The Earthquake Commission (EQC) has funded another special sensor, which aims to help understand the movement on New Zealand’s biggest “earthquake factory.”
The EQC-funded sensors were recently placed 3,500 metres below the ocean surface near the edge of the Hikurangi subduction zone by an underwater robot called Jason. Jason has a highly skilled arm that will not only place the sensor exactly in place, but at regular intervals over the next five years will return and plug in a connector to download the data for scientists to analyse.
According to GNS Science scientist Dr. Laura Wallace, the Hikurangi subduction zone could generate a very large earthquake and tsunami. Scientists want to understand a lot more about what is happening out there, and having the new EQC-funded gauges undertaking continuous readings over five years is greatly needed.
“Although we’ve got GeoNet monitoring signals from onshore, we also need to better understand what’s happening on the offshore part of the plate boundary, as this is where tsunamis are generated,” Wallace said. “With Jason’s expert help, they can stay on the seafloor and keep feeding scientists with much-needed information about activity on New Zealand’s largest plate boundary.”
Meanwhile, EQC resilience research director Dr. Hugh Cowan noted EQC is pleased to be making a contribution to such an important research topic.
“We know the Hikurangi subduction zone is New Zealand’s biggest ‘earthquake factory,’” Cowan added. “The more we can understand its behaviour, the better communities can plan and prepare to reduce the impact of an earthquake or tsunami generated at sea from this zone.”
