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The 2014 Iquique event was not the earthquake that had been expected to fill the regional seismic gap; given that significant sections of the northern Chile subduction zone have not ruptured in almost 150 years, it is likely that future megathrust earthquakes will occur south and potentially north of the 2014 Iquique sequence. 2014 Iquique earthquake examined Two groups publishing in this issue of Nature analyse the seismic context of the Iquique earthquake that occurred off the coast of northern Chile on 1 April 2014 in a seismic zone that had been quiescent since a significant event in 1877. Gavin Hayes et al. identify areas of remaining or elevated earthquake hazard along the megathrust fault in the region, and conclude that the 2014 Iquique event was not the earthquake that had been anticipated. Given that significant sections of the northern Chile subduction zone have not ruptured in almost 150 years, they suggest that it is likely that future megathrust earthquakes will occur south and potentially north of the 2014 Iquique sequence. Bernd Schurr et al. show that the April 2014 earthquake broke a central fraction of the 'northern Chile seismic gap', the last major segment of the South American plate boundary that had yet to rupture in the past century. From July 2013 up to the April earthquake they identify three seismic clusters along this part of the plate boundary, each lasting a few weeks, with earthquakes of increasing peak magnitudes. They conclude that these seismic clusters and their slip transients reflect a gradual weakening of the central part of the seismic gap that was instrumental in initiating the final failure. The seismic gap theory.sup.1 identifies regions of elevated hazard based on a lack of recent seismicity in comparison with other portions of a fault. It has successfully explained past earthquakes (see, for example, ref. 2) and is useful for qualitatively describing where large earthquakes might occur. A large earthquake had been expected in the subduction zone adjacent to northern Chile.sup.3,4,5,6, which had not ruptured in a megathrust earthquake since a M ~8.8 event in 1877. On 1 April 2014 a M 8.2 earthquake occurred within this seismic gap. Here we present an assessment of the seismotectonics of the March-April 2014 Iquique sequence, including analyses of earthquake relocations, moment tensors, finite fault models, moment deficit calculations and cumulative Coulomb stress transfer. This ensemble of information allows us to place the sequence within the context of regional seismicity and to identify areas of remaining and/or elevated hazard. Our results constrain the size and spatial extent of rupture, and indicate that this was not the earthquake that had been anticipated. Significant sections of the northern Chile subduction zone have not ruptured in almost 150 years, so it is likely that future megathrust earthquakes will occur to the south and potentially to the north of the 2014 Iquique sequence., Author(s): Gavin P. Hayes [sup.1] , Matthew W. Herman [sup.2] , William D. Barnhart [sup.1] , Kevin P. Furlong [sup.2] , Sebástian Riquelme [sup.3] , Harley M. Benz [sup.1] , [...]

A devastating tsunami struck Palu Bay in the wake of the 28 September 2018 Mw = 7.5 Palu earthquake (Sulawesi, Indonesia). With a predominantly strike‐slip mechanism, the question remains whether this unexpected tsunami was generated by the earthquake itself, or rather by earthquake‐induced landslides. In this study we examine the tsunami potential of the co‐seismic deformation. To this end, we present a novel geodetic data set of Global Positioning System and multiple Synthetic Aperture Radar‐derived displacement fields to estimate a 3D co‐seismic surface deformation field. The data reveal a number of fault bends, conforming to our interpretation of the tectonic setting as a transtensional basin. Using a Bayesian framework, we provide robust finite fault solutions of the co‐seismic slip distribution, incorporating several scenarios of tectonically feasible fault orientations below the bay. These finite fault scenarios involve large co‐seismic uplift (>2 m) below the bay due to thrusting on a restraining fault bend that connects the offshore continuation of two parallel onshore fault segments. With the co‐seismic displacement estimates as input we simulate a number of tsunami cases. For most locations for which video‐derived tsunami waveforms are available our models provide a qualitative fit to leading wave arrival times and polarity. The modeled tsunamis explain most of the observed runup. We conclude that co‐seismic deformation was the main driver behind the tsunami that followed the Palu earthquake. Our unique geodetic data set constrains vertical motions of the sea floor, and sheds new light on the tsunamigenesis of strike‐slip faults in transtensional basins. Plain Language Summary: The 28 September Palu earthquake ruptured the Palu‐Koro fault in NW Sulawesi, Indonesia, and was followed by a devastating tsunami in Palu Bay. As the Palu‐Koro fault accommodates mostly horizontal motion, many studies proposed that sub‐marine landslides, rather than the earthquake itself, triggered the tsunami. This study focuses on the contribution of the earthquake to sea floor displacements. We present a unique geodetic data set and estimate a high‐resolution 3D displacement field. The rupture is not a straight feature in the landscape, but rather contains bends. It is near those bends that significant vertical displacements occurred. From the onshore geodetic data we infer another fault bend below Palu Bay. Estimations of fault slip for several scenarios of offshore fault geometries point to a few meters of sea floor uplift. We use these slip models as input for tsunami models, and can qualitatively explain the observations of tsunami runup heights and video‐based tsunami arrival times around Palu Bay. Only at a few locations our models cannot explain tsunami observations, which leaves open the contribution of other possible sources to the tsunami locally. The Palu case underlines the potential importance of fault bends to tsunami generation for similar tectonic settings around the world. Key Points: New Global Positioning System observations as part of a geodetic solution for the full 3D onshore co‐seismic displacements of the 2018 Palu earthquakeBelow Palu Bay we find a strong indication of dip‐slip on a fault bend, agreeing with the notion of Palu Valley being a transtensional basinA large part of the tsunami, both in terms of arrival times and runup heights, can be explained by co‐seismic slip [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]