This MRI award will provide funding to establish a network of ten first-order geophysical observatories, with co-located broadband seismic, strong motion, infrasound, barometric pressure and meteorological (temperature, pressure, wind speed and direction, precipitation and relative humidity) sensors at approximately 350 km spacing along the length of Chile, in one of the world's most dynamic geosystems. This backbone network, coupled with planned upgrades to the Chilean National Seismic System, will form the basis for improved understanding of the structure and dynamics of the boundary between the Nazca and South American plates; the origin of large subduction zone earthquakes; pre-, co- and post-seismic deformation; earthquake activity throughout Chile, South America and the southeastern Pacific; comparative studies with subduction zones in similar tectonic settings; infrasound signals from regional Andean volcanoes and other atmospheric disturbances; and atmospheric dynamics between the western edge of the Andean Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
This collaborative effort between the IRIS Consortium and the University of Chile, with a commitment to free and open distribution of all data, will stimulate opportunities for enhanced research and education across fundamental geoscience disciplines and in hazard mitigation. This collaborative effort in infrastructure development establishes a promising model for the engagement of the US academic community in the development of modern observational systems, which may be emulated in neighboring parts of South America and throughout the world.
