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Tag Archives: New Zealand

At subduction zones, feeding a complicated plate means you get complicated earthquake behaviour out

Posted on May 2, 2020 by Chris Rowan

What drives the occurrence of slow-slip events on subduction zones: “earthquakes”: that involve strain release over days and weeks rather than seconds? A new paper…doesn’t really answer that question, but it shows why it’s so complicated to answer. The study uses … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, paper reviews, tectonics

Scenic Saturday: White Island before the spiny lava invasion

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Chris Rowan

Last week, Erik drew my attention to this odd spiny lava dome spotted on New Zealand’s White Island. It is rather strikingly weird, like the country that brought us the Lord of the Rings had decided to now bring us … Continue reading →

Categories: geohazards, photos, volcanoes

Two more earthquakes shake Christchurch

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Just as it seemed that seismic activity was finally dying down in Christchurch, the city has been shaken by two more earthquakes. The USGS currently has the first shock pegged as a magnitude 5.8, and the second as a magnitude … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards

Aftershocks, triggered earthquakes, and Christchurch’s seismic future

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Chris Rowan

As more scientific information becomes available regarding last week’s magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Christchurch, we can look a bit more closely at the nature of this earthquake, how it fits into the overall tectonic picture in New Zealand, and future … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, society, tectonics