Ecological implications of extreme events: footprints of the 2010 earthquake along the Chilean coast.

ABSTRACT: Deciphering ecological effects of major catastrophic events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, storms and fires, requires rapid interdisciplinary efforts often hampered by a lack of pre-event data. Using results of intertidal surveys conducted shortly before and immediately after Chile's 2010 M(w) 8.8 earthquake along the entire rupture zone (ca. 34-38°S), we provide the first quantification of earthquake and tsunami effects on sandy beach ecosystems. Our study incorporated anthropogenic coastal development as a key design factor. Ecological responses of beach ecosystems were strongly affected by the magnitude of land-level change. Subsidence along the northern rupture segment combined with tsunami-associated disturbance and drowned beaches. In contrast, along the co-seismi

SUBMITTER: Jaramillo E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3342270 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature