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AF8 [Alpine Fault magnitude 8]
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AF8 [Alpine Fault Magnitude 8]
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AF8 [Alpine Fault magnitude 8]
This StoryMap shares a credible science-based hazard scenario for a major Alpine Fault earthquake. Scenarios bring together all our available knowledge to paint a picture of what we might experience so we can be better prepared for it.
*StoryMap is best viewed on a desktop, laptop or tablet, it is not suitable for viewing on mobile phones or small screens.
Movement along the Alpine Fault, with its powerful uplift along the Southern Alps over millions of years, forms the geological foundations for Te Waipounamu our beautiful South Island and the stunning landscape we call home. The more we understand our natural environment and the forces that shape it, the better prepared we can be.
Our Shaky Isles
Earthquakes are not a new phenomenon and people have been trying to understand and measure them for a long time. In part one we focused on WHAT we measure with earthquake, now, in part two, we will investigate HOW the measurements are made.
New Zealanders are used to seeing and hearing earthquake reports – our country experiences around 20,000 earthquakes a year – but what do the terms and numbers actually mean? In the first of this two-part article, we’ll explore WHAT we measure when it comes to earthquakes and explain the terminology and scales used. In the second part we’ll look at HOW we measure them and introduce the tools of the trade.
What do SALSA and the Alpine Fault have in common, you ask? Not too much, unless you fancy adding some salsa to your emergency supplies! In this case SALSA stands for “Southern Alps Long Skinny Array” and refers to a series of seismometers recently installed along the West Coast of the South Island – from Piopiotahi Milford Sound to Maruia – stretching 500km along the straight (skinny) part of the Alpine Fault.
