In 2019, as part of the interdisciplinary DFG priority program SPP1803 „EarthShape - Earth Surface Shaping by Biota“, the DeepEarthShape project was launched. The main goal of this German-Chilean research initiative was to gain a broader understanding of the interaction between geological, geochemical and biological processes controlling the weathering in the first tens to hundred metres of the subsurface. The elongated Chilean Coastal Range was selected as the ideal study area to investigate the effects of vegetation, precipitation and erosion on the transformation of intact bedrock into regolith within the so-called critical zone (CZ). This area encompasses several climate zones, from dry to humid, within a similar geological complex. We have carried out a Radio-Magnetotelluric (RMT) survey using a horizontal magnetic dipole (HMD) transmitter to image the electrical resistivity distribution, the lateral extent of the near-surface layers and the CZ at two sites of the DeepEarthShape project - Santa Gracia and Nahuelbuta (shown in this data publication).

The Geophysical Instrument Pool Potsdam (GIPP) provides field instruments for (temporary) seismological studies (both controlled source and earthquake seismology) and for magnetotelluric (electromagnetic) experiments. The GIPP is operated by the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. The instrument facility is open for academic use. Instrument applications are evaluated and ranked by an external steering board. See Haberland and Ritter (2016) and https://www.gfz.de/gipp for more information.

The DFG Priority Program 1803 "EarthShape - Earth Surface Shaping by Biota" (2016-2022; https://www.earthshape.net/) explored between scientific disciplines and includes geoscientists and biologists to study from different viewpoints the complex question how microorganisms, animals, and plants influence the shape and development of the Earth’s surface over time scales from the present-day to the young geologic past. All study sites are located in the north-to-south trending Coastal Cordillera mountains of Chile, South America. These sites span from the Atacama Desert in the north to the Araucaria forests approximately 1300 km to the south. The site selection contains a large ecological and climate gradient ranging from very dry to humid climate conditions.