Articles | Volume 17, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-17-763-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-17-763-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 May 2026
Research article |
| 21 May 2026
| 21 May 2026
Distributed right-lateral strain at the northern boundary of the Quito-Latacunga microblock
Nicolas Harrichhausen
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, USA
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel, ISTerre, Grenoble, France
Léo Marconato
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel, ISTerre, Grenoble, France
Laurence Audin
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel, ISTerre, Grenoble, France
Pierre Lacan
Instituto de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Blvd. Juriquilla, 3001, 76230 Juriquilla, Querétaro, México
Géosciences Montpellier, University of Montpellier – CNRS, Montpellier, France
Stéphane Baize
Autorité de Sureté Nucléaire et de Radioprotection (ASNR), PSE-ENV/SCAN/BERSSIN, 92260, Fontenay aux Roses, France
Hervé Jomard
Autorité de Sureté Nucléaire et de Radioprotection (ASNR), PSE-ENV/SCAN/BERSSIN, 92260, Fontenay aux Roses, France
Alexandra Alvarado
Instituto Geofisico, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
James Hollingsworth
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel, ISTerre, Grenoble, France
Pierre-Henri Blard
CRPG, CNRS, Université de Lorraine, 54500, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France
Patricia Ann Mothes
Instituto Geofisico, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
Frédérique Rolandone
Sorbonne Université, CY, CNRS, ISTeP, Paris, France
Iván Dario Ortiz Martin
Servicio Geológico Colombiano, Bogotá, Colombia
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Paul R. Bierman, Andrew J. Christ, Catherine M. Collins, Halley M. Mastro, Juliana Souza, Pierre-Henri Blard, Stefanie Brachfeld, Zoe R. Courville, Tammy M. Rittenour, Elizabeth K. Thomas, Jean-Louis Tison, and François Fripiat
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Short summary
Tectonic plates can be broken into smaller blocks with deformation concentrated at their boundaries. We use remote sensing and field studies to investigate how faulting accommodates deformation at the northern boundary of the Quito-Latacunga microblock (Ecuador & Colombia). We show this boundary is a wide zone characterized by several parallel faults capable of hosting moderate to large (<M7) earthquakes, such as the one in 2022, and which may be influenced by nearby volcanism.
Tectonic plates can be broken into smaller blocks with deformation concentrated at their...
