GNS Science awarded $1.4 million in grants from Marsden Fund

Fast Start Project: Investigating the threat from earthquakes in subduction zones that also rupture the overlying crust.

Awarded: $360,000

GNS Leads: Dr. Andrew Howell and Dr. Duo Li

Sometimes in an earthquake, multiple fault lines rupture. If a secondary fault rupture is close to the surface, the shaking strength and tsunami can become more severe. Despite the significant potential for damage, such earthquake scenarios are hard to identify.

"The Hikurangi subduction zone is Aotearoa New Zealand's biggest tectonic fault and poses a significant earthquake and tsunami threat to much of the country. However, this threat could potentially be even more severe if a "multi-fault" earthquake simultaneously ruptures the subduction zone and another fault like the Wellington Fault. Our physics-based earthquake simulations will help understand where (and how often) such multi-fault earthquakes can occur, and what their ground shaking and tsunami impacts could be” said Dr. Andrew Howell.

Fast Start Project: The legendary Haowhenua earthquake: how big was it, and what would a repeat of it do to Wellington today?

Awarded: $360,000

GNS Lead: Dr. Chris Rollins

When Māori first settled Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Te Motu Kairangi (Miramar Peninsula) was an island. It became a peninsula around 1460 AD, when a powerful earthquake known as Haowhenua thrust up the land bridge underlying present-day Rongotai and Kilbirnie.

This project will combine mātauranga from Māori settlers with geology, geophysics and three- dimensional modelling to reconstruct this historical earthquake and simulate how Wellington would be affected if it were to happen again today.

Fast Start Project: Quantifying tsunami potential along Aotearoa’s Hikurangi subduction zone using a novel seismic imaging technique to better understand our most dangerous fault.

Awarded: $360,000

GNS Lead: Dr. Brook Tozer

Devastating earthquakes and tsunamis can happen when plates of the Earth’s crust are pushed (subducted) underneath each other. How far these plates move during an earthquake, and how close these movements are to the Earth’s surface, influences tsunami size.

This study will reveal the detailed physical state of the shallow Hikurangi Subduction Zone with implications for fault motion.  This will improve our understanding of earthquake and tsunami risks in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally.

"Through this research, we will gain insights into the physical mechanisms that influence the tsunami generation potential of subduction faults and provide improved foundational knowledge that informs modelling of earthquake and Tsunami scenarios in anticipation of the next Hikurangi subduction fault rupture" said Dr. Brook Tozer. 

Fast Start Project: What controls how deep magmas are before they erupt?

Awarded: $360,000

GNS Lead: Dr. Ery Hughes

Volcanic eruptions can be explosive when magma rises to the surface and volatile components like carbon dioxide and water expand rapidly. Knowing at what depth magma is stored before eruption is critical to working out when volcanoes might erupt.

This study will calculate magma storage depths in Aotearoa New Zealand to reveal the processes that control how deep magmas are stored. Ultimately, this research will give us better ways to prepare for volcanic hazards in Aotearoa New Zealand and worldwide.

"It’s quite tricky to measure how deep magmas are below the surface before they erupt and this means there is global debate about what controls where magmas are stored before eruption. In this project we’ll measure magma depths along the Taupō Volcanic Zone out into the Southern Kermadec Arc to see how the change from continental to oceanic crust influences where magmas are stored, which will also help us interpret volcano monitoring data in the future" said Dr. Ery Hughes.