Tremor strike in southern Chile raises fears of possible next earthquake

A series of various earthquakes in Chile has raised concern among national scientists, who believe that the south of the country is entering a new phase of energy accumulation this could be a “clue” of an earthquake in the future.

The information was presented by the professor of the Department of Geophysics of the University of Concepción Marcos Moreno, after Tuesday, an earthquake of 6.6 degrees shook two regions of the country.

The earthquake happened at 10 a.m. and shook the BioBío and Ñuble regions, located in southern Chile. Its epicenter was located at 159 kilometers northwest of Lebu City and its hypocenter was 10 kilometers deep.

For Marcos Moreno, the 8.8 degree mega-earthquake that rocked all of southern and central Chile in February 2010, triggered a process of energy release that still occurs today. “After the 2010 earthquake a process occurs where the energy product of a large earthquake is still released somewhat and there’s a formation called post-earthquake, which lasts for many years, ”Moreno said.

After this process “the system must be re-coupled, it must again accumulate energy and prepare for other future earthquakes. It’s a cyclical process, ”Moreno warned.

This way, what could happen in these parts of southern Chile according to the scientist “it is the proof that this process of recoupling of the plates is in progress” which could be a swarm of earthquakes linked to aftershocks of the 2010 earthquake, or a new phase in which energy begins to build up and release for a possible future earthquake.

“In that sense, what is happening in this region is proof that this plate re-coupling process is underway. It is probably a small seismic swarm, it is not known if it could be a late aftershock of the 2010 earthquake. or it would already be a proof that this part, which is Concepción and the Arauco peninsula, once again they enter a phase in which the energy begins to accumulate and release, setting the stage for an upcoming earthquake, ”Moreno said.

The scientist also added that the Arauco peninsula, Llico, Lebu and the island of Santa María “display abnormal characteristics “ and that this “They are not seen in other areas that were affected by the 2010 earthquake.”

“This area shrank, after the earthquake, by almost 30 centimeters, so this is an indication and this part is being compressed and slowly moving towards Argentina, then it is obvious that this area is affected by the coupling and the collision of the two plates, energy accumulates. This earthquake that occurred today would be proof that this segment is already starting to release energy, ”Moreno said.

So far there have been 9 aftershocks in Lebu, in the Biobío region, the area of ​​the epicenter of the earthquake on Tuesday.

Swarm in Los Vilos?

Like little a series of earthquakes also affected the region of Los Vilos, located in the region of Coquimbo, 231 kilometers north of Santiago. In the past week and only in three days About forty earthquakes have been recorded in this area. The most powerful of them was recorded on Monday, September 13, reaching 4.8 degrees.

For the Deputy Director of the National Seismology Center, Mario Pardo the earthquake of Monday, September 13 “we can consider it as the most important earthquake that has occurred in recent days and the rest are aftershocks of this main event, ”which should not at first glance be viewed as a seismic swarm.

“No, if there is one event that can be distinguished from the rest, it is because it is not a swarm. In a swarm, they all look alike. If there is one bigger than the others, they are said to be precursors or replicas of the main event “Pardo told T13.

For the expert the region of Los Vilos has a higher frequency of earthquakes when considered with other areas of Chile. “This is because there is more roughness (surface irregularities) in the contact between the plates and more stress builds up and dissipates in small earthquakes. But this is being analyzed and there is a lot to study in Chile “said Pardo.

Finally, the expert called to be attentive to earthquakes and to prepare for any circumstance, but not to be too alarmed. “We should not be alarmed, but we must always be vigilant,” concluded Pardo.

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