Numerical Simulation of the 2018 Yauca Peru Earthquake and Tsunami (Mw 7.1) to Obtain the Slip Distribution

Jimenez C.; Luna N.; Adriano B. · Pure and Applied Geophysics (2026) · DOI: 10.1007/s00024-026-03949-6

Resumen

In this research, the rupture process and characteristics of the seismic source of the Yauca-Arequipa earthquake occurred on January 14, 2018 was studied using the teleseismic waveform inversion method from stations of the Global Seismographic Network. The teleseismic inversion results indicates a complex or multiple rupture process with a total duration of around 50 s for a rupture velocity of 2.0 km/s. The focal mechanism was of the reverse fault type (strike = 310∘, dip = 46∘, rake = 76∘), according to the seismotectonic setting of the southern region of Peru. We notice that the rake shows a non-negligible oblique component. We have estimated the seismic moment as 4.84×1019 Nm, corresponding to a moment magnitude of Mw 7.1, for a focal depth of 29 km. The maximum slip was 1.22 m. As a coseismic effect, a small and local tsunami was triggered, the maximum observed amplitude at the Marcona station was around 17 cm and we obtained a maximum simulated amplitude of 17 cm for a constant rigidity of 6.4 ×1010 N/m2. It was necessary the issue of a tsunami “advisory” for the Peruvian coast. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos