Preliminary SZGC Results NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE by Dr. G. Hayes, NEIC

According to Dr. Gavin Hayes, supported by National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) of United States Geological Survey (USGS), a key step in many earthquake source inversions requires knowledge of the geometry of the fault on which the earthquake occurred.

Read Dr. G. Hayes' article at USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program.

In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's crust, as the plates converge. A subduction zone is an area on Earth where two tectonic plates move towards one another and subduction occurs. Rates of subduction are typically measured in centimeters per year, with the average rate of convergence being approximately 2 to 8 centimeters per year (about the rate a fingernail grows).

Subduction zones involve an oceanic plate sliding beneath either a continental plate or another oceanic plate.

Subduction zones are often noted for their high rates of volcanism, earthquakes, and mountain building. This is because subduction processes result in melt of the mantle that produces a volcanic arc as relatively lighter rock is forcibly submerged. Source: Wikipedia, Subduction.