Climbing Ngauruhoe from the South is well off the tourist route, and involves scrambling up unstable blocks of lava for about 700 vertical metres up the face of the cone. I chose to go up more or less up the centre of the view you can see here, and it took me about an hour […]
Ngauruhoe’s Far Side Read More »
Last weekend I went to camp and tramp in the Tama Lakes area on the saddle between Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe. These lakes were created by several explosion craters within the last ten thousand years giving them a circular or crescent form. The landscape is covered with blocks of lava and scoria as well as some
GNS Science volcanologists recently set up an experiment to test the seismic velocity of the rocks that make up White Island. Over the last few decades it has been New Zealand’s most active volcano and has produced minor eruptions in recent weeks. (For its present activity status click here.) Velocities of seismic waves through the Earth
Artificial Earthquakes on an Active Volcano Read More »
Last week I spent some time on Ruapehu with Bruno Cedat, a french documentary maker who is making a film about the geology and landscapes of New Zealand in collaboration with GNS Science. During the making of his film he has participated in challenging outdoor adventures such as climbing, caving and kayaking in a variety of
Filming on Ruapehu Read More »
Here is our video describing this years Rotomahana explorations – a hidden world come into view!
Seeing beneath the water and mud of Lake Rotomahana Read More »
Following last weeks’ multibeam sonar survey, the bed of Lake Rotomahana has now been mapped to a resolution of half a metre, bringing to light a mass of detail hitherto unknown to scientists. The first photo shows last year’s map which was made with the assistance of WHOI (Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institution). The resolution of
Rotomahana’s lake floor prompts many questions Read More »
By the end of this week, scientists hope to have a clearer picture of how the famous Pink and White Terraces look. Listen to the National Radio interview: (3′37″) Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 | Embed New Zealand Herald article on the project here
Scientists hope for picture of Pink and White Terraces soon Read More »
This week I am revisiting Lake Rotomahana with Cornel de Ronde and two surveyors from IXSurvey, Mark Matthews and Dave Mundy. Our first goal in this year’s research at the lake is to make the most detailed map possible of the lake floor. Next week we will use this detailed map to help us take
Rotomahana multibeam survey Read More »
On 10th June 1886, exactly 125 years ago today, Mount Tarawera erupted briefly and violently, resulting in the disappearance of the Pink and White Terraces of Rotomahana, and devastation of the landscape. The former lake disappeared and was slowly replaced by the much larger and deeper lake which remains to this day. This 1880 Charles
The White Terraces Reappear after 125 years Read More »
Our expedtion to explore the hydrothermal activity and mineralisation of the Kermadec arc volcanoes is now over. We arrived back in Auckland yesterday, after a successful three week research cruise. Amongst the discoveries that were made were areas of present day and ancient hydrothermal activity, relatively fresh lava flows from previously uninvestigated volcanic craters, and
Kermadec Arc Videos Read More »