Alpine Fault in New Zealand Yields New Information (IMAGE)

University of Nevada, Reno

Alpine Fault in New Zealand Yields New Information

Caption

University of Nevada, Reno seismologist Glenn Biasi and colleagues at GNS Science in New Zealand dig into layers of silt along the Hokuri River in New Zealand’s Southern Alps on the South Island to find ancient samples of leaves, small twigs and marsh plants for radiocarbon dating. The team established that the Alpine Fault causes, on average, earthquakes of around a magnitude 8 every 330 years. They estimate the 50-year probability of a large Alpine fault earthquake to be about 27 percent.

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Photo courtesy University of Nevada, Reno.

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