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Having had a close up look to the surface trace of the Wairarapa Fault (see recent post here), I thought it would be interesting to find out the latest about what such a major geological structure looks like below the earth’s surface. Stuart Henrys and colleagues at Victoria University, the University of Tokyo, Japan, and […]
Imaging the Crust beneath Wellington Read More »
The Wairarapa Fault is one of New Zealand’s large active faults running along the eastern edge of the Rimutaka range from Palliser Bay north into the Wairarapa. It was responsible for the massive magnitude 8.2 earthquake that violently shook the lower North Island in 1855 in New Zealand’s largest historically recorded ‘quake. This Google Earth
Wairarapa Fault – the Biggest Rupture on Earth Read More »
GNS Science and Waikato University are investigating one thousand of the geothermal hot springs in New Zealand’s North Island. The goal of this ambitious 1000 Springs Research Project is to understand and compare the microbiology of these springs along with their physical and chemical make-up. That adds up to a lot of sampling trips, processing
1000 Geothermal Springs Read More »
Hooker Valley rockfall. – Simon Cox / GNS Science On the evening of Monday 14th July there was a large rockfall from the western slopes of Mount Cook into the Hooker Valley. Staff from the Department of Conservation and GNS Scientist Simon Cox flew over the area to make assessments of the impact. The first photo shows
Mount Cook Rockfall Read More »
The Alpine Fault forms the plate boundary in New Zealand’s South Island, and is a very significant fault on a global scale. It last ruptured in 1717 AD and appears to produce large earthquakes on average every 330 years. Its next rupture has a high probability (28%) of occurring in the next 50 years. Each
Drilling into New Zealand’s most dangerous fault Read More »
This is a classic view of the Southern Alps from Lake Matheson on a still morning, showing the high peaks of Mount Tasman and Mount Cook.The Alpine Fault runs along the foot of the steep rangefront, extending right up the West Coast of the South Island. The mountains are therefore part of the Pacific Plate
Stepping Over the Boundary Read More »
A visit to Fox Glacier shows that changes over the last 5 years are similar to those at the Franz Josef Glacier. Here is a view of the Fox Glacier front in 2009: And this year (March 2014): The terminal face from another angle in 2009… …and as it was recently in 2014. The grass
Franz Josef Glacier 2009 – Julian Thomson GNS Science Recently I visited the West Coast Glaciers and was interested to see their condition after my last visit 5 years ago in 2009. Franz Josef 2009- Photo Eric Burger These photos give and immediate comparison of Franz Josef Glacier over the last 5 years: In 2009 the
Franz Josef Ice on the Retreat Read More »
This week I have been with Cornel de Ronde and a group of ocean floor researchers applying more of their methods to expand the large amount of research of Lake Rotomahana done over recent years. This is the lake that used to be decorated by the famous Pink and White Terraces. It was excavated by
The Hot Bed of Rotomahana Read More »
Some images I took this morning, on an early walk through Christchurch City Centre. I offer my best wishes to the folk of Christchurch and other Canterbury towns who are still patiently rebuilding their livelihoods, three years on from the 22nd February 2011 aftershock. We Remember:
Christchurch City Centre, Three Years On Read More »