Police road block on Colombo Street; aftermath of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010. Note the unusually deserted streets on a Tuesday afternoon.
The quake-damaged facade of the Baptist Church at the Kilmore Street / Madras Street intersection being propped up while repairs are in progress.
Holes looking like war damage on this shop along Manchester Street; aftermath of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
The quake-damaged facade of the Baptist Church at the Kilmore Street / Madras Street intersection being propped up while repairs are in progress.
The quake-damaged facade of the Baptist Church at the Kilmore Street / Madras Street intersection being propped up while repairs are in progress.
The quake-damaged facade of the Baptist Church at the Kilmore Street / Madras Street intersection being propped up while repairs are in progress.
Time stands still on the Science Museum clock tower as a poignant reminder of the moment the trembler struck Christchurch in the early hours of Saturday 4 September 2010.
Ground heaving on the faultline from which the Saturday 4 September 2010 earthquake originated.
The quake-damaged facade of the Baptist Church at the Kilmore Street / Madras Street intersection being propped up while repairs are in progress.
The quake-damaged facade of the Baptist Church at the Kilmore Street / Madras Street intersection being propped up while repairs are in progress.
The Police cordon turned Madras Street eerily silent during the Tuesday evening rush hour in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Christchurch on 4 September 2010.
This beautiful building on Madras Street may be condemned after suffering serious structural damage in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
The Christchurch School of Music on Barbadoes Street lost its brick gables in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
The Police cordon turned Madras Street eerily silent during the Tuesday evening rush hour in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Christchurch on 4 September 2010.
The old Christchurch City Council building on Tuam Street was damaged in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
The brick fence of this hostel along Bealey Ave collapsed in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
The old Christchurch City Council building on Tuam Street was damaged in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Time stands still on the Science Museum clock tower as a poignant reminder of the moment the trembler struck Christchurch in the early hours of Saturday 4 September 2010.
Damaged roof has rendered this pub on Madras Street unsafe in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Unusual Thursday evening rush hour traffic jam along Bealey Ave, in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
This hostel along Bealey Ave lost its chimney stacks and brick fence during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
This hostel along Bealey Ave lost its chimney stacks and brick fence during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
This hostel along Bealey Ave lost its chimney stacks and brick fence during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Geomorphic, structural and chronological data are used to establish the late Quaternary paleoseismicity of the active dextral-oblique Northern Esk Fault in North Canterbury, New Zealand. Detailed field mapping of the preserved c. 35 km of surface traces between the Hurunui River and Ashley Head reveals variations in strike ranging from 005° to 057°. Along with kinematic data collected from fault plane striae and offset geomorphic markers along the length of the fault these variations are used to distinguish six structural subsections of the main trace, four dextral-reverse and two dextral-normal. Displacements of geomorphic markers such as minor streams and ridges are measured using differential GPS and rangefinder equipment to reveal lateral offsets ranging from 3.4 to 23.7 m and vertical offsets ranging from < 1 to 13.5 m. Characteristic single event displacements of c. 5 m and c. 2 m have been calculated for strike-slip and reverse sections respectively. The use of fault scaling relationships reveals an anomalously high displacement to surface rupture length ratio when compared to global data sets. Fault scaling relationships based on width limited ruptures and magnitude probabilities from point measurements of displacement imply earthquake magnitudes of Mw 7.0 to 7.5. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) ages from displaced Holocene alluvial terraces at the northern extent of the active trace along with OSL and radiocarbon samples of the central sections constrain the timing of the last two surface rupturing events (11.15 ±1.65 and 3.5 ± 2.8 ka) and suggest a recurrence interval of c. 5612 ± 445 years and late Quaternary reverse and dextral slip rates of c. 0.31 mm/yr and 0.82 mm/yr respectively. The results of this study show that the Northern Esk Fault accommodates an important component of the c. 0.7 – 2 mm/yr of unresolved strain across the plate boundary within the North Canterbury region and affirm the Esk Fault as a source of potentially damaging ground shaking in the Canterbury region.
The 22 February 2011, Mw6.2-6.3 Christchurch earthquake is the most costly earthquake to affect New Zealand, causing 181 fatalities and severely damaging thousands of residential and commercial buildings, and most of the city lifelines and infrastructure. This manuscript presents an overview of observed geotechnical aspects of this earthquake as well as some of the completed and on-going research investigations. A unique aspect, which is particularly emphasized, is the severity and spatial extent of liquefaction occurring in native soils. Overall, both the spatial extent and severity of liquefaction in the city was greater than in the preceding 4th September 2010 Darfield earthquake, including numerous areas that liquefied in both events. Liquefaction and lateral spreading, variable over both large and short spatial scales, affected commercial structures in the Central Business District (CBD) in a variety of ways including: total and differential settlements and tilting; punching settlements of structures with shallow foundations; differential movements of components of complex structures; and interaction of adjacent structures via common foundation soils. Liquefaction was most severe in residential areas located to the east of the CBD as a result of stronger ground shaking due to the proximity to the causative fault, a high water table approximately 1m from the surface, and soils with composition and states of high susceptibility and potential for liquefaction. Total and differential settlements, and lateral movements, due to liquefaction and lateral spreading is estimated to have severely compromised 15,000 residential structures, the majority of which otherwise sustained only minor to moderate damage directly due to inertial loading from ground shaking. Liquefaction also had a profound effect on lifelines and other infrastructure, particularly bridge structures, and underground services. Minor damage was also observed at flood stop banks to the north of the city, which were more severely impacted in the 4th September 2010 Darfield earthquake. Due to the large high-frequency ground motion in the Port hills numerous rock falls and landslides also occurred, resulting in several fatalities and rendering some residential areas uninhabitable.
This manuscript provides a critical examination of the ground motions recorded in the near-source region resulting from the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Particular attention is given to reconciling the observed spatial distribution of ground motions in terms of physical phenomena related to source, path and site effects. The large number of near-source observed strong ground motions show clear evidence of: forward-directivity, basin generated surface waves, liquefaction and other significant nonlinear site response. The pseudo-acceleration response spectra (SA) amplitudes and significant duration of strong motions agree well with empirical prediction models, except at long vibration periods where the influence of basin-generated surface waves and nonlinear site response are significant and not adequately accounted for in empirical SA models. Pseudo-acceleration response spectra are also compared with those observed in the 4 September 2010 Darfield earthquake and routine design response spectra used in order to emphasise the amplitude of ground shaking and elucidate the importance of local geotechnical characteristics on surface ground motions. The characteristics of the observed vertical component accelerations are shown to be strongly dependent on source-to-site distance and are comparable with those from the 4 September 2010 Darfield earthquake, implying the large amplitudes observed are simply a result of many observations at close distances rather than a peculiar source effect.
Dr. Mark Quiqley is Senior Lecturer in Active Tectonics and Geomorphology in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Canterbury. He is part of the team involved in the scientific response to the Canterbury earthquake and has been monitoring it from the air.
The kids in this house won't be getting presents from Santa this Christmas; collapsed chimney stack following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on 4 September 2010 caused the parapet to topple, taking with it the verandah of this cafe where I had a few coffees.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on 4 September 2010 caused the parapet to topple, taking with it the verandah of this cafe where I had a few coffees.