Scientists Head to Canterbury to Study Quake Impacts

Scientists from GNS Science, Victoria University of Wellington and Stanford University in the US are heading to Canterbury to join colleagues from Canterbury University to deploy about 40 portable earthquake instruments to record aftershocks in the wake of today's magnitude 7.1 quake near Darfield.

The GNS Science contingent hopes to have most of their portable instruments deployed around Canterbury by Sunday night. This will mean approaching landowners and seeking permission, as they hope to place some of the instruments on private land. They will be concentrating their deployment on the areas where most of the aftershocks have already occurred.

The battery-powered instruments will be left unattended for about three weeks to record aftershocks. Seismologists study aftershock sequences to find out more about the mechanics of the main shock, and to ascertain if stress in the earth's crust has been transferred onto other faults in the region.

Scientists will also study satellite data to investigate surface deformation in Canterbury as a result of the earthquake. Geologists from GNS Science are travelling to Canterbury to investigate the geological and environmental impacts of the quake, and to undertake a detailed ground study.

Engineering seismologists from GNS Science will join colleagues from the Building Research Association of NZ and Canterbury and Auckland Universities to investigate the impacts on buildings and infrastructure in Canterbury to find out how different construction types performed.

The information they gather will be fed into the engineering community to help ensure structures are built appropriately to cope with stresses caused by strong ground shaking. It will also help as older buildings and structures are retro-fitted to improve their ability to withstand earthquake shaking.

Much of the scientific response to the earthquake is being co-ordinated under the GNS Science-led Natural Hazards Research Platform, set up by the government a year ago to provide long-term funding for natural hazards research.

Manager of the Platform, Kelvin Berryman, said post-earthquake reconnaissance was one of the roles of the Platform, as well as developing quantitative estimates of earthquake, volcano, landslide, tsunami, flood, snow, and wind hazards in New Zealand.

"We have an obligation to learn as much as we can from this event to help improve our understanding of earthquakes and their impact on society, and to help ensure that New Zealand is well prepared for future earthquakes," Dr Berryman said.

ENDS

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