The Funding Can’t Be Defective: Earthquake Research Projects awarded nearly $ 3 million from the Marsden Fund

Julian Thompson / GNS Science

The Kekerengu fault, one of more than 20 ruptures in the 7.8-magnitude Kaikoura earthquake in November 2016.

Listening to the “diffuse hum” of the Earth can give us clues about how the ground will vibrate when the next Alpine crack bursts.

The Marsden Fund has awarded nearly $ 3 million to three separate research projects on earthquakes this year, two of which focus on the Alpine Rift.

One of them, led by Professor John Townend at Victoria University, has been awarded $ 960,000 to investigate the effects of the Earth’s shaking, which may help us prepare better.

Townend is part of the Victoria School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, and in collaboration with Dr Carolyn Holden of GNS Science is launching a project to install seismometers along the South Island fault.

Read more: * Research predicts short warning time for tsunamis from a newly discovered fault system * Signs of a large error can help predict the direction of the earthquake * Alpine fault is better understood – but that won’t stop the Big One

Historically, the fault caused an 8-magnitude earthquake every 300 years. The last one was in 1717.

Of course, these things weren’t running like clockwork, “but we’re in later stages of a typical earthquake cycle,” Taunen said.

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Scientists are conducting field work in the Southern Alps in October 2020, in terrain similar to that in which John Townend’s team will work to install seismometers along the Alpine fault.

The search will include installing seismometers every 10 kilometers along the fault, from Milford Sound to Maruia, near Springs Junction.

The novelty of the project was what the team could do with the massive amounts of background noise recorded by the sensors – the “prevailing ground hum”.

At first glance, Taunend said, the seismic noise appeared random, but contained coherent signals that could be extracted using techniques developed by team members and used successfully in California and Japan.

By comparing the noise recorded at each point along the fault with the noise recorded elsewhere, the team can simulate the ground shaking produced by a future earthquake.

“It is possible to fine-tune the waves produced by sliding anywhere on the fault without having to wait for an earthquake.

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The Townend and Holden project will involve the installation of seismometers every 10 kilometers along the fault, from Milford Sound to Maroya.

The funding will enable the team to deploy seismometers, some of which require helicopter rides and bush strikes to install.

In addition to paying salaries, it will also help fund two PhD scholarships, to keep research going for years to come.

The plan was to turn off the devices early next year, leave them for as long as possible, maybe another year, check them every two months, and then analyze the seismic noise they pick up.

The Marsden Fund awarded a total of $ 84.7 million to 134 research projects, including another $ 960,000 to another GNS scientist, Dr. Laura Wallace, to conduct research on what makes slow earthquakes episodic, with a focus on Hikurangi’s mistake.

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Some seismographs will need to be placed in rugged, inaccessible terrain, so a portion of the grant will go to helicopter trips to those hard-to-reach places.

An additional $ 960,000 will be earmarked for GNS scientist Ross Van Diesen, to research trends in earthquake rupture, a topic that could help determine the extent of damage in Wellington, at the tip of the Alpine Fault, when it erupts.

The Van Dissens team will research Alpine and Wairau faults, documenting scratch lines or “slip slip” to determine how faults might explode again.

“The direction of the rupture of future earthquakes on these faults will have a major impact on the strength of the vibrations in the South Island and the Lower North Island,” Van Desen said.

The 7.8-magnitude Kaikoura earthquake in November 2016 sent a northward pulse of energy that was felt strongly in Wellington, due to the direction of the rupture from south to north.

“If we can show that both defects are torn multiple times in a particular direction, this information can be used to better plan future earthquakes, and to design more flexible buildings and infrastructure,” Van Diesen said.

“ Big flaws are like a heavyweight boxer – you know they’ll pack a punch.

“So if you want to prepare yourself, it pays to know in which direction the energy will come from.”

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