Dr. Joaquín Cortés (Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, University of Concepción, Chile)
Joaquín Cortés Aranda is a geologist and holds a PhD in Geological Sciences from Universidad Católica del Norte (Chile, 2013) and Université Paul Sabatier (France, 2013). He completed postdoctoral research at CIGIDEN (Chile, 2013) and ISTerre (France, 2014–2016), and he is currently an Associate Professor at Universidad de Concepción (Chile). His research focuses on the activity of crustal faults in the Chilean Andes and their geomorphological expression. He has authored 26 Web of Science-indexed publications and has supervised and co-supervised undergraduate and graduate theses. He is Co-Director of an ANILLO project on Andean salars and Principal Investigator of a Fondecyt Regular project focused on paleoseismology and neotectonics in central Chile.
His work contributes to understanding recent deformation driven by crustal faults, their role in shaping the Andean landscape, and their seismogenic potential.
Abstract
This lecture will present results from research aimed at characterizing neotectonic deformation driven by crustal faults in the Chilean Andes. These results, derived from both published and ongoing studies, integrate field observations, digital topography analysis, and Quaternary geochronology techniques (OSL and ¹⁴C), among other approaches. This evidence will be discussed to evaluate the role of crustal faults in shaping the Andean landscape and their seismogenic potential. Case studies include faults in the Coastal Forearc (18°S–23°S, 34°S, and 37°S), faults between the Precordillera and the Western Cordillera at 23°S, faults along the Central Valley–Western Cordillera boundary between 35°S and 37°S, and intrarc faults between 38°S and 40°S. The aim of this keynote is to provide an updated synthesis of the state of the art in crustal fault neotectonics in Chile, highlighting recent advances, methodological limitations, and future challenges for integrated studies within the South American context.
