part of the El Maitén Belt, whose development was driven by the subduction of the Farallon/Nazca plates beneath the Andean margin. During the Oligocene, the El Maitén Belt shows a change in the geochemical signature of its magmas from tholeiitic to calc‐alkaline compositions, reflecting a more mature stage in the magmatic arc evolution. Toward the early Miocene, a striking event is registered in Andean volcanic sequences as mafic tholeiitic lava flows of the El Maitén are interbedded with marine deposits, suggesting their development in the context of a fast subsiding regime. Geochemical analyses presented in this paper show that these rocks resemble enriched mid‐ocean ridge basalt‐like and ocean island basalt compositions, isotopically depleted, which strongly contrast with previous arc products. By this time, a global plate reorganization event had caused an increase in convergence rates, accelerated rollback, and a more orthogonal geometry of subduction, triggering widespread magmatism and the development of extensional basins in the overriding plate. Arc‐related volcanism during the early Miocene can be found only in the western slope of the Andes, suggesting the retreat of the volcanic front toward the trench. The proposed model highlights a strong linkage between the geochemical signature of magmatic products and changes in the subduction zone configuration and mantle dynamics during the evolution of the Patagonian Andes (41–44°S).Los datos geoquímicos y geocronológicos revelan que el Oligoceno tardío-Mioceno temprano es un punto de quiebre en la evolución del magmatismo andino. Los Andes Patagónicos registraron el inicio del vulcanismo de arco desde el Eoceno tardío formando parte del Cinturón El Maitén, cuyo desarrollo fue impulsado por la subducción de las placas Farallón / Nazca debajo del margen andino. Durante el Oligoceno, el Cinturón El Maitén muestra un cambio en la signatura geoquímica de sus magmas de composición toleítica a calco-alcalina, reflejando una etapa más madura en la evolución del arco magmático. Hacia el Mioceno temprano se registra un evento llamativo en las secuencias volcánicas andinas, ya que flujos de lava toleítica máfica de El Maitén están intercalados con depósitos marinos, lo que sugiere su desarrollo en el contexto de un régimen de rápida subsidencia. Los análisis geoquímicos presentados en este documento muestran que estas rocas se asemejan a composiciones de basalto de de dorsales oceánicas y de islas oceánicas, isotópicamente empobrecidas, que contrastan fuertemente con los productos de arco anteriores. En ese momento, un evento de reorganización global de la placa habría provocado un aumento en las tasas de convergencia, un retroceso acelerado y una geometría de subducción más ortogonal, lo que provocó un magmatismo generalizado y el desarrollo de cuencas extensionales en la placa superior. El volcanismo relacionado con el arco durante el Mioceno temprano se puede encontrar sólo en la vertiente occidental de los Andes, lo que sugiere el retroceso del frente volcánico hacia la trinchera. El modelo propuesto destaca un fuerte vínculo entre la firma geoquímica de los productos magmáticos y los cambios en la configuración de la zona de subducción y la dinámica del manto durante la evolución de los Andes Patagónicos (41–44 ° S)

Cretaceous deformation of the southern Central Andes: synorogenic growth strata in the Neuquén Group (35° 300–37° S)

The Neuquén Group is an Upper Cretaceous continental sedimentary unit exhumed during the latest Miocene contractional phase occurred in the southern Central Andes, allowing a direct field observation and study of the depositional geometries. The identification of growth strata on these units surrounding the structures of the frontal parts of the Andes, sedimentological analyses and U–Pb dating of detrital components, allowed the definition of a synorogenic unit that coexisted with the uplift of the early Andean orogen since ca. 100 Ma, maximum age obtained in this work, compatible with previous assignments and constrained in the top by the deposition of the Malarg€ue Group, in the Maastrichtian (ca. 72 Ma). The definition of a wedge top area in this foreland basin system, where growth strata were described, permitted to identify a Late Cretaceous orogenic front and foredeep area, whose location and amplitude contrast with previous hypotheses. This wedge top area was mostly fed from the paleo-Andes with small populations coming from sources in the cratonic area that are interpreted as a recycling in Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sections, which contrasts with other analyses performed at the foredeep zone that have mixed sources. In particular, Permian sources are interpreted as coming directly from the cores of the basement structures, where Neopaleozoic sections are exposed, next to the synorogenic sedimentation, implying a strong incision in Late Cretaceous times with an exhumation structural level similar to the present. The maximum recognised advance for this Late Cretaceous deformation in the study area is approximately 500 km east of the Pacific trench, which constitutes an anomaly compared with neighbour segments where Late Cretaceous deformations were found considerably retracted. The geodynamic context of the sedimentation of this unit is interpreted as produced under the westward fast moving of South America, colliding with two consecutive mid-ocean ridges during a period of important plate reorganisation. The subduction of young, anhydrous, buoyant lithosphere would have produced changes in the subduction geometry, reflected first by an arc waning/gap and subsequently by an arc migration that coexisted with synorogenic sedimentation. These magmatic and deformational processes would be the product of a shallow subduction regime, following previous proposals, which occurred in Late Cretaceous times, synchronous to the sedimentation of the Neuqu en Group.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Structure and seismogenic activity of the broken foreland to the south of the Chilean-Pampean flat subduction zone: The San Rafael Block

Andean broken foreland zones, located to the east of the highest Andes, are associated with populated areas and sedimentary basins with relative economic importance. Understanding their seismogenic potential is crucial for urban development and infrastructure planning. In particular, the San Rafael Block is part of the broken foreland developed to the south of the Chilean-Pampean flat subduction zone. A local seismic network allows analyzing the seismogenic potential of the San Rafael Block. Earthquake distribution suggests a northeast-dipping ramp rooting at the lower crust, cropping out at the western topographic front of the basement uplift. Gravity data confirm the asymmetry of the San Rafael block with a western topographic front associated with the main structure that exhumes the basement. Seismological and gravity data allow proposing a west-verging structure, contrary to previous interpretations based on surficial structural data. The results presented here identify the highest shallow seismogenic potential on the western side of the block, near the El Nihuil dam, and only deep events at the eastern neotectonic front which allegedly hosted historical earthquake occurrences such as the Villa Atuel-Las Malvinas earthquake in 1929.Fil: Olivar, Julián Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Nacif Suvire, Silvina Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Gimenez, Mario Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Heit, Benjamin. German Research Centre for Geosciences; AlemaniaFil: Fennell, Lucas Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Folguera Telichevsky, Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; Argentin

Sudden alteration in the seismic behavior of the Domuyo volcanic complex in the southern volcanic backarc zone, Argentina

The Domuyo volcanic complex (DVC) and its geothermal field in the retroarc zone of the southern Central Andes of Argentina present reduced seismicity according to different catalogs (USGS and INPRES). However, in 2015/2016, a local project was carried out in the area to describe its seismo-volcanic activity, registering a large number of volcano-tectonic (VT) events (538 VT). Considering there is scarce information on these events, this study focuses on analyzing the Domuyo Volcanic Complex (DVC) to assess its seismicity. Therefore, we installed a local seismological network in the study area and compared results with data registered by other authors. Four seismological networks were used, to obtain a more precise location of the seismic events and calculate the focal mechanisms of earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 2. For the first record of crustal seismicity detected by INPRES the September 10th, 2016 with a Ml 3.3, we calculated the focal mechanism with two possible solutions: a thrust solution with a strike component and a favored normal solution with a strike component. Additionally, we relocated the largest event in the Domuyo region on March 27th, 2019, with a magnitude of 4.4 (NEIC – USGS) and focal mechanism with a normal solution and a small strike component, obtaining a shallower depth of 3.9 km instead of 10 km. The new seismological data used in this paper, correspond to September 10th 2016, and two different time periods, the first comprising continuous data from March to April 2019, when the largest registered earthquake occurred in the Domuyo region, and the second from December 2019 to January 2021. At these periods, registered seismicity had magnitudes Ml between 1.9 and 2.8, and focal depths between 1.8 and 5.2 km. Four of these events count with focal mechanisms with extensional and limited strike-slip components that are tentatively linked to the known neotectonic structures affecting the western slope of the DVC. This seismic sequence agrees with previous proposals in which degasification from a magmatic body at shallow depths constitutes the trigger factor.Fil: Godoy, Laura Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Nacif Suvire, Silvina Valeria. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Nacif, Andres Antonio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Christiansen, Rodolfo Omar. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Álvarez, Orlando. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Gimenez, Mario Ernesto. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Folguera, Andrés. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Geologicas. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; Argentin