Coastal Quakes

UC CEISMIC is excited to announce that a collection of material from "Coastal Quakes - Vulnerability to Seismic Hazards in Coastal and Riverside Environments: Lessons from the Canterbury Earthquake sequence" has been added to the archive.  Photographs, maps, and presentations from the project are now available in UC QuakeStudies as well as a collection of interviews with experts about the effects the Canterbury earthquakes have had on coastal and riverside geography.

A photograph of the collapsed shag rock in Sumner. Copyright Marney Bronsnan.

Coastal Quakes is an ongoing research project led by Dr Deirdre Hart from the Department of Geography at the University of Canterbury. Others involved with aspects of the research include Marney Brosnan and Dr Christopher Gomez from UC's Department of Geography, Dr Sonia Giovinazzi from UC's Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, and UC students Emma Kelland, Nick Brunsden, Su Young Ko and David Holland.

A map of coastal and riverside regions in and around Christchurch. Copyright Deirdre Hart.

The project aims to understand the vulnerabilities to seismic hazards that coastal and riverside communities face, by examining the effects of the Canterbury earthquakes and the recovery patterns in Christchurch.  It focuses on two main aspects:

• The predisposition to earthquake induced damage that exists in coastal and river environments past and present;
• The cascade of 'non-seismic' hazards that have been altered by the earthquakes, including coastal, estuary and river flooding, sea level rise, tsunami, coastal erosion, and pollution.

Information and data was gathered, such as professional opinions through interviews, photographic evidence of coastal and riverside effects, and the mapping of liquefaction and residential zoning from government agencies.

A slide from a presentation by Deirdre Hart on the Coastal Quakes project. Copyright Deirdre Hart.

The Coastal Quakes project was partly funded by the UC CEISMIC Contestable Fund, a fund set up by the UC CEISMIC Programme to support earthquake research at the University of Canterbury.