Lake Grassmere Quake Rapid Response

Last month after the M6.5 Cook Strait Quake four of our team went down to Marlborough and installed some temporary instruments to help us better locate the aftershock sequence. I wrote a wee blog on their travels down south as well as what happens at GeoNet HQ after a large quake, you can read it here.

This month the area decided it wanted more action and the M6.6 Lake Grassmere Quake shook up our Friday afternoon, So a rapid response team of Lara, Caroline and Daniel was sent down on Wednesday. Their goal was  to change batteries in the sites set up in the last trip and get the data cards from them, which will include the M6.6 quake data. They have also installed 4 new temporary instruments (three strong motion and one short period), slightly further South from the instruments put out last month, to again help better locate the after shock sequences.

Below are some pictures of their work, heavy rain and dirt farm tracks meant it was safer to get to the sites via helicopter.  This is also Carolines first week working at GeoNet - what a start!

 

Lara and Dan putting the fence around the site at Glenlee Station (SP on the map)

Heading off to the Awatere Valley

Lara, Caroline and the helicopter pilot at Muller Station, with a rainbow!(SM3)

Lara and Dan setting up the Strong Motion instrument at Gladstone Station (SM2)

Caroline supervising Dan digging at the last site, Glen Orkney Station (SM1)

GoogleEarth showing the location of the four new sites (green triangles) and the two large quakes