What will happen when the Alpine Fault goes?
What will happen when the Alpine Fault goes?
The rupture will produce one of the biggest earthquakes since European settlement of New Zealand, and it will have a major impact on the lives of many people. In between earthquakes, the Alpine Fault is locked. When the Alpine Fault next ruptures it is likely to produce an earthquake with a magnitude of around 8.
When was the last time the Alpine Fault rupture?
. 1717 AD
The last major earthquake on the Alpine Fault was in c. 1717 AD, the probability of another one occurring within the next 50 years is estimated at about 75 percent.
What plate boundary must an Alpine Fault?
The Alpine Fault is a geological fault, known as a right-lateral strike-slip fault, that runs almost the entire length of New Zealand’s South Island. It forms a transform boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate.
What is special about the Alpine Fault?
The Alpine Fault, which runs for about 600km up the spine of the South Island, is one of the world’s major geological features. It’s the “on-land” boundary of the Pacific and Australian Plates. This fault has ruptured four times in the past 900 years, each time producing an earthquake of about magnitude 8.
Will the Alpine Fault cause a tsunami?
A: It’s possible that an earthquake on the Alpine Fault could generate a local tsunami. In this scenario, the southern parts of the fault could rupture across the seafloor and, depending on movement across the fault during the earthquake, could generate local tsunami.
Why does the Alpine Fault exist?
The Alpine Fault is called a strike slip or transform fault. The Australian plate is sliding horizontally towards the north-east, at the same time as the Pacific plate is pushing up, forming the Southern Alps. When tectonic forces overcome this locking, the fault slips, jumping up to a distance of 8 metres at a time.
What is the likelihood of a big earthquake on the Alpine Fault?
a 75%
The new earthquake evidence and computer simulations indicates that there is a 75% probability of a rupture on the central section of the Alpine Fault over the next 50 years. This means the next event is likely to happen within current planning horizons and the lives of many New Zealanders alive today.
How fast in mm/yr is the Alpine Fault moving?
Every year the sides of the island nation’s Alpine Fault shift past one another about 30 millimeters—a blistering speed for strike-slip faults, which typically slip at rates closer to one or two millimeters a year.
Is the Alpine Fault in New Zealand a transform boundary?
Transform Boundary – Alpine Fault, South Island, New Zealand The Alpine Fault is a geological fault, specifically a right-lateral strike-slip fault, that runs almost the entire length of New Zealand’s South Island. It forms a transform boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate.
Which is subducting plate is the Alpine Fault?
The Indo-Australian Plate is subducting towards the east south of the South Island and the Pacific Plate is subducting towards the West to the north. In the middle the Alpine Fault is a transform boundary and has both dextral (right-lateral) strike-slip movement and uplift on the southeastern side.
How long will it take for Alpine Fault to rupture?
The rupture of another faultline nearby may trigger it, but we will only know this afterwards. The alpine fault earthquake will alter tectonic stress distribution, and other faultlines may rupture in the days or years following it. The length of the rupture will be up to 400 km, eg. on Haast and spreading north to Ahaura.
Where does the South Island Alpine Fault meet?
The Alpine Fault connects two “subduction” margins where the ocean floor descends into the Earth’s mantle. At this point the surfaces of the two plates making up the South Islands alpine fault meet.