Category Archives: tectonics

All quiet on the Alpine Fault?

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Chris Rowan

The Alpine fault has not ruptured since European settlement in the 1840s. Paleoseismology tells us that this is the longest it has gone in a millenium without generating a magnitude 8+ earthquake. Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, geology, geomorphology, tectonics

Tectonics of the M7 earthquake near Christchurch, New Zealand

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Chris Rowan

This post was written in response to the Darfield earthquake in September 2010. The most recent seismic activity is discussed here. [Updated 8th September 1200 GMT – see bottom of post. And check out the PodClast discussion of this earthquake, … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards, tectonics

Friday Focal Mechanism

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Chris Rowan

The earthquake that particularly caught my eye this week occurred on Tuesday off the coast of Mexico: This focal mechanism is pure strike-slip: that is, it is the result of two sides of a fault moving laterally past each other, … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, tectonics

Friday Focal Mechanisms: Haiti, revisited

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Chris Rowan

The new research that acquits the Enriquillo Fault of causing the Haiti earthquake. Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards, structures, tectonics

Friday(ish) Focal Mechanisms

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Chris Rowan

An exciting seismic week in the Papua New Guinea region. Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, tectonics