Our work in Chile has focused on reconstructing earthquake and tsunami histories over the historical and prehistoric period. Our studies span the Chilean subduction zone from the La Serena area in north-central Chile, to the metropolitan coast of central Chile, to the area of the 1960 and 2010 CE earthquakes and tsunamis in south-central and southern Chile. Our studies have shed light on the behavior of the subduction zone over thousands of year timescales. We have also been involved in developing a Holocene sea-level database for the Chilean coast.
Our work in Chile continues, with ongoing projects on characterizing the 2015 earthquake using tsunami deposits, investigating the 1730 CE rupture in central Chile, and reconstructing millennial-timescale earthquake and tsunami records in southern Chile.
Collaborators on Chile projects include Lisa Ely, Marco Cisternas, Rob Wesson, Bre MacInnes, Benjamin Horton, Alan Nelson, Ed Garrett, Jessica Pilarczyk, Isabel Hong
Our work in Chile continues, with ongoing projects on characterizing the 2015 earthquake using tsunami deposits, investigating the 1730 CE rupture in central Chile, and reconstructing millennial-timescale earthquake and tsunami records in southern Chile.
Collaborators on Chile projects include Lisa Ely, Marco Cisternas, Rob Wesson, Bre MacInnes, Benjamin Horton, Alan Nelson, Ed Garrett, Jessica Pilarczyk, Isabel Hong
Chile Publications
Matos-Llavona, P.I., Ely, L.L., MacInnes, B., Dura, T., Cisternas, M.A., Bourgeois, J., Bruce, D., DePaolis, J., Dolcimascolo, A.R., Melnick, D., Nelson, A.R., Szeliga, W., Wesson, R.L., 2022. The giant 1960 tsunami in the context of a 6000-year record of paleotsunamis and coastal evolution in southern Chile. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms special volume on earthquake geomorphology. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5363
DePaolis, J.M., Dura, T., MacInnes, B., Ely, L.L., Cisternas, M., Carvajal, M., Tang, H., Fritz, H.M., Mizobe, C., Wesson, R.L. and Figueroa, G., 2021. Stratigraphic evidence of two historical tsunamis on the semi-arid coast of north-central Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews, 266, p.107052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107052
Garrett, E, Melnick, D., Dura, T., Cisternas, M., Ely, L., Wesson, R., Jara-muñoz, and Whitehouse, P., 2020. Holocene relative sea-level change along the tectonically active Chilean coast. Quaternary Science Reviews, 236, p. 106281, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106281
Dura, T., Horton, B.P., Cisternas, M., Hong, I., Ely, L.L., Nelson, A.R., Wesson, R.L., Pilarczyk, J., Parnell, A.C., Nikitina, D., 2017. Subduction zone slip variability during the last millennium, south-central Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews, 175, 112-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.08.023
Cisternas, M., Garrett, E., Wesson, R., Dura, T., and Ely, L.L, 2017. Unusual geologic evidence of coeval seismic shaking and tsunamis shows variability in earthquake size and recurrence in the area of the giant 1960 Chile earthquake. Marine Geology, 385, 101-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2016.12.007
Hong, I., Dura, T., Ely, L.L., Horton, B.P., Nelson, A.R., Cisternas, M., Nikitina,D., and Wesson, R.L., 2017. A 600-year long stratigraphic record of tsunamis in south-central Chile. The Holocene, 27(1), 39-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683616646191
Dura, T., Cisternas, M., Horton, B. P., Ely, L. L., Nelson, A. R., Wesson, R. L., and Pilarczyk, J. E., 2015. Coastal evidence for Holocene subduction-zone earthquakes and tsunamis in central Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews, 113, 93-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.10.015
Ely, L., Cisternas, M., Wesson, R., Dura, T., 2014. Five centuries of tsunamis and land-level changes at the overlap between the rupture areas of the 1960 and 2010 Chilean earthquakes, Geology 42(11)995-998. https://doi.org/10.1130/G35830.1
DePaolis, J.M., Dura, T., MacInnes, B., Ely, L.L., Cisternas, M., Carvajal, M., Tang, H., Fritz, H.M., Mizobe, C., Wesson, R.L. and Figueroa, G., 2021. Stratigraphic evidence of two historical tsunamis on the semi-arid coast of north-central Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews, 266, p.107052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107052
Garrett, E, Melnick, D., Dura, T., Cisternas, M., Ely, L., Wesson, R., Jara-muñoz, and Whitehouse, P., 2020. Holocene relative sea-level change along the tectonically active Chilean coast. Quaternary Science Reviews, 236, p. 106281, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106281
Dura, T., Horton, B.P., Cisternas, M., Hong, I., Ely, L.L., Nelson, A.R., Wesson, R.L., Pilarczyk, J., Parnell, A.C., Nikitina, D., 2017. Subduction zone slip variability during the last millennium, south-central Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews, 175, 112-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.08.023
Cisternas, M., Garrett, E., Wesson, R., Dura, T., and Ely, L.L, 2017. Unusual geologic evidence of coeval seismic shaking and tsunamis shows variability in earthquake size and recurrence in the area of the giant 1960 Chile earthquake. Marine Geology, 385, 101-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2016.12.007
Hong, I., Dura, T., Ely, L.L., Horton, B.P., Nelson, A.R., Cisternas, M., Nikitina,D., and Wesson, R.L., 2017. A 600-year long stratigraphic record of tsunamis in south-central Chile. The Holocene, 27(1), 39-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683616646191
Dura, T., Cisternas, M., Horton, B. P., Ely, L. L., Nelson, A. R., Wesson, R. L., and Pilarczyk, J. E., 2015. Coastal evidence for Holocene subduction-zone earthquakes and tsunamis in central Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews, 113, 93-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.10.015
Ely, L., Cisternas, M., Wesson, R., Dura, T., 2014. Five centuries of tsunamis and land-level changes at the overlap between the rupture areas of the 1960 and 2010 Chilean earthquakes, Geology 42(11)995-998. https://doi.org/10.1130/G35830.1