Earthquakes

NIWA scientists like Leigh Tait were saddened by the human impact of the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, but he also says that it provided a “massive natural history experiment”.

The RV Tangaroa is assisting in New Zealand’s largest ever deployment of seafloor earthquake recording instruments in a bid to learn more about the earthquake behaviour of the tectonic plates beneath the east coast of the North Island.

The 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake has shown that more than 100 million dumptrucks of mud and sand flow through the Kaikōura Canyon every 140 years, scientists say.

The Tangaroa assisted in New Zealand’s largest ever deployment of seafloor earthquake recording instruments in a bid to learn more about the earthquake behaviour of the tectonic plates beneath the east coast of the North Island.

An ambitious scientific expedition involving 30 scientists from around the world leaves Perth next week bound for the East Coast of the North Island.

It is well known that earthquakes can trigger tsunami but they can also be caused by landslides – with devastating effects.

Since the end of June, a barge has been stationed just off Wellington’s Miramar Peninsula drilling into the seabed to find an alternative water source for the city.

NIWA scientists have found signs of recovery in the Kaikōura Canyon seabed, 10 months after powerful submarine landslides triggered by the November earthquake wiped out organisms living in and on the seabed.

Imagine if you could foresee what would happen to your home in a severe flood or tsunami, and then work out how to prevent or reduce the impact before any such event occurred.

Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning great wave in harbour.