Earthquakes

NIWA studies marine geological hazards, including earthquakes, submarine landslides and tsunami, volcanic eruptions, seafloor scour, sediment transport and shallow gas.

  • Kaikōura’s deep seabed is rapidly recovering, says NIWA

    Media release
    Areas of Kaikōura’s seabed show promising signs of recovery just four years after the 2016 earthquake, says NIWA.
  • Tonga eruption discoveries defy expectations

    Media release
    New findings from the record-breaking Tongan volcanic eruption are “surprising and unexpected”, say scientists from New Zealand’s National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).
  • 2021 - Kaikōura Canyon

    Voyage
    Kaikōura Canyon reveals its muddy secrets
  • 2021 - Hikurangi margin

    Voyage
    Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle helping scientists collect the latest earthquake data.
  • A job for the buoys

    Feature story
    New Zealanders and Pacific Island communities are on their way to having the most advanced tsunami monitoring system in the world.
  • Kaikōura Canyon

    Our team of researchers have recently returned from a voyage onboard RV Tangaroa to retrieve moorings deployed to collect sediment samples from the Kaikōura Canyon.
  • Underwater robot getting close-up look at Kaikōura Canyon

    Media release
    A six-metre long orange underwater robot is flying through the Kaikōura Canyon for the next month collecting information on how the canyon has changed since the 2016 earthquake.
  • Tsunami evacuation zones home to 1 in 10 New Zealanders

    Media release
    NIWA scientists have completed the first national assessment of people and buildings at risk in New Zealand’s tsunami evacuation zones.
  • Scientists get first look at rocks causing slow moving quakes

    Media release
    An ambitious international scientific project to study New Zealand’s largest earthquake fault is now enabling scientists to learn more about slow slip earthquakes happening in subduction zones around the world.
  • Scientist pieces together details of underwater landslides

    Media release
    New information about landslides that occur on the seafloor off New Zealand’s east coast will help scientists better understand why and where they happen, and the types of threats they pose.
  • New Zealand to have world-leading hazard risk modelling tool

    Media release
    EQC, GNS Science and NIWA have joined forces to further develop world-leading natural hazards risk modelling for New Zealand.
  • Kaikōura earthquake provides world-first insight into submarine canyons

    Feature story
    Research conducted after the 2016, 7.8 magnitude Kaikōura earthquake has provided scientists with an extremely rare opportunity to understand the processes that shape submarine canyons.