SAN DIEGO -- It was an eight-day journey to study the rupture zone of the Chile quake and how tsunamis are formed. And now researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography are analyzing the data they collected.

Researchers told 10News that a Scripps ship was already in Chile when the magnitude 8.8 quake hit the area. A map of the area they studied was created 10 years ago and they say the most interesting part will be comparing their findings.

Last month's quake caused structural damage to the area but it created a research opportunity for local scientists.

This type of trip normally takes months to organize but a team from Scripps Institution of Oceanography was able to launch just two weeks after the quake because their ship was close to the devastation. The team took the opportunity to do their research and traveled to Chile to study the changes in the sea floor.

Scientists used a high-tech sonar mapping system to study the faults on the sea floor and look for changes. They are now analyzing what they found and will soon compare their results with a map created a decade ago to see if there are any major differences.

"[One of] The most unique aspects of this trip is the precision map that existed before the quake," Research Geophysicist Dave Chadwell said.

If researchers find shifting of the sea floor or underwater landslides it could help them understand how tsunamis are created.

The trip was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Scripps researchers worked with Chilean and German scientists

Scientists say this research will help them plan for future events. "As scientists we've never had the chance to take advantage of that before following a large quake," Chadwell said.

Scripps researchers said they will release their data in the next few weeks.