YEPES , H.

The Colombia–Ecuador subduction zone is an exceptional natural laboratory to study the seismic cycle associated with large and great subduction earthquakes. Since the great 1906 Mw = 8.6 Colombia–Ecuador earthquake, four large Mw > 7.5 megathrust earthquakes occurred within the 1906 rupture area, releasing altogether a cumulative seismic moment...

The North Ecuadorian-South Colombian subduction zone was the site of the 1906 Mw 8.8 megathrust earthquake. This main shock was followed by three large events in 1942, 1958, and 1979 whose rupture zones were located within the 500 km long 1906 rupture area. A combined onshore and offshore temporary seismic network covering from the trench to...

We present a comprehensive probabilistic seismic hazard study for Ecuador, a country exposed to a high seismic hazard from megathrust subduction earthquakes and moderate‐to‐large shallow crustal earthquakes. Building on knowledge gained during the last decade about historical and contemporary seismicity, active tectonics, geodynamics, and...

The present study is focused on estimating the probabilistic seismic hazard for the capital city of Ecuador, Quito, the population of which currently exceeds 2 million inhabitants at present. Quito is located at 2800 meters above sea level within the Interandean Depression, bounded by the equatorial line to the north, in an earthquake‐prone...

Building a unified and homogeneous earthquake catalog is a preliminary step for estimating probabilistic seismic hazard in a country. Ecuador, a territory of ∼600 km×500 km, is characterized by an active seismicity, both in the shallow crust and in the subduction zone. Several international and local earthquake catalogs are available, covering...

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A megathrust subduction earthquake (Mw 7.8) struck the coast of Ecuador on 16 April 2016 at 23:58 UTC. This earthquake is one of the best‐recorded megathrust events to date. Besides the mainshock, two large aftershocks have been recorded on 18 May 2016 at 7:57 (Mw 6.7) and 16:46 (Mw 6.9). These data make a significant contribution for...

The Quito Fault System (QFS) extends over 60km along the Interandean Depression in northern Ecuador. Multidisciplinary studies support an interpretation in which two major contemporaneous fault systems affect Quaternary volcanoclastic deposits. Hanging paleovalleys and disruption of drainage networks attest to ongoing crustal deformation and...

We document a 1 week long slow slip event (SSE) with an equivalent moment magnitude of 6.0-6.3 which occurred in August 2010 below La Plata Island (Ecuador), south of the rupture area of the 1906 Mw = 8.8 megathrust earthquake. GPS data reveal that the SSE occurred at a depth of about 10 km, within the downdip part of a shallow (<15 km),...

Large earthquakes are usually assumed to release all of the strain accumulated since the previous event, implying a reduced seismic hazard after them. However, long records of seismic history at several subduction zones suggest supercycle behaviour, where centuries-long accumulated strain is released through clustered large earthquakes,...

International audience

A dense GPS network deployed in Ecuador reveals a highly heterogeneous pattern of interseismic coupling confined in the first 35 km depth of the contact between the subducting oceanic Nazca plate and the North Andean Sliver. Interseismic models indicate that the coupling is weak and very shallow (0-15 km) in south Ecuador and increases...