Prior to the devastating 2010 and 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, the University of Canterbury (UC) was renowned for its graduates’ academic preparation and its staff’s research outputs. The town/gown relationship was aloof and strained due to UC’s move from the CBD in the 1970s and students being seen as troublemakers. Despite its vision of people prepared to make a difference, the University’s students and staff were not seen as making a difference in the local community or as being engaged citizens.
This changed when over 9,000 UC students mobilized themselves into the Student Volunteer Army to provide immediate relief across Christchurch following the four major quakes of 2010 and 2011. Suddenly, UC students were seen as saviors, not miscreants and a focus on citizenship education as part of the University’s strategic direction began to take shape.
Based on qualitative and quantitative research conducted at UC over the past four years, this interactive presentation will highlight the findings, conclusions, and implications of how the University has been transformed into a recognized, international leader in citizenship education. By integrating students’ community service into their academic studies, the University has changed its persona while students have gained academically, civically, and personally.
The effects of soil-foundation-structure interaction (SFSI) have been a topic of discussion amongst the structural and geotechnical community for many decades. The complexity of the mechanisms, as well as the need for inter-disciplinary knowledge of geotechnical and structural dynamics has plagued the advancement and the consequent inclusion of SFSI effects in design. A rigorous performance-based design methodology should not just consider the performance of the superstructure but the supporting foundation system as well. Case studies throughout history (eg. Kobe 1995, Kocaeli 1999 and Christchurch earthquakes 2010-2011) have demonstrated that a poor performance at the foundation level can result in a full demolition of the structure and, in general terms, that the extent of damage to, and repairability of, the building system as a whole, is given by the combination of the damage to the soil, foundation and superstructure. The lack of consideration of the modifying factors of SFSI and an absence of intuitive performance levels for controlling foundation and soil behaviour under seismic loads has resulted in inadequate designs for buildings sited on soft soil. For engineers to be satisfied that their designs meet the given performance levels they must first, understand how SFSI affects the overall system performance and secondly have tools available to adequately account for it in their design/assessment. This dissertation presents an integrated performance-based design procedure for buildingfoundation systems that considers all of the major mechanisms of SFSI. A new soil-foundation macro-element model was implemented into a nonlinear finite element software and validated against several experimental tests. The numerical model was used to provide insights in to the mechanisms of SFSI and statistical analysis on the results yielded simple expressions that allow the behaviour to be quantified. Particular attention was paid to the effects of shear force on the foundation response and the quantification of the rocking mode of response. The residual deformations of the superstructure and distribution of forces up the structure were also investigated. All of the major SFSI mechanisms are discussed in detail and targeted numerical studies are used to explain and demonstrate concepts. The design procedure was validated through the design and assessment of a series of concrete buildings that were designed to account for the effects of SFSI.
Organisations play a vital role in assisting communities to recover from disasters. They are the key providers of goods and services needed in both response and recovery efforts. They provide the employment which both anchors people to place and supports the taxation base to allow for necessary recovery spending. Finally, organisations are an integral part of much day to day functioning contributing immensely to people’s sense of ‘normality’ and psychological wellbeing. Yet, despite their overall importance in the recovery process, there are significant gaps in our existing knowledge with regard to how organisations respond and recover following disaster. This research fills one part of this gap by examining collaboration as an adaptive strategy enacted by organisations in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, which was heavily impacted by a series of major earthquakes, occurring in 2010 and 2011. Collaboration has been extensively investigated in a variety of settings and from numerous disciplinary perspectives. However, there are few studies that investigate the role of collaborative approaches to support post-disaster business recovery. This study investigates the type of collaborations that have occurred and how they evolved as organisations reacted to the resource and environmental change caused by the disaster. Using data collected through semi-structured interviews, survey and document analysis, a rich and detailed picture of the recovery journey is created for 26 Canterbury organisations including 14 collaborators, six non-traders, five continued traders and one new business. Collaborations included two or more individual businesses collaborating along with two multi-party, place based projects. Comparative analysis of the organisations’ experiences enabled the assessment of decisions, processes and outcomes of collaboration, as well as insight into the overall process of business recovery. This research adopted a primarily inductive, qualitative approach, drawing from both grounded theory and case study methodologies in order to generate theory from this rich and contextually situated data. Important findings include the importance of creating an enabling context which allows organisations to lead their own recovery, the creation of a framework for effective post-disaster collaboration and the importance of considering both economic and other outcomes. Collaboration is found to be an effective strategy enabling resumption of trade at a time when there seemed few other options available. While solving this need, many collaborators have discovered significant and unexpected benefits not just in terms of long term strategy but also with regard to wellbeing. Economic outcomes were less clear-cut. However, with approximately 70% of the Central Business District demolished and rebuilding only gaining momentum in late 2014, many organisations are still in a transition stage moving towards a new ‘normal’.
The recent Canterbury earthquake sequence in 2010-2011 highlighted a uniquely severe level of structural damage to modern buildings, while confirming the high vulnerability and life threatening of unreinforced masonry and inadequately detailed reinforced concrete buildings. Although the level of damage of most buildings met the expected life-safety and collapse prevention criteria, the structural damage to those building was beyond economic repair. The difficulty in the post-event assessment of a concrete or steel structure and the uneconomical repairing costs are the big drivers of the adoption of low damage design. Among several low-damage technologies, post-tensioned rocking systems were developed in the 1990s with applications to precast concrete members and later extended to structural steel members. More recently the technology was extended to timber buildings (Pres-Lam system). This doctoral dissertation focuses on the experimental investigation and analytical and numerical prediction of the lateral load response of dissipative post-tensioned rocking timber wall systems. The first experimental stages of this research consisted of component testing on both external replaceable devices and internal bars. The component testing was aimed to further investigate the response of these devices and to provide significant design parameters. Post-tensioned wall subassembly testing was then carried out. Firstly, quasi-static cyclic testing of two-thirds scale post-tensioned single wall specimens with several reinforcement layouts was carried out. Then, an alternative wall configuration to limit displacement incompatibilities in the diaphragm was developed and tested. The system consisted of a Column-Wall-Column configuration, where the boundary columns can provide the support to the diaphragm with minimal uplifting and also provide dissipation through the coupling to the post-tensioned wall panel with dissipation devices. Both single wall and column-wall-column specimens were subjected to drifts up to 2% showing excellent performance, limiting the damage to the dissipating devices. One of the objectives of the experimental program was to assess the influence of construction detailing, and the dissipater connection in particular proved to have a significant influence on the wall’s response. The experimental programs on dissipaters and wall subassemblies provided exhaustive data for the validation and refinement of current analytical and numerical models. The current moment-rotation iterative procedure was refined accounting for detailed response parameters identified in the initial experimental stage. The refined analytical model proved capable of fitting the experimental result with good accuracy. A further stage in this research was the validation and refinement of numerical modelling approaches, which consisted in rotational spring and multi-spring models. Both the modelling approaches were calibrated versus the experimental results on post-tensioned walls subassemblies. In particular, the multi-spring model was further refined and implemented in OpenSEES to account for the full range of behavioural aspects of the systems. The multi-spring model was used in the final part of the dissertation to validate and refine current lateral force design procedures. Firstly, seismic performance factors in accordance to a Force-Based Design procedure were developed in accordance to the FEMA P-695 procedure through extensive numerical analyses. This procedure aims to determine the seismic reduction factor and over-strength factor accounting for the collapse probability of the building. The outcomes of this numerical analysis were also extended to other significant design codes. Alternatively, Displacement-Based Design can be used for the determination of the lateral load demand on a post-tensioned multi-storey timber building. The current DBD procedure was used for the development of a further numerical analysis which aimed to validate the procedure and identify the necessary refinements. It was concluded that the analytical and numerical models developed throughout this dissertation provided comprehensive and accurate tools for the determination of the lateral load response of post-tensioned wall systems, also allowing the provision of design parameters in accordance to the current standards and lateral force design procedures.
Access to clean and safe drinking water is a fundamental human requirement. However, in many areas of the world natural water sources have been impacted by a variety of biological and chemical contaminants. The ingestion of these contaminants may cause acute or chronic health problems. To prevent such illnesses, many technologies have been developed to treat, disinfect and supply safe drinking water quality. However, despite these advancements, water supply distribution systems can adversely affect the drinking water quality before it is delivered to consumers. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the effect that water distribution systems may have on household drinking water quality in Christchurch, New Zealand and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Water samples were collected from the source water and household taps in both cities. The samples were then tested for various physical, chemical and biological water quality parameters. The data collected was also used to determine if water samples complied with national drinking water quality standards in both countries. Independent samples t-test statistical analyses were also performed to determine if water quality measured in the samples collected from the source and household taps was significantly different. Water quality did not vary considerably between the source and tap water samples collected in Christchurch City. No bacteria were detected in any sample. However, the pH and total iron concentrations measured in source and tap water samples were found to be significantly different. The lower pH values measured in tap water samples suggests that corrosion may be taking place in the distribution system. No water samples transgressed the Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand (DWSNZ) MAVs. Monitoring data collected by the Christchurch City Council (CCC) was also used for comparison. A number of pH, turbidity and total iron concentration measurements collected by the CCC in 2011 were found to exceed the guideline values. This is likely due to structural damage to the source wells and pump-stations that occurred during the 2011 earthquake events. Overall, it was concluded that the distribution system does not adversely affect the quality of Christchurch City’s household drinking water. The water quality measured in samples collected from the source (LTP) and household taps in Addis Ababa was found to vary considerably. The water collected from the source complied with the Ethiopian (WHO) drinking water quality standards. However, tap water samples were often found to have degraded water quality for the physical and chemical parameters tested. This was especially the case after supply interruption and reinstatement events. Bacteria were also often detected in household tap water samples. The results from this study indicate that water supply disruptions may result in degraded water quality. This may be due to a drop in pipeline pressure and the intrusion of contaminants through the leaky and cross-connected pipes in the distribution network. This adversely affects the drinking water quality in Addis Ababa.
Live monitoring data and simple dynamic reduced-order models of the Christchurch Women’s Hospital (CWH) help explain the performance of the base isolation (BI) system of the hospital during the series of Canterbury earthquakes in 2011-2012. A Park-Wen-Ang hysteresis model is employed to simulate the performance of the BI system and results are compared to measured data recorded above the isolation layer and on the 6th story. Simplified single, two and three degree of freedom models (SDOF, 2DOF and 3DOF) show that the CWH structure did not behave as an isolated but as a fixed-base structure. Comparisons of accelerations and deflections between simulated and monitored data show a good match for isolation stiffness values of approximately two times of the value documented in the design specification and test protocol. Furthermore, an analysis of purely measured data revealed very little to no relative motion across the isolators for large events of moment magnitude scale (Mw) 5.8 and 6.0 that occurred within 3 hours of each other on December 23, 2011. One of the major findings is that the BI system during the seismic events on December 23, 2011 did not yield and that the superstructure performed as a fixed-base building, indicating a need to reevaluate the analysis, design and implementation of these structures.
Improving community resilience requires a way of thinking about the nature of a community. Two complementary aspects are proposed: the flows connecting the community with its surrounding environment and the resources the community needs for its ongoing life. The body of necessary resources is complex, with many interactions between its elements. A systems approach is required to understand the issues adequately. Community resilience is discussed in general terms together with strategies for improving it. The ideas are then illustrated and amplified by an extended case study addressing means of improving the resilience of a community on the West Coast of New Zealand to natural disasters. The case study is in two phases. The first relies on a mix of on-the-ground observations and constructed scenarios to provide recommendations for enhancing community resilience, while the second complements the first by developing a set of general lessons and issues to be addressed from observations of the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.
This study investigates evidence for linkages and fault interactions centred on the Cust Anticline in Northwest Canterbury between Starvation Hill to the southwest and the Ashley and Loburn faults to the northeast. An integrated programme of geologic, geomorphic, paleo-seismic and geophysical analyses was undertaken owing to a lack of surface exposures and difficulty in distinguishing active tectonic features from fluvial and/or aeolian features across the low-relief Canterbury Plains. LiDAR analysis identified surface expression of several previously unrecognised active fault traces across the low-relief aggradation surfaces of the Canterbury Plains. Their presence is consistent with predictions of a fault relay exploiting the structural mesh across the region. This is characterised by interactions of northeast-striking contractional faults and a series of re-activating inherited Late Cretaceous normal faults, the latter now functioning as E–W-striking dextral transpressive faults. LiDAR also allowed for detailed analysis of the surface expression of individual faults and folds across the Cust Anticline contractional restraining bend, which is evolving as a pop-up structure within the newly established dextral shear system that is exploiting the inherited, now re-activated, basement fault zone. Paleo-seismic trenches were located on the crest of the western arm of the Cust Anticline and across a previously unrecognised E–W-striking fault trace, immediately southwest of the steeply plunging Cust Anticline termination. These studies confirmed the location and structural style of north-northeast-striking faults and an E–W-striking fault associated with the development of this structural culmination. A review of available industry seismic reflection lines emphasised the presence of a series of common structural styles having the same underlying structural drivers but with varying degrees of development and expression, both in the seismic profiles and in surface elevations across the study area. Based on LiDAR surface mapping and preliminary re-analysis of industry seismic reflection data, four fault zones are identified across the restraining bend structural culminations, which together form the proposed Oxford–Cust–Ashley Fault System. The 2010–2012 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence showed many similarities to the structural pattern established across the Oxford–Cust–Ashley Fault System, emphasising the importance of identification and characterization of presently hidden fault sources, and the understanding of fault network linkages, in order to improve constraints on earthquake source potential. Improved understanding of potentially-interactive fault sources in Northwest Canterbury, with the potential for combined initial fault rupture and spatial and temporal rupture propagation across this fault system, can be used in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis for the region, which is essential for the suitability and sustainability of future social and economic development.
On 22 February 2011, the second day of the first semester, a devastating magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the city of Christchurch forcing the campus of the University of Canterbury to close for several weeks. Here, we report on the sudden curriculum and assessment overhaul that needed to be implemented using two large, first-year introductory courses as case studies. We discuss the reasoning and justifications behind these changes, as well as the logistics of this process. We draw conclusions based on student feedback and assessments and formulate lessons learnt.
This thesis is concerned with springs that appeared in the Hillsborough, Christchurch during the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence, and which have continued to discharge groundwater to the surface to the present time. Investigations have evolved, measurements of discharge at selected sites, limited chemical data on anions and isotope analysis. The springs are associated with earthquake generated fissures (extensional) and compression zones, mostly in loess-colluvium soils of the valley floor and lower slopes. Extensive peat swamps are present in the Hillsborough valley, with a groundwater table at ~1m below ground. The first appearance of the ‘new’ springs took place following the Mw 7.1 Darfield Earthquake on 4 September 2010, and discharges increased both in volume and extent of the Christchurch Mw 6.3 Earthquake of 22 February 2011. Five monitored sites show flow rates in the range of 4.2-14.4L/min, which have remained effectively constant for the duration of the study (2014-2015). Water chemistry analysis shows that the groundwater discharges are sourced primarily from volcanic bedrocks which underlies the valley at depths ≤50m below ground level. Isotope values confirm similarities with bedrock-sourced groundwater, and the short term (hours-days) influence of extreme rainfall events. Cyclone Lusi (2013-2014) affects were monitored and showed recovery of the bedrock derived water signature within 72 hours. Close to the mouth of the valley sediments interfinger with Waimakiriri River derived alluvium bearing a distinct and different isotope signature. Some mixing is evident at certain locations, but it is not clear if there is any influence from the Huntsbury reservoir which failed in the Port Hills Earthquake (22 February 2011) and stored groundwater from the Christchurch artesian aquifer system (Riccarton Gravel).
This report summarizes the development of a region-wide surficial soil shear wave velocity (Vs ) model based on the unique combination of a large high-spatial-density database of cone penetration test (CPT) logs in the greater Christchurch urban area (> 15, 000 logs as of 1 February 2014) and the Christchurch-specific empirical correlation between soil Vs and CPT data developed by McGann et al. [1, 2]. This model has applications for site characterization efforts via maps of time-averaged Vs over specific depths (e.g. Vs30, Vs10), and for numerical modeling efforts via the identification of typical Vs profiles for different regions and soil behaviour types within Christchurch. In addition, the Vs model can be used to constrain the near-surface velocities for the 3D seismic velocity model of the Canterbury basin [3] currently being developed for the purpose of broadband ground motion simulation. The general development of these region-wide near-surface Vs models includes the following general phases, with each discussed in separate chapters of this report. • An evaluation of the available CPT dataset for suitability, and the definition of other datasets and assumptions necessary to characterize the surficial sediments of the region to 30 m depth. • The development of time-averaged shear wave velocity (Vsz) surfaces for the Christchurch area from the adopted CPT dataset (and supplementary data/assumptions) using spatial interpolation. The Vsz surfaces are used to explore the characteristics of the near-surface soils in the regions and are shown to correspond well with known features of the local geology, the historical ecosystems of the area, and observations made following the 2010- 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. • A detailed analysis of the Vs profiles in eight subregions of Christchurch is performed to assess the variablity in the soil profiles for regions with similar Vsz values and to assess Vsz as a predictive metric for local site response. It is shown that the distrubution of soil shear wave velocity in the Christchurch regions is highly variable both spatially (horizontally) and with depth (vertically) due to the varied geological histories for different parts of the area, and the highly stratified nature of the nearsurface deposits. This variability is not considered to be greatly significant in terms of current simplified site classification systems; based on computed Vs30 values, all considered regions can be categorized as NEHRP sites class D (180 < Vs < 360 m/s) or E (Vs < 180 m/s), however, detailed analysis of the shear wave velocity profiles in different subregions of Christchurch show that the expected surficial site response can vary quite a bit across the region despite the relative similarity in Vs30
Spatial variations in river facies exerted a strong influence on the distribution of liquefaction features observed in Christchurch during the 2010-11 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES). Liquefaction and liquefaction-induced ground deformation was primarily concentrated near modern waterways and areas underlain by Holocene fluvial deposits with shallow water tables (< 1 to 2 m). In southern Christchurch, spatial variations of liquefaction and subsidence were documented in the suburbs within inner meander loops of the Heathcote River. Newly acquired geospatial data, geotechnical reports and eye-witness discussions are compiled to provide a detailed account of the surficial effects of CES liquefaction and ground deformation adjacent to the Heathcote River. LiDAR data and aerial photography are used to produce a new series of original figures which reveal the locations of recurrent liquefaction and subsidence. To investigate why variable liquefaction patterns occurred, the distribution of surface ejecta and associated ground damage is compared with near-surface sedimentologic, topographic, and geomorphic variability to seek relationships between the near-surface properties and observed ground damages. The most severe liquefaction was concentrated within a topographic low in the suburb of St Martins, an inner meander loop of the Heathcote River, with liquefaction only minor or absent in the surrounding areas. Subsurface investigations at two sites in St Martins enable documentation of fluvial stratigraphy, the expressions of liquefaction, and identification of pre-CES liquefaction features. Excavation to water table depths (~1.5 m below the surface) across sand boils reveals multiple generations of CES liquefaction dikes and sills that cross-cut Holocene fluvial and anthropogenic stratigraphy. Based on in situ geotechnical tests (CPT) indicating sediment with a factor of safety < 1, the majority of surface ejecta was sourced from well-sorted fine to medium sand at < 5 m depth, with the most damaging liquefaction corresponding with the location of a low-lying sandy paleochannel, a remnant river channel from the Holocene migration of the meander in St Martins. In the adjacent suburb of Beckenham, where migration of the Heathcote River has been laterally confined by topography associated with the volcanic lithologies of Banks Peninsula, severe liquefaction was absent with only minor sand boils occurring closest to the modern river channel. Auger sampling across the suburb revealed thick (>1 m) clay-rich overbank and back swamp sediments that produced a stratigraphy which likely confined the units susceptible to liquefaction and prevented widespread ejection of liquefied material. This analysis suggests river migration promotes the formation and preservation of fluvial deposits prone to liquefaction. Trenching revealed the strongest CES earthquakes with large vertical accelerations favoured sill formation and severe subsidence at highly susceptible locations corresponding with an abandoned channel. Less vulnerable sites containing deeper and thinner sand bodies only liquefied in the strongest and most proximal earthquakes forming minor localised liquefaction features. Liquefaction was less prominent and severe subsidence was absent where lateral confinement of a Heathcote meander has promoted the formation of fluvial stratum resistant to liquefaction. Correlating CES liquefaction with geomorphic interpretations of Christchurch’s Heathcote River highlights methods in which the performance of liquefaction susceptibility models can be improved. These include developing a reliable proxy for estimating soil conditions in meandering fluvial systems by interpreting the geology and geomorphology, derived from LiDAR data and modern river morphology, to improve the methods of accounting for the susceptibility of an area. Combining geomorphic interpretations with geotechnical data can be applied elsewhere to identify regional liquefaction susceptibilities, improve existing liquefaction susceptibility datasets, and predict future earthquake damage.
Documenting earthquake-induced ground deformation is significant to assess the characteristics of past and contemporary earthquakes and provide insight into seismic hazard. This study uses airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and conducts multi-disciplinary field techniques to document the surface rupture morphology and evaluate the paleoseismicity and seismic hazard parameters of the Hurunui segment of the Hope Fault in the northern South Island of New Zealand. It also documents and evaluates seismically induced features and ground motion characteristics of the 2010 Darfield and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes in the Port Hills, south of Christchurch. These two studies are linked in that they investigate the near-field coseismic features of large (Mw ~7.1) earthquakes in New Zealand and produce data for evaluating seismic hazards of future earthquakes. In the northern South Island of New Zealand, the Australian-Pacific plate boundary is characterised by strike-slip deformation across the Marlborough Fault System (MFS). The ENE-striking Hope Fault (length: ~230 km) is the youngest and southernmost fault in the MFS, and the second fastest slipping fault in New Zealand. The Hope Fault is a major source of seismic hazard in New Zealand and has ruptured (in-part) historically in the Mw 7.1 1888 Amuri earthquake. In the west, the Hurunui segment of the Hope Fault is covered by beech forest. Hence, its seismic hazard parameters and paleoearthquake chronology were poorly constrained and it was unknown whether the 1888 earthquake ruptured this segment or not and if so, to what extent. Utilising LiDAR and field data, a 29 km-long section of the Hurunui segment of the Hope Fault is mapped. LiDAR-mapping clearly reveals the principal slip zone (PSZ) of the fault and a suite of previously unrecognised structures that form the fault deformation zone (FDZ). FDZ width measurements from 415 locations reveal a spatially-variable, active FDZ up to ~500 m wide with an average width of 200 m. Kinematic analysis of the fault structures shows that the Hurunui segment strikes between 070° and 075° and is optimally oriented for dextral strike-slip within the regional stress field. This implies that the wide FDZ observed is unlikely to result from large-scale fault mis-orientation with respect to regional stresses. The analysis of FDZ width indicates that it increases with increased hanging wall topography and increased topographic relief suggesting that along-strike topographic perturbations to fault geometry and stress states increase fault zone complexity and width. FDZ width also increases where the tips of adjacent PSZ strands locally vary in strike, and where the thickness of alluvial deposits overlying bedrock increases. LiDAR- and photogrammetrically-derived topographic mapping indicates that the boundary between the Hurunui and Hope River segments is characterised by a ~850-m-wide right stepover and a 9º-14° fault bend. Paleoseismic trenching at Hope Shelter site reveals that 6 earthquakes occurred at A.D. 1888, 1740-1840, 1479-1623, 819-1092, 439-551, and 373- 419. These rupture events have a mean recurrence interval of ~298 ± 88 yr and inter-event times ranging from 98 to 595 yrs. The variation in the inter-event times is explained by (1) coalescing rupture overlap from the adjacent Hope River segment on to the Hurunui segment at the study site, (2) temporal clustering of large earthquakes on the Hurunui segment, and/or (3) ‘missing’ rupture events. It appears that the first two options are more plausible to explain the earthquake chronologies and rupture behaviour on the Hurunui segment, given the detailed nature of the geologic and chronologic investigations. This study provides first evidence for coseismic multi-segment ruptures on the Hope Fault by identifying a rupture length of 44-70 km for the 1888 earthquake, which was not confined to the Hope River segment (primary source for the 1888 earthquake). LiDAR data is also used to identify and measure dextral displacements and scarp heights from the PSZ and structures within the FDZ along the Hurunui segment. Reconstruction of large dextrally-offset geomorphic features shows that the vertical component of slip accounts for only ~1% of the horizontal displacements and confirms that the fault is predominantly strike-slip. A strong correlation exists between the dextral displacements and elevations of geomorphic features suggesting the possibility of age correlation between the geomorphic features. A mean single event displacement (SED) of 3.6 ± 0.7 m is determined from interpretation of sets of dextral displacements of ≤ 25 m. Using the available surface age data and the cumulative dextral displacements from Matagouri Flat, McKenzie Fan, Macs Knob and Hope River sites, and the mean SED, a mean slip rate of 12.2 ± 2.4 mm/yr, and a mean recurrence interval of ~320 ± 120 yr, and a potential earthquake magnitude of Mw 7.2 are determined for the Hurunui segment. This study suggests that the fault slip rate has been constant over the last ~15000 yr. Strong ground motions from the 2010 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake displaced boulders and caused ground damage on some ridge crests in the Port Hills. However, the 2011 Christchurch earthquake neither displaced boulders nor caused ground damage at the same ridge crests. Documentation of locations (~400 m a.s.l.), lateral displacements (8-970 cm), displacement direction (250° ± 20°) of displaced boulders, in addition to their hosting socket geometries (< 1 cm to 50 cm depth), the orientation of the ridges (000°-015°) indicate that boulders have been displaced in the direction of instrumentally recorded transient peak ground horizontal displacements nearby and that the seismic waves have been amplified at the study sites. The co-existence of displaced and non-displaced boulders at proximal sites suggests small-scale ground motion variability and/or varying boulder-ground dynamic interactions relating to shallow phenomena such as variability in soil depth, bedrock fracture density and/or microtopography on the bedrock-soil interface. Shorter shaking duration of the 2011 Christchurch event, differing frequency contents and different source characteristics were all factors that may have contributed to generating circumstances less favourable to boulder displacement in this earthquake. Investigating seismically induced features, fault behaviour, site effects on the rupture behaviour, and site response to the seismic waves provides insights into fault rupture hazards.
