Hidden earthquake-prone crust has been revealed in Southland

Researchers from the University of Otago have recorded earthquakes up to 40 kilometers deep in Southland, revealing evidence of hidden faults in one of the least seismically active areas in the country.

Scientists from the university and GNS Science installed 19 temporary seismometers in Southland, along with a permanent GeoNet network, and measured activity over the course of a year.

Lead researcher Dr. Jack Williams said they were able to triangulate the signals more accurately to determine where earthquakes occurred with the seismometers spaced farther apart.

He added: “Southland represents a gap in our understanding of New Zealand's faults, but that does not mean that they do not exist and cannot cause damage.”

“What was really amazing was the depth of the earthquakes we recorded.”

Most of the quakes occurred in the cold, brittle continental crust at a depth of less than 15 to 20 kilometers, but Williams said the team found that the seismically active crust extends to twice the average depth in the Southland.

“If you think about plasticine, when it's cold and you try to tear it apart, it breaks and breaks. But if you rub it and warm it up a little bit, it becomes softer,” he said.

“The Earth's crust is similar. Near the surface where it is cold, earthquakes deform the crust by breaking and tearing it, but the deeper you go, the warmer it gets and the crust becomes softer. This makes it less likely to tear away and flow instead.”

“Through this research, we have essentially discovered a very deep layer of Earth in which earthquakes can occur. This is possible in the Southland because the bottom of the crust has an unusual composition with a lot of iron-rich minerals, which, given the depth, makes it relatively strong and brittle.” “

In addition to the “remarkably deep” quakes, the seismometers picked up 85 quakes over the course of the year, six times more than GeoNet, Williams said.

“Most of these tremors were too small to be felt, but they give us hints about where larger earthquakes might occur in the future.”

Williams said the team was also looking for evidence of earthquakes using high-resolution maps of Southland's land surface produced by Environment Southland.

“These maps show us evidence of surface fractures caused by ancient earthquakes, giving us important new information about where fault lines are located in the Southland.”

He said the results could be incorporated into hazard models that predicted the probability and strength of future earthquakes.

The research was funded by the Natural Hazards Commission as part of a broader effort to better understand earthquake risks in traditionally low seismic areas, including Otago and Auckland.

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