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Achievement Standard Science 90955 v3: Investigate an astronomical or Earth

science event
Resource title: Christchurch Shakes
Level: 1
Credits: 4
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Investigate an

Investigate, in-depth, an

Investigate,

astronomical or Earth
science event.

astronomical or Earth
science event.

comprehensively, an
astronomical or Earth
science event.

Use the resources to help you select and process information about the key stages in the
February 22nd 2011 Christchurch.
Fill in the templates provided on your instruction sheet. Remember to write down the URL of the
information you have used in the space provided.
Do not write on this pack. Write all your notes and thoughts onto the templates provided.

1) http://www.gns.cri.nz/gns/Home/Learning/ScienceTopics/Earthquakes/Earthquakes-at-a-Plate-Boundary/Plate-Collision-inNZ

Plate Collision in NZ
Earthquakes are a response to the motion between plates. As two plates push together at a steady rate, the rocks
along the boundary become more and more stressed until eventually something has to give - and an earthquake
occurs along a fault somewhere in the plate boundary zone. It's similar to bending a stick. As you bend it with
increasing force, the stick becomes more and more deformed until eventually it breaks ("earthquake!") and each of the
two pieces of the stick spring back to being more or less straight, but in a new position relative to each other.
In New Zealand, the Australian and Pacific Plates push against each other along a curving boundary. How they meet
each other changes along the boundary. At the southern end of the South Island, the Australian Plate dives down
(subducts) below the Pacific Plate whilst in the North Island the opposite situation occurs with the Pacific Plate being
pushed under by the Australian Plate. In between, through most of the South Island, the two plates grind past each
other along the Alpine Fault. To watch a video of how the plate boundary has changed over millions of years click here
The Hikurangi Trough marks the collision boundary to the east of the North Island, and is where oceanic lithosphere
(the Pacific Plate) descends beneath the North Island as a huge inclined slab. As a result of this subduction, magmas
are created at depth that give rise to New Zealand's active volcanoes.

2) http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/parl-support/researchpapers/00PLEcoRP10071/canterbury-earthquake-facts-and-figures

Canterbury Earthquake: facts and figures

29 November 2010
SUMMARY
This paper provides a brief overview of the causes of earthquakes, how they are measured and what factors
contribute the observed patterns of destruction.

What are earthquakes?

New Zealand lies on the boundary of the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates. Tectonic plates are large plates of rock, about 100km in thickness,
that make up the foundation of the earth's crust and the shape of the continents (like pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle). There are ten major plates
and many more minor ones. These plates are in constant motion, travelling at a few centimetres per year.
Tension builds up as they scrape over, under or past each other. In some places movement between the plates is happening all the time, causing
frequent small or moderate earthquakes. Other areas, where the movement is not constant, are prone to stronger quakes separated by longer
periods of time.
Most (though not all) earthquakes occur at faults, which are breaks extending deep within the earth, caused by the movement of these plates. The
point under the ground where the earthquake actually begins is called the hypocentre or focus, while the place directly above it on the surface is
known as the epicentre. Earthquakes cause waves of vibration to travel though the ground. The first sign of a quake is often the rumbling sound
caused by the P (primary or push) waves travelling at about 20,000 kilometers an hour. The S (secondary or shear) waves follow along at about
10,000 kilometers an hour, and cause the main rolling and shaking effects of an earthquake.
The fault that caused the Canterbury earthquake on 4 September 2010 has been named the Greendale Fault. It is a previously unknown fault under
the Canterbury Plains. The epicentre was 40 km west of Christchurch city close to the town of Darfield, at a depth of 10 km.
Scientists from the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) think it is the first time this fault has moved in several thousand years, and it
is unlikely that it will move again for another few thousand years.

Measuring earthquakes
In 1935 the American seismologist Charles Richter invented a scale to indicate the strength of an earthquake. The Richter scale was based on the
largest amplitude recorded on a seismograph. Richters method worked well for small to moderate earthquakes, but the magnitudes of very large
earthquakes were underestimated.
The Richter scale has been superseded by the moment magnitude scale, which is calibrated to give generally similar values for medium-sized
earthquakes (magnitudes between 3 and 7 on the Richter scale) but measures larger earthquakes with greater accuracy. The size of an earthquake
is referred to as its Magnitude (although the Richter scale is often used interchangeably by the non-scientific community).
The magnitude is a measure of the amount of energy released by the earthquake. It is a logarithmic scale, which means that a magnitude seven
earthquake is 32 times as powerful as a magnitude six quake. The largest recorded earthquake was the 9.5 Chilean earthquake in 1960. The 1855
Wellington earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 8.2, the Napier earthquake of 1931 was 7.8, and the recent Canterbury earthquake was of
magnitude 7.1.

The Modified Mercalli (MM) intensity scale is used for measuring the intensity of an earthquake. Mercalli was an Italian seismologist (and priest)
who developed his scale for measuring quakes in the early 20th century. The scale quantifies the intensity of ground-shaking and destructiveness of
an earthquake from MM1 (smallest) to MM12 (cataclysmic). The 1855 Wellington and 1931 Napier earthquakes were both MM10 at their
epicentres. The Canterbury earthquake has been given a MM9 rating. However, this may be revised when a clearer picture emerges of the extent
of the damage not only to buildings but infrastructure such as sewerage and water supply networks.
In contrast the Fiordland earthquake on 15 July 2009 of magnitude 7.8, was given an intensity measurement of MM7 because it occurred in an
isolated area and there was only a small amount of damage to buildings reported in Invercargill.
The Canterbury quake caused extensive damage to certain buildings in Christchurch, in addition landslides occurred in the Rakaia Gorge and
flooding where the Hororata River had burst its banks. However, there was no tsunami resulting from this earthquake as it occurred on land.

Aftershocks
Aftershocks are caused by movement along a fault, and at the tips of the fault, in areas that did not rupture during the main earthquake. They may
also occur in the broader area around the fault, as the surrounding rock mass adjusts to stresses created by the main earthquake.
Aftershock sequences follow predictable patterns based on seismological observations and mathematical modelling. In general, aftershocks decline
in magnitude and frequency, as the distance increases from the epicentre of the main quake. Aftershocks have generally been occurring at the
expected rate following the main Canterbury shock. GNS had not ruled out an aftershock as large as magnitude 6, which was previously expected,
but they now believe the largest aftershock has already occurred (a 5.6 magnitude quake 20 minutes after the main one). [1] To date there have
been more than 2,700 aftershocks in the Canterbury region.

Soil Liquefaction
Liquefaction is a phenomenon in which the strength and stiffness of a soil is reduced by extreme shaking. Historically, it has been responsible for
tremendous amounts of damage in earthquakes around the world.
Liquefaction occurs in saturated soils, that is, soils in which the space between individual particles is completely filled with water. This water exerts a
pressure on the soil particles that influences how tightly the particles themselves are packed together. Prior to an earthquake, the water pressure is
relatively low. However, earthquake shaking can cause the water pressure to increase to the point where the soil particles can readily move with
respect to each other and the soil behaves as a liquid.
Liquefaction is more likely to occur in loose to moderately saturated granular soils with poor drainage, such as silty sands or sands and gravels
containing seams of impermeable sediments. When liquefaction occurs the strength of the soil decreases and the ability to support foundations for
buildings and bridges is reduced.
Sometimes excess water will come to the surface through cracks bringing liquefied sand with it, creating what are known as sand boils or sand
volcanoes.
During the Canterbury earthquake liquefaction and lateral spreading (sideways movement of the ground) occurred in the Kaiapoi area and some of
Christchurch's eastern suburbs. Christchurch is built on the edge of the Canterbury Plains, which are made up of deep layers of sediments
deposited by rivers draining from the Southern Alps. Coarser gravels are common further inland, but close to the coast there are many layers of
finer-grained sediment, such as sand, silt and clay. During the earthquake, the shaking caused liquefaction of these layers which resulted in soil
being discharged to the surface.

What are scientists learning from the Canterbury earthquake?

The main quake was measured by the nationwide network of 100 seismographs and 180 strong motion sensors. A GNS Science-led team,
including personnel from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), Otago University and Victoria University of Wellington, has been monitoring
aftershock activity and collating seismic data in the Canterbury region.
The science team will collect high quality data and information for emergency management and research. Understanding what causes earthquakes,
where and why they happen, is essential in being prepared for further emergencies. Although it is impossible to predict the exact timing of the next
big quake, scientists will increase their knowledge of the statistical risks and potential size of future earthquakes.

Useful links
Geonet - http://www.geonet.org.nz/about/index.html - is a joint project between GNS and the Earthquake Commission. GeoNet operates a modern
geological hazard monitoring system in New Zealand. The GeoNet website provides public access to hazards information, including earthquake
reports and Volcanic Alert Bulletins. Detailed information on the Darfield earthquake is available at http://www.geonet.org.nz/news/article-sep-42010-christchurch-earthquake.html
Institute of Nuclear and Geological Sciences - provides complementary information to the GeoNets commentary on the Canterbury quake
at http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/News-and-Events/Media-Releases/Most-damaging-quake-since-1931/Canterbury-quake
Canterburyearthquake.govt.nz - http://www.canterburyearthquake.govt.nz/ - is a New Zealand government website. The information and tools on
the site are provided to support the response to the Canterbury earthquake. The website provides free access to a wide range of resources. It acts
as a gateway to central and local government resources, news and services.
Canterburyearthquake.org.nz http://canterburyearthquake.org.nz/ - is managed by Environment Canterbury. It was set up to collate a range of
sources relating to the Canterbury earthquake.
Charles Feltham
Research Analyst - Parliamentary Library

3) http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4096802/Canterbury-earthquakereally-three-quakes

Canterbury earthquake really three quakes?

Last updated 21:26 04/09/2010
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Scientists are investigating whether the 7.1 magnitude earthquake which struck Christchurch and its surrounding communities
today was actually two or three shocks in quick succession.
The US Geological Survey (USGS ) in Golden, Colorado, has said that scientists are still trying to reconstruct the way today's
quake played out.
"We think that this is a very complex event," said geophysicist Paul Caruso. "We think that the main shock may have consisted
actually of three earthquakes."
GNS Science in Wellington - which changed its initial calculations of a 7.4 magnitude shake 30km west of Christchurch to a 7.1
shake 40 km west - said it could not confirm the mechanisms of the earthquake.
"There are several parts to this earthquake occurring within seconds of each other and it will take some time to decipher what the
waveforms recorded by our seismographs tell us about the sequence of events," said a spokesman.
But GNS scientist Dr Hamish Campbell said there was potential for a quake to propagate from one end of a fault to the other: the
Napier quake moved from the southwest to the northeast.
And Pennsylvania State University geoscientist, Professor Kevin Furlong, who is spending a sabbatical year at Canterbury
University, told NZPA that the direction of rupture could significantly affect the way ground motion was felt, but detection of
"directivity" would have to wait on detailed analysis.

He said there was an initial foreshock of about a 5.8 magnitude, about five seconds before the main impact, and possibly from a
slightly different location. "I think a lot of people were woken up by that, without knowing why, then ... whammo!" Prof Furlong said.
"The main shock itself had two main pulses of energy in it."
He spent the day recording the track of the fault, and measured 4m of lateral movement between the two sides of the fault.
"There were several very unlucky people who had the fault go right through their home.
"It was not a pretty sight."
Though the 7.1 magnitude earthquake caused few serious injuries, GNS Science said the effects of the quake look set to be the
most significant since the Napier earthquake killed 256 people in 1931 - that 7.8 magnitude shake caused the largest loss of life
and most extensive damage of any recorded New Zealand quake.
Today's shallow quake centred near Darfield has caused millions of dollars worth of damage to homes, commercial buildings, and
infrastucture such as water and sewer networks in mid-Canterbury.
Despite a lot of work in recent years identifying active faults under the Canterbury Plains and in the Canterbury foothills, "at this
stage it appears the earthquake has not occurred on a known fault", said GNS Science duty seismologist John Ristau.
"We had this unknown fault generate a significant quake 30km or so from Christchurch: the fact that there is so little structural
damage to modern buildings is quite remarkable," Victoria University's Professor Euan Smith told NZPA .
"We got off extremely lightly," said Prof Smith.
The energy recorded from the quake indicated the fault line would be about 40km long, and that there had been a couple of metres
of horizontal displacement of rock on each side of the fault, said Prof Smith.
"The suggestion is that it is a fault that is fairly inactive," he said.
This raised the question of why that fault had triggered, and not the Porters Pass fault just to the north. Recent research indicated
the Porters Pass fault generates earthquakes over 7.1 magnitude every 1500 years, with ground displacement of up to 8m.
"We just don't know enough about how the earth works to be able to say why one should go, and not the other," said Prof Smith.

4) http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Our-Science/NaturalHazards/Recent-Events/Canterbury-quake/Darfield-Earthquake

2010 Darfield (Canterbury) Earthquake

In the early hours of Saturday morning on 4 September 2010, people in Christchurch and the surrounding Canterbury
region were jolted awake by the most damaging earthquake in New Zealand since the deadly magnitude 7.8 Hawke's
Bay (Napier) earthquake in 1931. There was one important difference - this time there has been no loss of life. Luck
played a part - the quake occurred at a time when everyone was home in bed and the streets were largely deserted.
However, the lack of casualties was mainly due to New Zealand's strict building codes, which aim to ensure that
buildings do not become deathtraps in a major quake.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred at 4:36 am and was caused by movement of the land along a pre-existing
faultline buried deep beneath the Canterbury Plains. The powerful earthquake was felt throughout the South Island
and lower North Island, with a few scattered reports from as far north as Auckland.
The quake epicentre was 40 kilometres west of Christchurch city, southeast of the town of Darfield. The earthquake is
thus officially called the Darfield earthquake. The depth of the earthquake was relatively shallow, about 10 kilometres
below the surface of the Canterbury Plains. Shallow earthquakes are usually much more damaging than deep ones.

Shaking
The earthquake produced the strongest earthquake ground-shaking ever recorded in New Zealand, with the ground
near the epicentre moving up 1.25 times the acceleration due to gravity.
The buildings that fared worst in the shaking were those built of brick and masonry. In Christchurch, the worst affected
buildings were older, often pre-World War Two, buildings on the fringes of the central business district. Some of their
walls crumbled, with showers of bricks cascading onto the street, some crushing parked cars as they fell. Sadly, some
historical buildings, including churches built of stone, suffered major damage, although Christchurch Cathedral
survived with minor cracks. Close to the earthquake epicentre, a number of fine historic homes, such as the Deans
family homestead at Homebush, were severely damaged.
Brick chimneys became a danger to homes, as they toppled through roofs. One of the few cases of serious injury was
caused by a falling chimney.
After the initial shock, a number of people in the coastal suburbs of Christchurch feared a tsunami and headed for high
ground - exactly what people near the sea should do in the event a large local quake. Fortunately, the movement of
the earth had occurred too far inland to disturb the ocean floor, so there was no tsunami.
Liquefaction
Damage has been heavy in Kaiapoi and some of Christchurch's eastern suburbs, where the shaking has disturbed the
underlying ground. Christchurch is built on the edge of the Canterbury Plains, which are made up of deep layers of
sediments deposited by rivers draining from the Southern Alps. Coarser gravels are common further inland, but close
to the coast there are many layers of finer-grained sediment, such as sand, silt and clay. During the earthquake, the
shaking turned some of the layers of sand and silt to liquid mush. The ground above the liquidised layers spread
laterally, cracking the ground, footpaths, roads, and houses. Water and sewer pipes in the ground broke and water
from the cracked mains flooded many streets. Silt from layers below oozed upward, extruding out from under house
foundations and surrounding the homes with thick layers of mud. Muddy mixtures of sand and silt squirted upward
through cracks to produce miniature sand volcanoes.
Finding the fault line
The earthquake happened in an area that has previously had few earthquakes compared to other parts of the South
Island. There are some mapped faults in the region, but the fault rupture occurred along a previously unknown eastwest faultline. It is buried under the gravels that were deposited on the plains at the end of the last glaciation, about
16,000 years ago. As the gravels previously showed no sign of having been disturbed, it is likely that the fault that
caused the Canterbury earthquake had not moved for at least 16,000 years.

Movement along the fault has broken the surface of the plains, creating a visible trace that extends east-west for
about 24 kilometres, from Greendale to near Rolleston. Roads, fences, farm tracks, shelterbelts and irrigation
channels that cross the fault trace have become offset, in places by over three metres. From the offsets, it is evident
that movement along the fault has been mostly horizontal. Relative to the fault trace, the region north of the fault has
moved eastward while the region south of the fault has moved westward. However, closer to the foothills of the
Southern Alps, there is evidence of some upward vertical movement. The movements along the fault trace match the
movement directions indicated by the recorded seismic waves.

Aftershocks
The surfaces of the blocks of land that have moved along a fault are usually irregular, and even after the main
movement has occurred, small areas continue to shift and readjust, producing smaller quakes know as aftershocks.
Aftershocks from a major earthquake usually continue for many days or weeks after the initial quake. Hundreds of
aftershocks have occurred since the main quake on the morning of September 4th. Some of these have been strong
enough to cause damage to structures that were already weakened by the main earthquake.
During the first day after the earthquake, the aftershocks were clustered close to the east-west fault trace across the
Canterbury Plains. However, movement along a fault places additional stress on the surrounding land and on the ends
of the fault that haven't moved. Creeping movement may slowly extend along sections of the fault that didn't move
initially. The zone of aftershocks thus has expanded over time, so it now stretches over 60 kilometres.(Aftershocks
map link). At the eastern end, aftershocks now extend into the southern suburbs of Christchurch and beneath the Port
Hills. Because they are so close to the city, they have been felt particularly strongly. For example, a magnitude 5.1
aftershock near Lyttelton on the morning of September 8th caused some new damage in Christchurch.
The Royal Society has posted a paper from the Office of the Prime Minister's Science Advisory Committee which
answers many questions related to theCanterbury Earthquakes.

5) http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/quake/M+7.1,+Darfield+
(Canterbury),+4+September+2010

M 7.1, Darfield (Canterbury), 4 September 2010

The Darfield earthquake caused severe building damage in mid-Canterbury, particularly to the city of
Christchurch. It revealed the existence of a hidden west-east fault under the gravels of the Canterbury Plains.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred at 4:35 am on 4 September, the epicentre was 40 km west of Christchurch
City, and the depth of the quake was at 10 km. The epicentre was close to the town of Darfield. There was no tsunami
resulting from this earthquake as it had occurred on land. It was the most damaging earthquake in New Zealand since
theHawke's Bay Earthquake in 1931, but there was no loss of life. It was fortunate the earthquake occurred when the
central city streets were deserted, as there would almost certainly have been many deaths and serious injuries had it
happened during a busy time of the day.
Christchurch City and its environs had only experienced three moderate earthquakes in the previous 40 years. All that
changed with the Darfield earthquake, as dozens of its aftershocks caused at least moderate damage; a moderate
earthquake is one that produces a shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli 6. The Darfield earthquake sequence initiated
three other significant earthquakes close to the city of Christchurch:

M 6.3, 22 February 2011 (the Christchurch Earthquake)

M 6.4, 13 June 2011

M 6.0, 23 December 2011

The Canterbury Plains are covered with river gravels so we cannot see the evidence for past active faults in this
region, as they are now buried. It is believed that the newly-revealed Greendale fault was pre-existing, and a patch
was re-activated during the Darfield earthquake. Large (up to 700 km long) normal faults with the same strike
(direction) are numerous on the Chatham Rise, out to sea east of Banks Peninsula.

Location: Darfield (mid-Canterbury)

Date (NZ Standard Time): Saturday, 4 September 2010 at 4:35 am

Epicentre: 43.53S, 172.17E

Focal Depth: 11 km

Maximum Intensity: MM 9

Magnitude: MW 7.1

Casualties: No casualties reported

GeoNet Summary

Focal Mechanisms
Focal mechanisms or fault plane solutions show the fault and direction of slip. Focal mechanisms of the Darfield
earthquake and nearly a month's worth of aftershocks are shown in Fig. 1. The yellow focal mechanisms are for the
main shock as derived by GeoNet (top) and USGS (bottom). The surface fault trace is shown as red line segments.
The main shock (location indicated by a yellow star) has a reverse faulting mechanism . Most of the aftershocks
located near the epicentre have strike-slip mechanisms . To the west, closer to the foothills, reverse faulting has also
been observed, and the two mechanisms for aftershocks close to Christchurch also have a strong reverse faulting
component.

Felt earthquake reports

The accompanying map (Fig. 2) shows shaking intensity from the Darfield earthquake for the South Island. It uses
over 6,000 reports from throughout New Zealand. In areas where there is only sparse population, the intensity
estimation is not particularly accurate - the white and blue regions. But in the more densely populated Canterbury
(yellow and red) regions, it is apparent that the greatest shaking occurred along the same direction of the surface fault
line, and was also reported up the coast from Christchurch and at some locations on Banks Peninsula.
Minor damage occurs above Modified Mercalli (MM) intensity 6 and structural damage above MM 8. Our felt report
questionnaire can only determine intensities up to MM 8, although the scale itself goes as high as MM 12. Intensities
above MM 9 are usually determined by engineers who inspect damaged structures in some detail.

Deformation
A GNS Science-led team including personnel from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), Otago
University and Victoria University of Wellington deployed portable instruments and occupied 74 pre-existing GPS
survey marks within approximately 50 km of the earthquake, looking for changes:

Twenty-eight were pre-existing high-quality marks, many of which were most-recently surveyed in February
2008; these marks were occupied for two days.

Forty-six were pre-existing lower-quality (third-order) marks, which probably have pre-earthquake coordinates
good to a few centimetres. These were observed with a mixture of fast-static (1-2 hour) and RTK techniques. Fig. 3
shows a map with the location of each type of survey marks.

Engineering
The maps in Figs. 4 & 5 show Peak Ground Accelerations (PGA) caused by the mainshock recorded by GeoNet
instruments. Note in particular the reading of 125%g near the epicentre; this represents an extremely rare seismic
recording made near a fault rupture. 125%g means an acceleration 1.25 times that of acceleration due to gravity.
The full set of accelerograph data for the Darfield earthquake , together with PDFs of the waveforms, are available
from the GeoNet strong-motion FTP site . Data files are in ASCII format - view the relevant documentation for
decoding the files and descriptions of site conditions.

6) http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/historic-earthquakes/page-12

Story: Historic earthquakes

Page 12 The 2010 Canterbury (Darfield) earthquake
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred near Christchurch at 4.35 a.m. on Saturday 4
September 2010. It was widely felt over the South Island and the southern North
Island, and caused considerable damage in central Canterbury, especially in
Christchurch. It was the largest earthquake to affect a major urban area since the 1931
Hawkes Bay earthquake.
The epicentre was around 37 kilometres west of Christchurch, near the town of
Darfield. Because of this, its scientific name is the Darfield earthquake, though it is
more widely known as the Canterbury earthquake. It was a relatively shallow
earthquake about 10 kilometres below the surface of the Canterbury Plains and
produced the strongest shaking ever recorded in New Zealand. Ground near the
epicentre moved up to 1.25 times the acceleration due to gravity. The earthquake was
accompanied by a large surface rupture.

Damage
There was no loss of life, and few serious injuries. The quake occurred at a time when
most people were in bed and the streets were largely deserted. The lack of casualties
was also due to strict building regulations and partial strengthening of many older
buildings.
The worst damage was suffered by older (mainly pre-1940s) buildings constructed of
brick and masonry, and lacking adequate reinforcement. Some walls crumbled, with
bricks cascading on to the streets. Brick chimneys toppled through tile roofs. One of the
few cases of serious injury was caused by a falling chimney. A number of historic stone

churches were badly damaged, although both the Anglican and Catholic cathedrals
survived with minor cracking. An early Treasury estimate of the cost of the earthquake
was $4 billion.

The Greendale Fault

A fault rupture occurred along a previously unknown faultline, which has been named
the Greendale Fault. Movement along the fault has broken the surface, creating a fault
trace that extends for 30 kilometres west from Rolleston. Roads, fences, shelter belts
and irrigation channels have been offset sideways, in places up to 5 metres, with up to
1.3 metres vertical offset. The area to the north of the fault rupture has moved
eastwards and the area to the south has moved westwards.
Aftershocks continued for several months after the earthquake, some strong enough to
cause damage to already-weakened structures. The aftershocks were mainly clustered
along the Greendale Fault, reflecting gradual readjustment of the earths crust to a
major rupture. As some of the aftershocks at the eastern end of the Greendale Fault
were close to Christchurch, they were felt particularly strongly.

Liquefaction and lateral spreading

The earthquakes shaking turned water-saturated layers of soft sand and silt into liquid
mush, a process known as liquefaction. The most badly affected areas were close to the
coast, especially the town of Kaiapoi and the Christchurch suburb of Bexley, where a
number of modern houses were damaged. The ground above the liquidised layers
subsided unevenly, cracking footpaths, roads and houses. Water and sewer pipes broke,
leading to local flooding. Silty sludge squirted upwards through cracks to produce small
sand volcanoes.
Cracks opened up close to rivers and streams where the ground moved downslope
towards the water, causing damage to man-made structures a process known as
lateral spreading.

7) http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/News-and-Events/MediaReleases/earthquake-part-of-aftershock-sequence

6.3 magnitude earthquake part of aftershock sequence - 25/02/2011

24/02/2011 12:32 pm

This weeks devastating magnitude 6.3 earthquake centred southeast of Christchurch was part of the
aftershock sequence that has been occurring since the September magnitude 7.1 quake near Darfield, 40km
west of the city, an earthquake geologist said today.
It caused about 10km of subsurface rupture in an east-west direction between Halswell and Sumner on the coast,
Natural Hazards Research Platform Manager at GNS Science, Kelvin Berryman said.

The number of aftershocks in the first 24 hours was higher than expected for a magnitude 6.3 earthquake, but had
since tailed off sharply and they were now less frequent than aftershocks at the equivalent time after the magnitude
7.1 earthquake, Dr Berryman said.
In time, the rate of aftershock activity would decay back down to the level before the magnitude 6.3 earthquake, and
then continue to decrease as before.
There was no obvious underground structure directly connecting the subsurface rupture that produced Tuesdays
earthquake with the Greendale Fault that ruptured in Septembers magnitude 7.1 earthquake,
Aftershocks have been spreading both west and east since the magnitude 7.1 Darfield earthquake in September and
this has resulted in increased stresses in the earths crust in the Canterbury region, Dr Berryman said.
An expanding cloud of aftershocks, particularly at both ends of the main fault rupture, was a familiar pattern with
large earthquakes worldwide, he said.
Dr Berryman said seismic energy travelled in waves and could be reflected off hard surfaces, much like sound waves.
With the epicentre of Tuesdays earthquake in the Port Hills, a large amount of energy could have been reflected off
hard volcanic rock at depth. This would have compounded the impact of the earthquake at the surface.
Geologists had suspected for some time that there were buried and unrecognised faults in Canterbury. Some of these
faults might not have moved for many thousands of years, but had been reactivated as stresses in the earths crust
had been redistributed since September 2010.
If you strip away the sediment and gravels of Christchurch and the Canterbury plains you would see the bedrock
looking like broken glass from millions of years of earthquake activity.
The underlying geology of Canterbury was the western end of the Chatham Rise which was broken with many eastwest trending faults. Many geologists believed that modern-day tectonic plate motions in the South Island had
reawakened some of these very old faults, causing them to fail.
The Greendale Fault that ruptured in Septembers earthquake was one of these very old faults. Dr Berryman said the
magnitude 7.1 earthquake in September was an extraordinarily complex event with up to four interconnected faults
rupturing almost simultaneously.
The pattern of aftershocks since September has also been complex, making it difficult for scientists to understand the
stress-related mechanisms occurring in the earths crust.
This weeks magnitude 6.3 earthquake appears to have been a less complex event with just one fault rupturing.
The frequency of aftershocks would continue to decrease in the coming weeks. When viewed over periods of many
weeks, this reduction tended to be fairly regular, but there were often anomalies, as the magnitude 6.3 earthquake had
shown.