tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31840097752155883542024-03-08T23:29:39.512+13:00GeoNet - Shaken not stirredSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-71710789815493880182017-09-12T11:51:00.003+12:002017-09-12T11:51:35.504+12:00So its been a wee bit quiet here .....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/1Zbeweu52ZaQE/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="208" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/1Zbeweu52ZaQE/giphy.gif" /></a></div>
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I was off work for all of 2016 with my beautiful baby girl and now i am back, but still no blogs????</div>
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Well we have changed up our style of writing at <a href="https://www.geonet.org.nz/" target="_blank">GeoNet</a> and our news stories have more personality, and flair! And this was my reason for starting the blog in the beginning, a place to write in a more 'fun' way, so there really isn't any need for it anymore. But I'll keep the blog sitting here and maybe one day i'll come back! </div>
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You can check out the GeoNet news stories <a href="https://www.geonet.org.nz/news" target="_blank">here</a></div>
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Thanks for reading </div>
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-91489723707878100612015-12-16T11:13:00.001+13:002015-12-16T11:32:59.765+13:00AC/DC rock New Zealand. <br />
Now you may remember when the <a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/rock-n-roll.html" target="_blank">Foo Fighters came to Auckland in 2011 we recorded the crowd vibrations on our instruments. </a><br />
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Well AC/DC played in Wellington on Sunday, and Auckland last night, and our instruments picked them up as well.<br />
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The shaking is caused by the weight of the fans dancing, as well as the sound system.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhGT6qmFD4RC3rcruQxWuZGY1-s_p_0mu0-vWG6CPwW__Pg2xfdvoxBOZTBxYK1QOuDooxP73KYjMVXK8pAmfuIZ3sHBAoDocww6Fscx9rWFMhakui9Ag2cBvpH1b3s8kECg0xzPNUFQ/s1600/ACDC+Auckland+Concert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhGT6qmFD4RC3rcruQxWuZGY1-s_p_0mu0-vWG6CPwW__Pg2xfdvoxBOZTBxYK1QOuDooxP73KYjMVXK8pAmfuIZ3sHBAoDocww6Fscx9rWFMhakui9Ag2cBvpH1b3s8kECg0xzPNUFQ/s400/ACDC+Auckland+Concert.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Auckland</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDE3fmf-E7xCrKoaUG05mSvI1LB_Plp8RsKV_d-LfeqgM76bi2ykFeyV85V0Xvl1fMssYncOgL2JossuBjxLhd_IVuRnCrJGwCB5yjdfIgRUzPA_gLCQpZTVIr3wdPrB6c3fThZZq4C8/s1600/ACDC+Wellington+Concert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDE3fmf-E7xCrKoaUG05mSvI1LB_Plp8RsKV_d-LfeqgM76bi2ykFeyV85V0Xvl1fMssYncOgL2JossuBjxLhd_IVuRnCrJGwCB5yjdfIgRUzPA_gLCQpZTVIr3wdPrB6c3fThZZq4C8/s400/ACDC+Wellington+Concert.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wellington</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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You can see the concert show up in the middle of the seismograph. <br />
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The Wellington concert looks bigger as our instrument was closer to the concert venue.<br />
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Looking at our Herne Bay instrument we can compare the two Auckland concerts, and you can clearly see (check out the scale) the Foo Fighters crowd in 2011 created a lot more ground vibration.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwF45XTh0tuvjBOuGahmjGvc_3qByuL-MF9oyPW1mIdHplRHpgVFdFWzqe1g2QztyjX71AlhkY3Fkc79NGbAgJjzjjO3jnBz652m5HWoFi_LuP_C6wLOli4Z4a-Lb66TQYFpmont8KmdA/s1600/ACDC+Herne+Bay+trace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwF45XTh0tuvjBOuGahmjGvc_3qByuL-MF9oyPW1mIdHplRHpgVFdFWzqe1g2QztyjX71AlhkY3Fkc79NGbAgJjzjjO3jnBz652m5HWoFi_LuP_C6wLOli4Z4a-Lb66TQYFpmont8KmdA/s640/ACDC+Herne+Bay+trace.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AC/DC 2015</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOEvYkRp4PKxE2lCbY8upzcwQeQJwsmGktuFyMeU2jaJQ_w1clbX4kYi5BVunYiMxGV525q5-KwFwclUHTioIl8COtH4JMcJlH_2z-BmrA2J6D_ZjFeECPDqT-B4FbTMXqUublJwK2mi0/s1600/FooFighters+Trace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOEvYkRp4PKxE2lCbY8upzcwQeQJwsmGktuFyMeU2jaJQ_w1clbX4kYi5BVunYiMxGV525q5-KwFwclUHTioIl8COtH4JMcJlH_2z-BmrA2J6D_ZjFeECPDqT-B4FbTMXqUublJwK2mi0/s640/FooFighters+Trace.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foo Fighters 2011</td></tr>
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-36168458942217731182015-09-24T10:01:00.001+12:002015-09-24T10:03:14.029+12:00Whats up with those deep quakes?As many of you know New Zealand is right in the middle of the <a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/plates-and-quakes.html" target="_blank">boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates </a>and this is the cause of all of our earthquakes and volcanoes!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCCi79iKaJVsEkrPL-K3KtG24u9Zt2rsONbpq26NzFcGHRl0y0g9kKxEA6YEUvH4lLYl4OYex3_MXqVkcMDDsG_lXauTZogG2RjdlSc6dT4lAvRj1wy5fJb-PRT1ZunvGdRr77kyWCoA/s1600/Plates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCCi79iKaJVsEkrPL-K3KtG24u9Zt2rsONbpq26NzFcGHRl0y0g9kKxEA6YEUvH4lLYl4OYex3_MXqVkcMDDsG_lXauTZogG2RjdlSc6dT4lAvRj1wy5fJb-PRT1ZunvGdRr77kyWCoA/s320/Plates.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
In the North Island the Pacific plate is going down underneath the Australian plate (<a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=subduction%20zone" target="_blank">this is called subduction</a>) and this is why we get those deep earthquakes in the middle of the North Island.<br />
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This mornings <a href="http://www.geonet.org.nz/quakes/region/newzealand/2015p718332" target="_blank">M5.1 quake</a> was 167km deep and we received over 3000 felt reports from people who felt it. Due to its depth the quake was not damaging, and most of the reports were of light/weak intensity. (<a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/intensity-reminder.html" target="_blank">you can read more on intensity here</a>).<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXXi1ZaL2_PB0TXbzX4rRjeK7cyA53t6yPneojceuWpUoJivt8ECz87_2ga0c8R1cU2PK_iwJ52xElwq5u2dhT1EQAsQOIFp4hn7tUb-6Wskt7xmLVBZ3GxpCLvNT9zULZBkprmmmBD0/s1600/sep+quake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXXi1ZaL2_PB0TXbzX4rRjeK7cyA53t6yPneojceuWpUoJivt8ECz87_2ga0c8R1cU2PK_iwJ52xElwq5u2dhT1EQAsQOIFp4hn7tUb-6Wskt7xmLVBZ3GxpCLvNT9zULZBkprmmmBD0/s320/sep+quake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Felt reports from the M5.1 event.</td></tr>
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The energy released by deep NZ earthquakes travel more efficiently up the denser subducting Pacific plate, rather than
the overlying Australian plate and as a result these earthquakes are often felt very
strongly to the south-east of where they occurred. So you will often see more felt reports away from the quake than directly above it.<br />
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This is shown well on the M5.1 quake today, the image to the left shows the felt reports we received. As you can see most of the reports are away from the quake (highlighted by a rad star).<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeGLOtdxC9gMQm9y-VIXSDYddM3Y2nwjwuxmGSOZ1_Yy4YDvsn0dr_IIzh242VzYOSYmQYKECHscMVsA1_uwK3OWDG1OXGq0MZA97pvc42KzodsTqYmQWIq0wclqjgjuXIdFDcZ-Iins/s1600/deep+quakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeGLOtdxC9gMQm9y-VIXSDYddM3Y2nwjwuxmGSOZ1_Yy4YDvsn0dr_IIzh242VzYOSYmQYKECHscMVsA1_uwK3OWDG1OXGq0MZA97pvc42KzodsTqYmQWIq0wclqjgjuXIdFDcZ-Iins/s320/deep+quakes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deep quakes (100km+) in NZ over the past year</td></tr>
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<b>What about the rest of NZ?</b><br />
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In the bottom of the South Island the opposite is happening with the Australian plate subducting under the Pacific plate, so we also get deep events here.<br />
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And in the middle, for most of the South Island, the two plates are colliding and grinding past each other (why we have the cool Alps)<br />
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You can see exactly how the plates are moving under NZ, on a cool diagram <a href="http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Earthquakes-at-a-Plate-Boundary/Plate-Collision-in-NZ" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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Here is a handy video by GNS Science, which explains how the tectonic plate boundary creates faults and earthquakes in NZ. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aQTfFCMYEI4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aQTfFCMYEI4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-12734566760126959322015-09-04T10:08:00.002+12:002015-09-04T12:20:14.345+12:00The M7.1 Darfield Earthquake AnniversaryI'm sure most of New Zealand remembers either waking up to the shaking at 4:35am, or to the news of the earthquake 5 years ago. It was a day that changed many peoples lives from damaged homes and buildings, to some months later where friends and loved ones lives were tragically lost in the M6.3 Christchurch quake.<br />
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Although far in distance from Christchurch, life at GeoNet also changed on that day, from all the science to be done, to the thousands of aftershocks that needed to be located. This ultimately led to our big change to an<a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/geonet-rapid-why-is-it-different.html" target="_blank"> automated earthquake location system SeisComP3 </a>and our big website update (<a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2015/03/a-tardis-trip-down-memory-lane.html" target="_blank">you can read more on that here). </a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglx9iE4MqtOZnjf849wciyjhI91yNwdk7_C_wPttRwfpJt6hI1b6zbNS2t3E5uAuCG5_4jzac63q8qsjKUr7BcCoeGZNgkJk9BadEdZHY3ffQyKKlJvrFq1T39izjNs2Y24T_SGyHBecc/s1600/5+Yrs+since+the+Darfield+7.1-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglx9iE4MqtOZnjf849wciyjhI91yNwdk7_C_wPttRwfpJt6hI1b6zbNS2t3E5uAuCG5_4jzac63q8qsjKUr7BcCoeGZNgkJk9BadEdZHY3ffQyKKlJvrFq1T39izjNs2Y24T_SGyHBecc/s640/5+Yrs+since+the+Darfield+7.1-3.png" width="438" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some stats from the Darfield quake</td></tr>
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You can read more about the earthquakes and the science behind them, on the <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/KoEO" target="_blank">Canterbury Quakes page</a> including, news stories and the<a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/XIEO" target="_blank"> numbers of aftershocks </a>the region has had. </div>
<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-27456279414782378952015-04-07T09:54:00.000+12:002015-04-07T10:20:16.528+12:00That Earthquake Felt Bigger... is something we often hear at the office.<br />
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Now while an earthquakes magnitude is the true size of that particular quake and the energy it released at the source, it does not describe how that energy was directed, and how the quake was felt on the surface.<br />
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So you can have two magnitude 5 quakes in different towns, with very different results:<br />
~ one causes no damage and not all people felt it, while the other caused damage in most houses,was felt my most people, and many were shaken and scared.<br />
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<b><i>So why the difference? Read on to see</i></b></div>
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This is where Intensity comes in</h3>
You can see each quakes intensity on our website - its based on a number scale but we have added in words and colours to make it easier/quicker to see. You can see in the table below, the scale ranges from MM1 - unnoticeable (which may be felt by some people) to Severe - which covers damaging up to worse case scenario MM12. <br />
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The two Christchurch quakes this Easter Weekend, both M3.8, were both MM5/Moderate - which if you read below in the table, were not small quakes!<br />
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So next time you look at an earthquake, check out its intensity - it will give you a better idea of the effects the quake had on people/buildings etc. on the surface. If you look at your regions quakes you will see two intensities given, so how the earthquake was felt at its location, and how the earthquake was felt at your location. <a href="http://geonet.org.nz/quakes/region/aucklandnorthland/felt/weak" target="_blank">The Auckland page </a>is a good example of this, as they don't frequently get quakes in the Auckland region, so you can see the quakes listed are all of a larger intensity, but only felt 'weak' in Auckland.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdsXINotXiL-lIflDegRFPZu9Ij1vlmEC8T7kVqYM_lWJKQDKrCfmGu6tuoQgKWxhvTUjRFkVHuevkh5HRsS5tdvl1hSWGJcBmiceVuSmj-WfhwcI-XCe-Q0cq4ohT3Q322VK4qjZjw0/s1600/MMI.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdsXINotXiL-lIflDegRFPZu9Ij1vlmEC8T7kVqYM_lWJKQDKrCfmGu6tuoQgKWxhvTUjRFkVHuevkh5HRsS5tdvl1hSWGJcBmiceVuSmj-WfhwcI-XCe-Q0cq4ohT3Q322VK4qjZjw0/s640/MMI.JPG" height="444" width="640" /></a></div>
Full page <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/b4Ih" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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<i><b>So those two Magnitude 5 quakes...</b></i><br />
~ The first had an intensity of MM4/ light and the second was MM6/Strong<br />
So you cannot take a quake at its magnitude/face value, you really need to know the MMI level to truly know how the people on the surface felt it.<br />
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Some Intensity examples of our quakes: </h3>
The 2014 Eketahuna quake was MM8<br />
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The 2013 Lake Grassmere quake was MM9 and the Cook Strait quake was MM8<br />
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Both the 2010 Darfield earthquake, and the 2011 Christchurch earthquake were MM9<br />
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The 1855 Wairarapa, and 1931 Hawkes Bay earthquakes both had an intensity of MM10! <br />
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Check out t<a href="http://geonet-scienceinaction.blogspot.co.nz/2012/09/felt-intensity-what-you-feel-is-what.html" target="_blank">he boss' blog</a> with more on felt intensity.<br />
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-80038751051922610952015-03-31T12:58:00.000+13:002015-03-31T12:58:39.840+13:00A Tardis Trip Down Memory Lane ...<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Beginning - Red and Green </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The website geonet.org.nz that we all know and love, first appeared on the internet on May 20 2002. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNrcfO7Jp7RVbLKYIeRLV9oW-kFvpPH_UQe-aITAvbNVC4bWqAAqiJ260L4B_1L4u1_NpKSENlzrF11M3h21EOGKUC8GZ_WS5zMgpk8ljxOBv4pH4mxgSz7LVDFuMG0gm2JTbJZuuUyo/s1600/June+2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNrcfO7Jp7RVbLKYIeRLV9oW-kFvpPH_UQe-aITAvbNVC4bWqAAqiJ260L4B_1L4u1_NpKSENlzrF11M3h21EOGKUC8GZ_WS5zMgpk8ljxOBv4pH4mxgSz7LVDFuMG0gm2JTbJZuuUyo/s1600/June+2002.jpg" height="243" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Home</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As you can see it was pretty basic, with just the latest quakes and volcano cameras and volcanic alert levels. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPj0X6sU6fsXQ65I_XIw66-1KHx08ib0DJy3F_uuuRakpoKoB7HhKbvEZJV9VmpD3es5gr5Fq1J9KIFHM3YENWUVBlNwq2PonsN3Cet1Csdwkq52sDeTL5GFbaS0OUbLQmWtnlbrNDUI/s1600/June+2002_recent+quakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPj0X6sU6fsXQ65I_XIw66-1KHx08ib0DJy3F_uuuRakpoKoB7HhKbvEZJV9VmpD3es5gr5Fq1J9KIFHM3YENWUVBlNwq2PonsN3Cet1Csdwkq52sDeTL5GFbaS0OUbLQmWtnlbrNDUI/s1600/June+2002_recent+quakes.jpg" height="203" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Recent Quakes</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It was nice and bright (and festive) and featured our lovely red and yellow stars for the earthquakes locations. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In April 2004 we added in 'Felt it' to the quakes, so you could tell us how and where you felt an earthquake.</span><br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fun Fact: To date, the most felt reports we have ever received for an earthquake was 13,900+ for a <a href="http://www.geonet.org.nz/quakes/region/newzealand/2013p203051" target="_blank">M3.9 Auckland Quake</a>! </span></b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">April 2007 - 5 shades of Gray </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_TDRAY_CzV_UpkegVsLqyMfg6POBWwDJLZTwkzB8MyGKwBR4djm1nMFVKG_9zWYRyjtDRULxvRDhIAf5bd8xGOHUKuaMPd-QvyiVdHt4x5cNM9d25XJ7Lpl4hqDjgRZkrmwXpmPtsaQ/s1600/April+2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_TDRAY_CzV_UpkegVsLqyMfg6POBWwDJLZTwkzB8MyGKwBR4djm1nMFVKG_9zWYRyjtDRULxvRDhIAf5bd8xGOHUKuaMPd-QvyiVdHt4x5cNM9d25XJ7Lpl4hqDjgRZkrmwXpmPtsaQ/s1600/April+2007.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 2007 we had a big update, as well as a fresh new look we added in a lot more information on our volcanoes, quakes, landslide and tsunami. We also added in information on our network, data and maps and our latest news. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Now when the <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/soAO" target="_blank">Sept 4 Darfield earthquake</a> occurred, the website looked pretty similar, though it had the cool 'Shake Map' which lit up when an earthquake occurred. (<a href="http://geonet-scienceinaction.blogspot.co.nz/2012/09/felt-intensity-what-you-feel-is-what.html" target="_blank">why did this go?</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9pMiW96_GX2lckngDrhKPpkLM6reWtZ16AhuGZ7ZVoO0gLhq2uGe_oMWDfRB0nIz6Yemcsk1kvXAqR8V6UpN8ioZNuczWg3ktjrOhn5clk7uRi7t0dazRmspyJ4GV3Kbe8LO1kV7Ri4/s1600/2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9pMiW96_GX2lckngDrhKPpkLM6reWtZ16AhuGZ7ZVoO0gLhq2uGe_oMWDfRB0nIz6Yemcsk1kvXAqR8V6UpN8ioZNuczWg3ktjrOhn5clk7uRi7t0dazRmspyJ4GV3Kbe8LO1kV7Ri4/s1600/2010.jpg" height="183" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was this time that GeoNet became a household name, if you check out the 'Google Trends' graph below you will see we were flying under the radar for a bit! Luckily we had an awesome team of geeks and our website stood up to this heavy traffic! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: orange;">Fun fact: we had more web traffic in the week following the Sept 4 quake than the whole previous year! <br /><br /></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back in 2010 we had our duty officers locating the earthquakes and this took up to 20min so it was around this time we were getting the <b><i>"Hurry up GeoNet, how big was it"</i></b> comments! </span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> And due to the large amount of aftershocks we were locating, we were limiting the quakes posted on the website, to the larger, more widely felt events. So then we had lots of <b><span style="font-style: italic;">“I
felt it, why isn’t it on the website”</span></b> </span>comments! </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">So we knew we needed to fix this! </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">In 2011 we started testing the Automated system SeisCompP3 <a href="http://geonet-scienceinaction.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/geonet-rapid-why-now.html" target="_blank">(If you are wondering why we didn't do this sooner, check out this Blog post by the GeoNet Boss)</a> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFW76BdsoqFf4aD3SbNSplkTO2y1woQ1hGAbvU773WvF4O6w9yhl8l-9POG2wXcw1WdS1hyjMhx8eozBaxsbY1nIMBXFTvH5YSBU691CG7pcpnGX-bZInTy9UPFtBkMxFpoXD_9e4fT0/s1600/fast+vs+slow.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFW76BdsoqFf4aD3SbNSplkTO2y1woQ1hGAbvU773WvF4O6w9yhl8l-9POG2wXcw1WdS1hyjMhx8eozBaxsbY1nIMBXFTvH5YSBU691CG7pcpnGX-bZInTy9UPFtBkMxFpoXD_9e4fT0/s1600/fast+vs+slow.png" height="82" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Comparing the two systems EQ posting time</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">So instead of a person logging on to their computer after they were alerted of an event, SeisComP3 automatically went to work as soon as the data started coming in! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9II4k2ANNNBO_MS82yptupqMFDAW8adDo_wxCYUBw093I1cCwdzDmaeqmSJ7Gb7VFEDl2m2ZiWe1tFN__gcyF_7ZbjfVWfx-MMrpIiIxgbR0j78naVbz-PAL1PfJqyK7rlaITHO-AOGo/s1600/Beta+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9II4k2ANNNBO_MS82yptupqMFDAW8adDo_wxCYUBw093I1cCwdzDmaeqmSJ7Gb7VFEDl2m2ZiWe1tFN__gcyF_7ZbjfVWfx-MMrpIiIxgbR0j78naVbz-PAL1PfJqyK7rlaITHO-AOGo/s1600/Beta+2012.jpg" height="246" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">And in 2012 we launched the 'GeoNet Rapid' Beta website and then in September it went live. This was the biggest change to the website yet, and it took people a while to get used to the new way but the speed was definitely appreciated. <a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/geonet-rapid-why-is-it-different.html" target="_blank">You can read more on how it works here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">And this brings us to the website we have now, it may not be obvious but we are always working behind the scenes on <a href="http://geonet.org.nz/">geonet.org.nz</a> to keep it awesome, and continue to make it better! </span></span></div>
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-41380192342372500552014-12-22T14:50:00.000+13:002014-12-22T14:50:03.252+13:002014 - So this was our year ...Another year almost over! I thought i would keep it simple and just show you how our year was (its interactive so you can hover over the graphs and see the numbers)<br />
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I hope you all have a fantastic holiday break, though many of you, like us, will be working throughout! And we look forward to another great year in 2015! <br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="931" scrolling="no" src="https://magic.piktochart.com/embed/3930099-untitled-infographic" style="overflow-y: hidden;" width="600"></iframe>
And yeah, i am aware that by posting this, the jinx factor is now pretty high .......Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-48202456980713437342014-11-14T18:36:00.000+13:002014-11-14T19:23:54.781+13:00Climbing a volcano : the Tongariro Alpine Crossing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXt99AGU6fQw2zI19Ir7FJzA_SvvXv4RqGEQ_ziShRy_AOYVI-RQuPKadZnNmHQvBgDOA6yQInNH1fSDJ1nP_PZ1xvqIeWgoACCrYUbEZGgUuXtnsH7CxI76fL4OUbvfSCpCWilzHUPc/s1600/Tong+&+Nga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXt99AGU6fQw2zI19Ir7FJzA_SvvXv4RqGEQ_ziShRy_AOYVI-RQuPKadZnNmHQvBgDOA6yQInNH1fSDJ1nP_PZ1xvqIeWgoACCrYUbEZGgUuXtnsH7CxI76fL4OUbvfSCpCWilzHUPc/s640/Tong+&+Nga.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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On November the 8th I did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing with my partner and two friends, it was a beautiful day and the mountains looked amazing with a fresh topping of snow!</div>
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Tongariro is actually a complex of multiple volcanic cones that was constructed over a
period of 275,000 years, the active vents include Te Māri, Emerald
Lakes, North Crater and Red Crater. Erosion during the last Ice Age has worn away what was once a large mountain into the amazing hiking destination that it is
today. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The crossing is 19.4km long and is often called one of the worlds best day walks, the down side of this 'best' status is that the walk is very popular and hundreds of people complete it daily.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beginning!</td></tr>
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We started out at 8:30am with the shuttle dropping us off at Mangatepopo car park, the first hour or so is a nice, mostly flat walk where you can enjoy the scenery.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South Crater</td></tr>
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After lulling us into a false sense of security the trail took us to the second stage, the aptly named 'Devils Staircase'. This is where you climb over 300m up across old lava flows, from eruptions in 1870, and other volcanic deposits (pyroclastic flows in 1975).</div>
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This was my least favorite part of the walk, and why there are no photos, however the view from this was impressive and we could even see Mt Taranaki in the distance. The snow started to come into play on this section, with lots of portions of the track very slippery and covered in snow, I was very grateful for my hiking pole!</div>
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We then had a nice flat stroll in the snow across South Crater (which is actually a basin not an actual crater) toward our next climb up to Red Crater, this section had lots of snow and even a chain to clamber up!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the edge of Red Crater looking towards Ngauruhoe </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The view from Red Crater rim is amazing, although there was lots of snow you could still see where it gets its name from. The red colour is caused by the oxidation of iron in the rock. </div>
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It was then onto (my second least favorite part) the steep scree path down to the Emerald Lakes. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Emerald Lakes</td></tr>
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The Emerald Lakes are actually explosion craters filled with water, they get their neat colouring from minerals that have leached from the thermal area around them.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Blue Lake</td></tr>
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After walking across central crater (another faker, it's not a true volcanic crater) the next stop was Blue lake, it is an old lava vent and also gets its colour from the minerals that have dissolved into it. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Central Crater</td></tr>
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In 2012 we had 2 eruptions in Tongariro, the first activity there since 1897. The volcano is still in a state of unrest and you can see steam and gas plumes from the Te Maari craters most days. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down to Lake Rotoaira and Lake Taupo in the distance</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Te Maari steaming away</td></tr>
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The track runs parallel to the craters so you get a great view of the activity on your way down, as well as amazing views across to Lake Taupo.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An impact crater from the Te Maari eruption in 2012</td></tr>
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Flying rocks from the 2012 eruption damaged tracks and the Ketetahi hut. You can also see a few impact craters caused by these flying rocks on the way down, they show just how destructive these rocks can be.</div>
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The end of the crossing was a long gradual descent, with lots of steps, to the Ketetahi carpark and our awaiting shuttle!</div>
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It was an amazing 7.5 hours and I definitely recommend adding it to your 'cool things to do in NZ' list.</div>
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<a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/volc/Tongariro" target="_blank">Read more about Tongariro, its eruptions, and how we monitor the activity </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/central-north-island/ruapehu/tongariro-alpine-crossing/" target="_blank">Information about the crossing from the Department of Conservation</a> they even have an app</div>
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<b>My Crossing Recommendations:</b></div>
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*Proper hiking boots. The trail can be rough and in our case, snowy! </div>
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*Layer your clothing, merino is good for warm and cool temperatures </div>
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*Hiking pole(s) are good, especially if you are as uncoordinated as myself. </div>
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*Sunscreen (don't forget your hands, i did learn that the hard way!)</div>
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*Pack for the changeable weather, don't get caught out! </div>
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*Take plenty of food and water. </div>
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*Knees - the 1200m decent is mostly steps, if you have knee issues think twice or take strapping/braces etc! The long hike out is very painful with a sore knee.</div>
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*And remember you are walking on an active volcano, pay close attention to the information warning signs</div>
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-27872642047099540212014-10-03T14:00:00.003+13:002014-10-03T14:04:39.373+13:00Earthquakes - Where the biggest is not the best ...I was asked the other day if i knew the worlds largest earthquake, it turned out i didn't as i thought it was the 1964 Alaska quake (i wasn't far off though). So i thought i would take a look at the largest quakes in the world, i settled for the top five. And to compare, the top 5 quakes in NZ. <br />
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The top five quakes in the world (since 1900)</h3>
1 - 1960, Chile. The largest recorded earthquake in the world, a magnitude 9.5 with thousands of people killed, injured and millions left homeless. Large tsunamis were generated and reached up to 10m in Hawaii. <br />
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2 -1964, Alaska. The 'Great Alaska Quake' was a magnitude 9.2 and generated a tsunami with a maximum wave height of 67 meters in the shallow Valdez Inlet. The tsunami caused 122 of the 131 deaths of the quake. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The location of the top 5 quakes in the world</td></tr>
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3 - 2004, Northern Sumatra. The Banda-Aceh earthquake was magnitude 9.1 this and the 'Boxing Day Tsunami' caused the deaths of over 200,000 people and displaced millions over 14 countries <br />
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4 - 2011, Japan. The magnitude 9.0 Tohoku Earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed thousands of people. The tsunami waves traveled 10km inland and reached heights of 39m. <br />
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5 - 1952, Kamchatka, Russia. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake also caused a tsunami, with wave heights of up to 15m causing considerable loss of life and damage. <br />
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The Top Five in New Zealand </h3>
Although magnitude is our common gauge of earthquake size, intensity is a better indicator of how the quake was felt on the surface. <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/b4Ih" target="_blank">The Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale,</a> or MM, ranges from MM1 (unnoticeable) right up to MM12 (completely devastating). To make it easier we have these intensities on the earthquakes posted on GeoNet as words: weak, light, moderate, strong, severe. <br /><br /><b> </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVhv4NqzXUCHV-4DMFrcGBCX_jynzl6YkdlhPZ50MN6QrK01NMHYVh3VIBIBP1_Y7-vjMNKCLgwJjaIO-SBwq_d4QrJpWEnHrG4___DfxD6tacc7yVOJLx2aaErh-KUb6VydOlNuRYNU/s1600/Top+5+NZ+Quakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVhv4NqzXUCHV-4DMFrcGBCX_jynzl6YkdlhPZ50MN6QrK01NMHYVh3VIBIBP1_Y7-vjMNKCLgwJjaIO-SBwq_d4QrJpWEnHrG4___DfxD6tacc7yVOJLx2aaErh-KUb6VydOlNuRYNU/s1600/Top+5+NZ+Quakes.jpg" height="320" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The location of the top 5 NZ quakes</td></tr>
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1 - Our largest earthquake was in 1855, the magnitude <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/YIIO" target="_blank">8.2-8.3 Wairarapa quake</a> had an intensity of MM10 and killed 7-9 people. It was also highly destructive in Wellington and generated a tsunami in Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour. It resulted in extensive uplift, including what is now the Hutt Road alongside Wellington Harbour and the Basin Reserve (which was originally part of a waterway that led into the harbour and was proposed as a shipping basin until the quake!)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVyAnGyi8fWB-u0gx9PDB4Csm5o9XO8g5DgtLyNp2TlnJ-cWNUoq8nbiqBtP1JyNFE-Eb5bjHmagTEH8uPrx-uZxZrq8jGY49cf4cOOaTJtekTy1Vf0Rpo1mXphPuPXW04B6vBWJRu6E/s1600/Hawke-s-Bay-Earthquake-2-1931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVyAnGyi8fWB-u0gx9PDB4Csm5o9XO8g5DgtLyNp2TlnJ-cWNUoq8nbiqBtP1JyNFE-Eb5bjHmagTEH8uPrx-uZxZrq8jGY49cf4cOOaTJtekTy1Vf0Rpo1mXphPuPXW04B6vBWJRu6E/s1600/Hawke-s-Bay-Earthquake-2-1931.jpg" height="183" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A damaged road after the Hawkes Bay Quake</td></tr>
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2 -<a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/toAO" target="_blank"> 2009, Dusky Sound (Fiordland)</a> magnitude 7.8, MM7. Due to its isolated location only a few properties were damaged, though it did generate a small tsunami.<br />
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3 - <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/SIIO" target="_blank">1931, Hawkes Bay</a>, Also magnitude 7.8, but with an intensity of MM10, this quake is New Zealand's most devastating quake. 256 were killed, thousands injured and it altered the landscape forever. It was followed by uncontrollable fires due to broken water mains, and is recorded as having caused the largest loss of life in New Zealand’s history.<br />
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4 - <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/TIIO" target="_blank">1929, Buller</a>. Another MM10, this magnitude 7.8 quake killed 15 people, severely damaged many roads, buildings, and bridges. The massive rumbling of this quake was heard as far away as New Plymouth. It also created thirty-eight new lakes from blocked rivers and waterways. 21 still exist today. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSYtla9V_1No4FDuECnLhKUdVESDThtwpsnFOCOsXo9FDf2nI7VGWYB_nn1yoINsWRgXnEB37E8C1Cm8XFFNX1Fhi-8qckCk14bncdSxY-02iDMElXl3qCh_zREEF7OHZ9fDRvK5H4ms/s1600/Murchison-Earthquake-1929_gallery_lge4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSYtla9V_1No4FDuECnLhKUdVESDThtwpsnFOCOsXo9FDf2nI7VGWYB_nn1yoINsWRgXnEB37E8C1Cm8XFFNX1Fhi-8qckCk14bncdSxY-02iDMElXl3qCh_zREEF7OHZ9fDRvK5H4ms/s1600/Murchison-Earthquake-1929_gallery_lge4.jpg" height="320" width="186" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ground rupture following the Buller quake</td></tr>
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5 - <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/QIIO" target="_blank">1934, Horoeka (Pahiatua).</a> Magnitude 7.6. This event caused widespread damage especially in Pahiatua where a number of buildings collapsed. <br />
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Although not up there in size, the magnitude 6.3 <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/rIAO" target="_blank">Christchurch earthquake</a> in 2011 had a MM9, and is our second most devastating quake with 185 deaths. This quake was so damaging due to its shallow (5km) depth and location within 10km of the city. <br />
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You can read more information on these, and other <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/qoAO" target="_blank">historic events here</a> <br />
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It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes<b>
</b> in the world each year. 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 of
them cause damage (<i>USGS</i>) <br />
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<b>Info Sources:</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.usgs.gov/" target="_blank">USGS</a> - United States Geological Survey<br />
<a href="http://www.ga.gov.au/" target="_blank">GA</a> - GeoScience Australia <br />
<a href="http://www.geonet.org.nz/" target="_blank">GeoNet</a><br />
<a href="http://www.teara.govt.nz/" target="_blank">Te Ara</a> - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-72370430433573698842014-08-06T15:34:00.001+12:002014-08-06T16:02:37.016+12:00Earthquakes and PancakesI was on the WestCoast last week and decided to check out <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/ZwvUd" target="_blank">Punakaiki</a>, which is about 40minutes North of Greymouth. As well as home to some amazing scenery, its famous for The Pancake Rocks!<br />
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They were formed around 35 million years ago when tiny bits of dead plant and sea creatures settled on the seabed along with mud and sand. This lovely mixture was then squished by the water pressure and turned into the hard and soft 'pancake' layers of Limestone and siltstone. <br />
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Then the earthquakes come in, and all of this land was folded and lifted above the seabed, where it was then 'sculpted' (especially the soft layers) by rain, wind and the pounding sea. (this occurred over a long time period!)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHjHV2lTC166c450xNrjEc6G8PBHjOwvWi2Dyka_QKGPhwSwrrvEo2j7ZmRCa7EzfvGcM2GfjCulpj5J_QfWyQhG3gFDdRzBESSxgd0wHtUH2hyphenhyphenDaPgEoIjpspzHtKZ2gUGl3-LrwSNc/s1600/Punakaiki+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHjHV2lTC166c450xNrjEc6G8PBHjOwvWi2Dyka_QKGPhwSwrrvEo2j7ZmRCa7EzfvGcM2GfjCulpj5J_QfWyQhG3gFDdRzBESSxgd0wHtUH2hyphenhyphenDaPgEoIjpspzHtKZ2gUGl3-LrwSNc/s1600/Punakaiki+.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The path to the rocks</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Stepping off the State Highway you are immediately transported into an amazing lush green sub-tropical forest with Nikau Palms standing above.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmypv6mkrk3pao9wjZGx8e7TGr25t_20sBDRU2Y7BGJlAEGS_hm6il4izbloLz26fKRHRVN-VU9QeKaQgG0xKp7BfM6B1hd6XbPjUZXtxBbi14bndMa3hBbqguOZqOhFKZeb68RFbkIw/s1600/Punakaiki++4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmypv6mkrk3pao9wjZGx8e7TGr25t_20sBDRU2Y7BGJlAEGS_hm6il4izbloLz26fKRHRVN-VU9QeKaQgG0xKp7BfM6B1hd6XbPjUZXtxBbi14bndMa3hBbqguOZqOhFKZeb68RFbkIw/s1600/Punakaiki++4.jpg" height="172" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing backdrop of misty hills</td></tr>
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It wasn't long before i heard the roar of the first blowhole and looked up to see saltwater mist blowing around in the wind. It was called 'sudden sound' and was very true to its name! (I thought it sounded like a dragon was breathing under the rocks - must watch too many movies) <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkCvIX4JPIDJmfnZ9FFdUkhr80IGUgvc4fNo6dDaD0h7mY525lyceblNB_dE0JJDiVN7jIKGhKfgyr-Vv7vAsEq0BLuLJEfgtHw9g-oAxRr6g598DDCM9tlzrS9BkuPzLieTH637McltY/s1600/Punakaiki++3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkCvIX4JPIDJmfnZ9FFdUkhr80IGUgvc4fNo6dDaD0h7mY525lyceblNB_dE0JJDiVN7jIKGhKfgyr-Vv7vAsEq0BLuLJEfgtHw9g-oAxRr6g598DDCM9tlzrS9BkuPzLieTH637McltY/s1600/Punakaiki++3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mist swirling in 'Putai'</td></tr>
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The blowholes work when it is high tide and a rough sea, as the large waves surge into the rocks, seawater is forced under great pressure into the underground passages. The water follows these passages to the surface and then escapes as fine mist above your head. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYk41kftlUWrnwk5lBVq_bE3QcGvkiSzJER1r7-WuAjEAQYc0R9P9b-Imov8PzIYSgEl40XQqkVNn0uk4tCv8zZshxJTeo5ElYT_xCn1SqyOPtaWV1OH4aHwqmF1hNjDPXb8ZD96olSs/s1600/Punakaiki++5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYk41kftlUWrnwk5lBVq_bE3QcGvkiSzJER1r7-WuAjEAQYc0R9P9b-Imov8PzIYSgEl40XQqkVNn0uk4tCv8zZshxJTeo5ElYT_xCn1SqyOPtaWV1OH4aHwqmF1hNjDPXb8ZD96olSs/s1600/Punakaiki++5.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waves crashing into the rocks</td></tr>
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You then walk on to more exciting sights! I had stormy weather when i visited so the waves were going really high!<br />
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The rock has eroded into some really cool looking shapes and although my pancakes have never looked like that, i can see where it gets its name!<br />
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So if you are ever on the West Coast i recommend you stop in and have a look, its worth it. And the cafe next to the visitors centre sells pancakes ....<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmjBs-2oMroTIa2EFAVNjWeYV1uoACyl0CFayAZUUbDGpNvzOgKtfgyYpgllaQmsv3piilFJNQhSA58JNfxyMBPROYeYDYj9ygwq1x-qqwmXNkuzZ8JQVFpYh8FAm8jrzj1mRat7afXI/s1600/Punakaiki++6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmjBs-2oMroTIa2EFAVNjWeYV1uoACyl0CFayAZUUbDGpNvzOgKtfgyYpgllaQmsv3piilFJNQhSA58JNfxyMBPROYeYDYj9ygwq1x-qqwmXNkuzZ8JQVFpYh8FAm8jrzj1mRat7afXI/s1600/Punakaiki++6.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful views everywhere!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEpInqlRj127D8WXaACzhbsCOxYJTdwYGv4l6G43nIXyQIIY24LyxbiMqPNyHf4Z1w95ug3ndI0GLMoROAXe1Le6iUjb3QI97ALqFiSZGasGc-t-n6GqKxgQrnp67_qdXH0F-0BTGBOaI/s1600/Raoul+Island+quakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEpInqlRj127D8WXaACzhbsCOxYJTdwYGv4l6G43nIXyQIIY24LyxbiMqPNyHf4Z1w95ug3ndI0GLMoROAXe1Le6iUjb3QI97ALqFiSZGasGc-t-n6GqKxgQrnp67_qdXH0F-0BTGBOaI/s1600/Raoul+Island+quakes.jpg" height="268" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Recent quakes close to Raoul Island</u></td></tr>
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Today there was a large <a href="http://geonet.org.nz/quakes/2014p469750" target="_blank">quake in the Kermadecs</a>. This is thousands of kilometers North-East of New Zealand, not far off the volcano Raoul Island.<br />
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Unfortunately this quake, and a few other deeper distant events, cause our system some strife! Our instruments are very sensitive and have no trouble recording distant quakes.<br />
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Now if we start with a wee earthquake 101: Earthquake waves are made up of P-waves and S-waves (amongst others). The P wave arrives first and and then the slower S-wave arrives, you can see this on the photo below. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktAVXu8ErwSRi-oRkpybSLPOL3hg6iKkrfsCRCgDnz06dhWxsA5z1uNwZiBwKYS-h-P0jMzUNgT1_NpAjtHIvKXuKjxS_c4PJoHx9Gr5Hid4JFcFJHn6XJLUifJxqSQkphXIlRn4LVvs/s1600/Jap+Quake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktAVXu8ErwSRi-oRkpybSLPOL3hg6iKkrfsCRCgDnz06dhWxsA5z1uNwZiBwKYS-h-P0jMzUNgT1_NpAjtHIvKXuKjxS_c4PJoHx9Gr5Hid4JFcFJHn6XJLUifJxqSQkphXIlRn4LVvs/s1600/Jap+Quake.jpg" height="196" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M7.2 Japan Quake arriving on our stations</td></tr>
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The delay in the arrival of the S wave (as well as a few other depth related factors) causes our automated quake system SeisComP3 to think that there were actually multiple large quakes in New Zealand, as shown on our app below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwCT3lK8KwPfcXC5EG7LaUC6hLyqWswFU_qsZwJOJt4zWmjHDIm05rNfq8c-Bg0P8lCzlbq-1h_h2phk-cLVRmOCqKDhhWs-EKB0P4XJ8CyLNkiYDsfpwwbZvowMgAWOfdnGmmFtXee0/s1600/IMG_6943.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwCT3lK8KwPfcXC5EG7LaUC6hLyqWswFU_qsZwJOJt4zWmjHDIm05rNfq8c-Bg0P8lCzlbq-1h_h2phk-cLVRmOCqKDhhWs-EKB0P4XJ8CyLNkiYDsfpwwbZvowMgAWOfdnGmmFtXee0/s1600/IMG_6943.PNG" height="200" width="112" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwCT3lK8KwPfcXC5EG7LaUC6hLyqWswFU_qsZwJOJt4zWmjHDIm05rNfq8c-Bg0P8lCzlbq-1h_h2phk-cLVRmOCqKDhhWs-EKB0P4XJ8CyLNkiYDsfpwwbZvowMgAWOfdnGmmFtXee0/s1600/IMG_6943.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><br />
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We have nicknamed these events 'Ghost Quakes'.<br />
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Todays event even gave us "Ghost Aftershocks" with numerous mag 3 and 4 events being posted due to the aftershocks from the large Kermadec event.<br />
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We are always working on our automated system and are trying to teach the system to stop doing this, it is a tricky task however! 99% of the time our system works amazingly and you get good quake info really quickly. If you do get alerted to a large quake the best thing to do it check our website and see if it has been reviewed by one of our team. Another trick is to check the 'felt reports' if a large quake has none, its a bit suspect! <br />
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-13122484700131230642014-05-23T10:04:00.001+12:002014-05-23T10:59:22.664+12:00Quakes, The Final Frontier ...<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Here is something a wee bit odd for a Friday, someone asked me if there were quakes on Mars, would they be called Marsquakes? An interesting question! This led me to find the following article: </span></div><div><a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/scitech/display.cfm?ST_ID=1149" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/scitech/display.cfm?ST_ID=1149</a></div><div>So the moon gets Moonquakes! </div><div><br></div><div>Now how do we know this? The same way GeoNet knows about quakes here in NZ, seismometers! </div><div><br></div><div>Between 1969-1972 four seismometers were placed, by Apollo astronauts, at their landing sites around the moon. The data was radioed to earth until they were switched off in '77.</div><div><br></div><div>This data is still being looked at today, and using improved technology, now available, the data is increasing our knowledge of the moons core. </div><div><br></div><div>Here's a pic of Buzz Aldrin deploying a seismometer on the moon! (NASA) </div><table width="255" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="right" class="insetdefault"><tbody><tr><td width="5"><span style="font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img src="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/images/spacer.gif" width="5" height="5" alt=""></span></td><td width="250"><div class="l2imagecaption" style="font-size: 11px; margin: 5px; color: rgb(22, 90, 174);"><br></div></td><td width="5"><span style="font-size: 17px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img src="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/images/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" alt=""></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLLG4CX60D1z8OdkMZbJWRDMYr0UUnc1SZCyRXBusis0T9ukvvcHdi2zofTvh1UFeVNQo3IMNYP_9vii-AubGNFePqTNdpoFFfFqonnFm84YAvsB_GW7Yqs7evb9Mhfevxr98fHdpHYQ/s640/blogger-image-1641582424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLLG4CX60D1z8OdkMZbJWRDMYr0UUnc1SZCyRXBusis0T9ukvvcHdi2zofTvh1UFeVNQo3IMNYP_9vii-AubGNFePqTNdpoFFfFqonnFm84YAvsB_GW7Yqs7evb9Mhfevxr98fHdpHYQ/s640/blogger-image-1641582424.jpg"></a></div> Now back to Mars ....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">A seismometer was installed by one of the Viking landing probes in the '70s. Now it's a tad windy on the surface so the data has been noisy and no clear quake data has been obtained.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In 2016 there is a new Mars lander launch planned and this (as well as some other fancy toys) includes another seismometer. The InSight has equipment that will drill down so sensors will be placed away from the surface noise and will hopefully give clearer readings. Much like our borehole instruments in the Auckland CBD. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And yes they will be called 'MarsQuakes'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-73628078986964691742014-01-23T16:44:00.000+13:002014-01-23T17:06:48.904+13:00Eketahuna Earthquake Response<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This week I got to go back to my old hometown, and visit my old school! </span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wednesday morning I traveled up to Eketahuna, <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/hwBz" target="_blank">the location of this weeks M6.2 earthquake</a>, with Lara and Sam to install three temporary strong motion instruments around the earthquake epicenter. These will help us get better coverage over the aftershock area, as the more instruments you have, the better earthquake size/location information. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Charlie beside the instrument </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our first stop was my old primary Eketahuna School, here we checked in on technicians Daniel and Charlie who had just finished upgrading the <a href="https://magma.geonet.org.nz/delta/app?service=direct/1/SearchSeismicStation/viewSeismicStation&sp=l941" target="_blank">permanent strong motion site EKTS</a> we have at the school. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We then traveled out east <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Alfredton,+Manawatu-Wanganui,+New+Zealand&hl=en&sll=-37.553858,143.800874&sspn=0.056545,0.077162&oq=alfredton+new&hnear=Alfredton,+Manawatu-Wanganui,+New+Zealand&t=m&z=12" target="_blank">past Alfredton, towards the quake epicenter</a>, where quite a few roads were damaged like the picture below.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SH53 had lots of damage</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There wasn't a lot of cellphone coverage so it was tricky to find a place for our instruments, they also need power and to sit on a concrete pad. Lara had done a lot of prep beforehand and had narrowed down some ideal areas, but we still had to drive around a fair bit looking for houses that had both cellphone coverage, and an ideal area for the instrument.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first farm we visited were happy to let us install some equipment, so our first strong motion site is in their chiller room. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sam busy installing</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The farm is on top of a small hill so one of the few places in the area with excellent cell phone signal, which we need as the data is sent back to us via the cellphone network.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sam has to secure the cases to the concrete floor, he does this by drilling and using bolts, so we really appreciate the home-owners letting us take up power, space and drill holes!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The basalt then gets bolted into the case, this is the instrument which records the shaking of the earthquakes.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Basalt </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The sites all have external GPS which gives us accurate position and, more importantly, accurate timing of the quakes. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Epicenter just over there</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On our way to the second site we drove right past the (rough) <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=-40.62,+175.85&hl=en&ll=-40.617145,175.846567&spn=0.054141,0.077162&sll=-40.609782,175.98793&sspn=0.43318,0.617294&t=m&z=14" target="_blank">M6.2 quake epicenter location</a> (beside Pa Valley Road) just over in the paddock! As you would expect there was a lot of road damage and slips around this area.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Ihuraua,+Manawatu-Wanganui,+New+Zealand&hl=en&sll=-40.735161,175.801892&sspn=0.027023,0.038581&oq=ihuraua&hnear=Ihuraua,+Manawatu-Wanganui,+New+Zealand&t=m&z=12" target="_blank">Our second spot was a tad south at Ihuraua</a>, the farmer had some impressive cracking on his property, he kindly let us use a small room in one of his sheds. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After each site is installed Sam checks to make sure the GPS is talking to the satellites and then calls work to make sure the data is coming through. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Although a large earthquake is not the most ideal time, it was quite neat to be in that area again, as its been some time since i was that far out of Eketahuna. And two of our instruments ended up at homes of people that knew my family. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Most of the people we had spoken to had some damage, things fall over and break in their houses,<b> </b>cracks in walls and paths etc. Its important if this happens after a quake, to not just pick things back up and put them how they were. As we live in such a seismically active country, we always have to be prepared for earthquakes. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So this is a good time to make sure heavy items are secured to the wall and wont fall over again, valuables on shelves wont fall off and break. And to check your chimneys and hot water cylinders for damage and protect them for the future. <a href="http://www.eqc.govt.nz/fixfasten" target="_blank">EQC have a really handy website called Fix. Fasten, Don't Forget</a> which makes this process really simple, it has great information on how to protect all of these things and more. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Also to help get this important message across <a href="http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/News-and-Events/Media-Releases/Timely-reminder-earthquakes" target="_blank">GNS Science, MCDEM and EQC have gotten together to share a reminder on preparing for earthquakes </a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> A little effort now, will save a lot of heartache and nuisance later on! </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhvPNJf85ii-H4CulXJBSjfWz2dEInXUY5R-gXcmg6ziIigzQhM6MEhKmEw4HfvgcUmzYDFIDqcc8hfa6zbYP4Z20-xKgq7x6o63yo0ytFQEmERfFZne4C9lRI3BDiZy8CyxPTzjoAFM/s1600/2014-01-22+14.06.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhvPNJf85ii-H4CulXJBSjfWz2dEInXUY5R-gXcmg6ziIigzQhM6MEhKmEw4HfvgcUmzYDFIDqcc8hfa6zbYP4Z20-xKgq7x6o63yo0ytFQEmERfFZne4C9lRI3BDiZy8CyxPTzjoAFM/s1600/2014-01-22+14.06.25.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>And finally, its always important to wear appropriate</span></span><br />
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-1897797345133770782013-12-18T12:37:00.000+13:002013-12-18T12:37:29.460+13:00Out in the Field - Tagging along with the boysYesterday i went along with two of our technicians, Sam and Todd, they were out and about to fix some of our equipment out in the field. Maintenance is an important job, as we have hundreds of stations all over New Zealand and we have to keep them up and running, weather, computers and animals can all cause issues.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hTpS7Vdb7kaCLlEWHwiie-__JtmwP2Xj7XHBJFyDQG_Dir02wLD4vSCLlX2NeIwZjwuVQF7gImw_1leEq_fKCVBy3sxDE9DjQX0n7VHFG65N8kUZpirVbBk7TH1IWxQ01XY_7cT5yuA/s1600/298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hTpS7Vdb7kaCLlEWHwiie-__JtmwP2Xj7XHBJFyDQG_Dir02wLD4vSCLlX2NeIwZjwuVQF7gImw_1leEq_fKCVBy3sxDE9DjQX0n7VHFG65N8kUZpirVbBk7TH1IWxQ01XY_7cT5yuA/s320/298.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lack of a view</td></tr>
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First stop was up <a href="https://maps.google.co.nz/maps?q=mt+climie&hl=en&ll=-41.15074,175.277252&spn=0.408973,0.617294&sll=-41.039666,175.442452&sspn=1.638658,2.469177&hnear=Mt+Climie+Track,+Upper+Hutt&t=m&z=11&iwloc=A" target="_blank">Mt Climie</a> which on a fine day allows you to look over the Hutt Valley over Wellington the the South Island. Yesterday, however, it was very cloudy and windy so not much of a view! <br />
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Mt Climie is a repeater site for all of our Wairarapa stations a major comms hub for all of our Wellington stations and an important backup link, so when something isn't working we have to get up there right away and get it fixed! It didn't take Sam long to get it back up and running though.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7EUYVK_W1naEgogHuy_N0eRzz_RSY2UEkRGLp-HWcYJy2-AOGy0oi_4Nc78lCQnkWk4F4Fpb7_plumB8QD6YULegep_0rvp0fXKRKKaz4P6-7vO842lXnDkmOjOyqHPjaNb5N1fQHD7M/s1600/299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7EUYVK_W1naEgogHuy_N0eRzz_RSY2UEkRGLp-HWcYJy2-AOGy0oi_4Nc78lCQnkWk4F4Fpb7_plumB8QD6YULegep_0rvp0fXKRKKaz4P6-7vO842lXnDkmOjOyqHPjaNb5N1fQHD7M/s320/299.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucky the equipment is in a nice cosy concrete tank.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkC9HZiFT5qdXd4YUwhLj22HrLr1CTrtH-NbRHx2pbNe71grYnLY8YzIhqPhrIgTr1rNSifpC3Lw9TrVsAO5GvyuQ3jVrx0aRaBDqxQCje4Ef_ZItdLGE8A_bH6WoZ6-tBvm_gHznZiYQ/s1600/303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkC9HZiFT5qdXd4YUwhLj22HrLr1CTrtH-NbRHx2pbNe71grYnLY8YzIhqPhrIgTr1rNSifpC3Lw9TrVsAO5GvyuQ3jVrx0aRaBDqxQCje4Ef_ZItdLGE8A_bH6WoZ6-tBvm_gHznZiYQ/s320/303.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam fixing the radio</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHIjX9ANeQj0Sqn3wkkmY3fJ7vrsEQ3urS-iNFdV6KmnxiGg1C8DZ73Mkp7qJdvkj8HZh9ajssu5KmOf-ibCaLKK8DHOBdyH_zXQNuf2vmijBASwHB7Qj8BLfhQtyQXf0TOn1bhwjtF8/s1600/304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHIjX9ANeQj0Sqn3wkkmY3fJ7vrsEQ3urS-iNFdV6KmnxiGg1C8DZ73Mkp7qJdvkj8HZh9ajssu5KmOf-ibCaLKK8DHOBdyH_zXQNuf2vmijBASwHB7Qj8BLfhQtyQXf0TOn1bhwjtF8/s320/304.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Todd and i looked helpful</td></tr>
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Next stop was <a href="https://maps.google.co.nz/maps?q=-40.58877883,+175.240636358&hl=en&ll=-40.588407,175.252533&spn=0.103115,0.154324&sll=-41.15074,175.277252&sspn=0.408973,0.617294&t=m&z=13&iwloc=near" target="_blank">Moutere Hill</a> in Levin, this is one of our cGPS sites, its on top of a hill in a farmers paddock. The boys put in a new lightning arrestor, this protects our equipment against surges and lightning, this one had gotten wet so was shorting - not very helpful, they think it was due to condensation in the cabinet. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngP_0JpLGVejo8zBmQSbOj5Jf14k8_JkMZ7OHIIhSrT88Lqgddjmk_acYTHQB8GvHMsFpnP5hpD8SxUDNuiIQ-sFTultfVi62HT-KCdTMef9D6VNhFBuCFVRZ6WyvSjGqunny3OqQDGo/s1600/308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngP_0JpLGVejo8zBmQSbOj5Jf14k8_JkMZ7OHIIhSrT88Lqgddjmk_acYTHQB8GvHMsFpnP5hpD8SxUDNuiIQ-sFTultfVi62HT-KCdTMef9D6VNhFBuCFVRZ6WyvSjGqunny3OqQDGo/s400/308.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View towards Levin</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABUIE68VkRoZMv_mlOfOMnx25clRmNwPXyVtYb5c_Y1fTFVlWdkCBXIJKMWG1DOiN2G7KgLN0GGY34rtLM0lvZUy1G-VD0m-5UM5u8Fyq9EZNfonxNvd9DyxmXG1-_cDMV1HXgPbu_3Y/s1600/309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABUIE68VkRoZMv_mlOfOMnx25clRmNwPXyVtYb5c_Y1fTFVlWdkCBXIJKMWG1DOiN2G7KgLN0GGY34rtLM0lvZUy1G-VD0m-5UM5u8Fyq9EZNfonxNvd9DyxmXG1-_cDMV1HXgPbu_3Y/s400/309.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Todd and Sam hard at work</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPO4TRwT3OLxltUjVh0N6SSa0q5A274XZgP_6qFsmcPiCQvI6MPz_PfpZVKxmlDjeaUbZlnP9nvtFWsCWiZolU3EZ9P9q4t59fAX9yt-ecolwDRdGfuUx8LITH-iy76SQdZRi47Z3nqw/s1600/319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPO4TRwT3OLxltUjVh0N6SSa0q5A274XZgP_6qFsmcPiCQvI6MPz_PfpZVKxmlDjeaUbZlnP9nvtFWsCWiZolU3EZ9P9q4t59fAX9yt-ecolwDRdGfuUx8LITH-iy76SQdZRi47Z3nqw/s400/319.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Locals on the way out.</td></tr>
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-67411114357361957722013-12-17T16:54:00.002+13:002013-12-17T16:55:43.256+13:00GeoNet HQ : bells, whistles and flashing lights?Now in exciting disaster movies when they show the experts and scientists, their offices look really exciting with flashing lights and all sorts of moving gadgets. <br />
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A few years ago i posted a wee video tour of our offices, we have had a few inquiries recently on what its like here at GeoNet HQ, so i thought i would make a brand new video.<br />
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So you can have a behind the scenes look at our offices, unfortunately its not quite as exciting as the movies, unless there is a big event and then its all go!<br />
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So here it is:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxo2GcKj1eL3i0COtVoV2eaqxVFUh-8dazvlHB8Re0QE-NRsLu2bIH05I8dcEBB8dFtSTS1kV5BNCLrqhsiXA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-26945766122165315182013-12-10T13:15:00.003+13:002013-12-17T16:54:56.318+13:00To the beach, for work, honest!!!Last week i went to <a href="https://maps.google.co.nz/maps?q=Castlepoint,+Wellington&hl=en&sll=-41.039666,175.442452&sspn=1.638658,2.469177&oq=castlepoint&hnear=Castlepoint,+Wellington&t=m&z=13" target="_blank">Castlepoint</a> beach with technician Sam, this beach is one of my favorites and i have some great childhood memories here, i also spent my birthday here and blogged about the <a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/tsunami-beach-holidays-dont-just-pack.html" target="_blank">beach / holidays and tsunami risk</a> in April. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJo6CqPP0FxXDe2iLID519AreRxLFIutTFPjCMSKL3yKPL6xE3M2Cu5926pbDBdzygxYwJF9oqQMgVqgcWxxh1nvfShBOtR9XZ-hajbzh_5OB339LA8fx5eKzMfzV4iaobp4NUmW9QzZQ/s1600/2013-12-03+11.16.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJo6CqPP0FxXDe2iLID519AreRxLFIutTFPjCMSKL3yKPL6xE3M2Cu5926pbDBdzygxYwJF9oqQMgVqgcWxxh1nvfShBOtR9XZ-hajbzh_5OB339LA8fx5eKzMfzV4iaobp4NUmW9QzZQ/s640/2013-12-03+11.16.42.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQ3NjKQoKdwG-tsrjXshXYvvN14w2PWE1J7aMr4Av5mQk0IiwbCFtj_7ZhXJnIWrN06afnfebBq2Ebq2uhXAryA6JS2qUv2eBErG7LdjQibn4nbe-KmkO7Znx-KZ-OArsFz2f-zxbk8I/s1600/2013-12-03+11.36.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQ3NjKQoKdwG-tsrjXshXYvvN14w2PWE1J7aMr4Av5mQk0IiwbCFtj_7ZhXJnIWrN06afnfebBq2Ebq2uhXAryA6JS2qUv2eBErG7LdjQibn4nbe-KmkO7Znx-KZ-OArsFz2f-zxbk8I/s320/2013-12-03+11.36.48.jpg" width="320" /></a>On this day though we were here to fix the cGPS (continous GPS), so we turned away from the beach and went up onto Castlepoint Station farm.<br />
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After a bumpy ride we were up on top of a hill, with a great view, at the site. This site 'CAST' is a combined cGPS and seismic site, so we get earthquake information as well as ground deformation information.<br />
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We had stopped receiving data from the GPS part of this site, and our monitoring system 'Big Brother' told Sam it was due to a broken Net RS. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoIovdRzHSj4_SIv4TfRgSl_vVqOPye16FfgZNAXlx3DAfsIONvNszpcdQsWqWzNoQTwSCXZG_y_5SL8-99zl82g7YempaQJy894TKB3ihaNEqwdDw0TRfBvyKaf_kUUMJ5RKYjvr_4o/s1600/2013-12-03+11.45.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoIovdRzHSj4_SIv4TfRgSl_vVqOPye16FfgZNAXlx3DAfsIONvNszpcdQsWqWzNoQTwSCXZG_y_5SL8-99zl82g7YempaQJy894TKB3ihaNEqwdDw0TRfBvyKaf_kUUMJ5RKYjvr_4o/s200/2013-12-03+11.45.58.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old yellow RS and the new Grey R9</td></tr>
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So Sam had brought out a shiny new Net R9 (latest model) to replace it. The Net R9 is a
GPS reciever, it gets the data from the GPS and then sends it back to us at
GeoNet HQ. <br />
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After swapping the instruments Sam discovered that the site was still not receiving data, so it was investigation time!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6yKMDnM6CwlfDkg_muSfP22kPSbGUduFf6O2gwfsKjwLodb3y-L6a_c1HgiotObI1DFlH_4m6P4jeYo3xa7UV_qZ5NOmtVxikzaKtVLh7BBZXAKOJhaxen0QEESTXuvKFA-KIQ-0AG4/s1600/2013-12-03+12.30.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6yKMDnM6CwlfDkg_muSfP22kPSbGUduFf6O2gwfsKjwLodb3y-L6a_c1HgiotObI1DFlH_4m6P4jeYo3xa7UV_qZ5NOmtVxikzaKtVLh7BBZXAKOJhaxen0QEESTXuvKFA-KIQ-0AG4/s320/2013-12-03+12.30.49.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam investigating </td></tr>
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He discovered that water had gotten into the conduit that takes the cable from the cGPS to the receiver, this had then caused a short and killed the Net RS, the water had also caused the lightning arrester to corrode and stop working. <br />
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Now usually when our team go and check on sites they take a box of spare bits! Unfortunately, due to unforseen events <read:memory lapse>, this box was still in the lab back at the office! But being good kiwis we made do and got it back up and running!<br />
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So to start with Sam created a drain hole in the conduit and got to removing the water in there - a really fun job as you can see in the pic below ... <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhby-EMiv-JtYVvcOiAvjEUq1shMg043RJVItKwuoxNwJjPxAu4NJHVKjn9Zx9JDZYZt8EOfEHbMJby5vBqWs0KZov6wiBhhyphenhyphenh6EcCfCXoTeVPSZ1lefp3sLwozIMk0yq4qBPI2yo__hfI/s1600/2013-12-03+12.48.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhby-EMiv-JtYVvcOiAvjEUq1shMg043RJVItKwuoxNwJjPxAu4NJHVKjn9Zx9JDZYZt8EOfEHbMJby5vBqWs0KZov6wiBhhyphenhyphenh6EcCfCXoTeVPSZ1lefp3sLwozIMk0yq4qBPI2yo__hfI/s320/2013-12-03+12.48.53.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High-tec water removal method</td></tr>
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While i cleaned the lightning arrester with a hairclip!<br />
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Sam then replaced the special waterproofing tape on all the joins and everything was back up and running.<br />
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This is only a temporary fix to get the data coming back in, so next time one of our technicians are in the area (we have a tsunami gauge out here too) they can replace the cables and pipes, for a more long term fix. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Z79SxT4kULtdOZuaU9OLgznQBsPEs6COa4o8kTmp_xpsFS6pSixJz0o96nh3z5LU3a5rA1ne8bKzvoYkZw0NmhuE2t0179xDl2Rj1frd5-j2Xq9VGirWvlbuAtxh06hezhgaGmLlECo/s1600/LIGHTNING+ARRESTOR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Z79SxT4kULtdOZuaU9OLgznQBsPEs6COa4o8kTmp_xpsFS6pSixJz0o96nh3z5LU3a5rA1ne8bKzvoYkZw0NmhuE2t0179xDl2Rj1frd5-j2Xq9VGirWvlbuAtxh06hezhgaGmLlECo/s320/LIGHTNING+ARRESTOR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lightning Arrester</td></tr>
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-67641562357729362102013-10-01T18:37:00.001+13:002013-12-18T12:36:37.922+13:00Out in the field : Volcanic gas-drive<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadDFlLQdTuaYDulR1eZWOprDTs4ZZ-VxqnEveIPnaGFNrqj0SzqWrUG61ZiBXhqQkIpTueWzgMyhAFw-x5eWSIpiveMsSGue4Vw-d5YOinJl3tuEIj5L_tRCyA7OQUBqVZTe_wv1nkD8/s1600/te+maari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadDFlLQdTuaYDulR1eZWOprDTs4ZZ-VxqnEveIPnaGFNrqj0SzqWrUG61ZiBXhqQkIpTueWzgMyhAFw-x5eWSIpiveMsSGue4Vw-d5YOinJl3tuEIj5L_tRCyA7OQUBqVZTe_wv1nkD8/s400/te+maari.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div>
Today i got to be driver for Agnes Mazot, volcanic Gas Geochemist at GNS in Wairakei, while she completed a volcanic gas-drive for our active Tongariro volcano / Te Maari crater. <br />
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For volcano monitoring we measure three gases in total: Sulphur Dioxide (SO<sub>2</sub>), Carbon Dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) and Hydrogen Sulphide (H<sub>2</sub>S) we usually do this (for White Island and Ruapehu) by plane or permanent instrument MiniDOAS (you can read
about it <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/volc/Gas" target="_blank">here</a>). These gases are important as they can tell our scientists what is happening in the volcano. <br />
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Today we were looking at SO<sub>2</sub> to get this you need to fly under the plume made by the volcano. However, with Te
Maari crater its hard to do this as you can't fly that low due to the
terrain, and you would then miss the important part of the plume. So instead our scientists have been loading the equipment up in
a corolla and driving beside the volcano and under the plume. <br />
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We use a piece of equipment called COSPEC to measure the SO<sub>2</sub> it gets secured in the car with a section sticking out of the window that looks up into the plume where it then measures the absorption of UV light by SO<sub>2</sub> <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RgOpyjyYk2Edw7oJs-Zvx6FXKHu_-AW-uvEVdfE_5XMeiwlEjqLytIKc_HmCql6B6xGzO_Hfc8fEVbKFaqzDud3S_TpfIc2JUujQpnqxUiYWRHsB3YyAAEaj-ko8438j6-j6-PYIq-c/s1600/Cospec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RgOpyjyYk2Edw7oJs-Zvx6FXKHu_-AW-uvEVdfE_5XMeiwlEjqLytIKc_HmCql6B6xGzO_Hfc8fEVbKFaqzDud3S_TpfIc2JUujQpnqxUiYWRHsB3YyAAEaj-ko8438j6-j6-PYIq-c/s320/Cospec.jpg" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The COSPEC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtGBujJi4Nfi58iRS0HfPfwTIhCWKjquIKptthzrT_FUg9YkklZJd4Qr9bUfwY4Lp21J5j7lRi14K6uL1-CDoLg_LXoU3X5uXg3q40lAn9hP0CgVUi9xO__OiQVfet3kuy_rBsLOPRsY/s1600/Cospec+all+strapped+in.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtGBujJi4Nfi58iRS0HfPfwTIhCWKjquIKptthzrT_FUg9YkklZJd4Qr9bUfwY4Lp21J5j7lRi14K6uL1-CDoLg_LXoU3X5uXg3q40lAn9hP0CgVUi9xO__OiQVfet3kuy_rBsLOPRsY/s320/Cospec+all+strapped+in.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All strapped in</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfR1Kxc2hbD4toX1vIhmfoC6rz5nk6OCYSI_YN9ZMX05n-Zx4I1j91KzvCwiSlkAD7YgRmVh-0DUpjAKdpgv0v8MXbDYCpXSzVPeD5IJJ9cLr5I2qA6Nc_Okn01kU97xclh6EY9VwI2wo/s1600/cospec+rearview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfR1Kxc2hbD4toX1vIhmfoC6rz5nk6OCYSI_YN9ZMX05n-Zx4I1j91KzvCwiSlkAD7YgRmVh-0DUpjAKdpgv0v8MXbDYCpXSzVPeD5IJJ9cLr5I2qA6Nc_Okn01kU97xclh6EY9VwI2wo/s320/cospec+rearview.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interesting view!(it has a mirror attached so it views the sky)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FLYSPEC strapped on</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6anc-bL0NrpIvSy1cCsCOp1p_vKgnYWPdkFF0ny0Eict8JcFrLOn2m9XzZGgdRtoO_K-zTaUJV1S4td8zG_bIUQlw4j4UHDVzkMbCj9N2ZMR07-q1ph5hp9scmal4VQGnSBhDq9XNhMU/s1600/flyspec+on+roof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>
For this trip we also had another piece of equipment called FLYSPEC (this a newer version of the COSPEC) Agnes is testing this before she travels to Vanuatu at the end of the month to teach the local scientists how to use it and then it will be used on Tanna island to help them monitor Mt Yasur volcano. The FLYSPEC is a lot smaller than its older 'big blue' model and got to sit on the roof of the car.<br />
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I actually visited this volcano in Feb, you can read about my volcano adventure <a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/exploring-vanuatu.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEice2GVjXsSrm8TnPS6uW3dxFknZkhN8e6fkWJla5EaevLT1dFel95TlVv0GDlwJtHNAH-SXWf8m18RzGL5vxhBmAGDkSfgIuGVUhFhRp9GRyLLE9fqFDM7Bu-ehxwE1260-UpAoAymnX8/s1600/anias+on+computer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEice2GVjXsSrm8TnPS6uW3dxFknZkhN8e6fkWJla5EaevLT1dFel95TlVv0GDlwJtHNAH-SXWf8m18RzGL5vxhBmAGDkSfgIuGVUhFhRp9GRyLLE9fqFDM7Bu-ehxwE1260-UpAoAymnX8/s320/anias+on+computer.jpg" width="306" /></a>After everything was strapped on Agnus turned the instruments on and got her laptop up and running, data would come through and she could then calibrate the COSPEC and see exactly when we were driving right under the plume. We drove a transect 8 times so we could get good concentration of data, she then goes back to the office and looks at the data we gathered and gets a good idea of whats happening inside Tongariro.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Es0cfIqjsZW7INnAISxCTuTKmN50v0O3ruSruVNOX3ggLZgnuopzXyxwsyeJzCxrGQ7rETkBHA0SZh5kwmTAzshYZvFaoTlszYjS82UamLm8nUVelOF-173KrED7IMGfsVXcc2Vp4Vg/s1600/te+maari+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Es0cfIqjsZW7INnAISxCTuTKmN50v0O3ruSruVNOX3ggLZgnuopzXyxwsyeJzCxrGQ7rETkBHA0SZh5kwmTAzshYZvFaoTlszYjS82UamLm8nUVelOF-173KrED7IMGfsVXcc2Vp4Vg/s320/te+maari+2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Te Maari crater and its ever present plume</td></tr>
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Although we collect and analyse a lot of data, volcanoes are still a product of nature and can erupt with no warning at all!<br />
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<sub><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /></sub>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-46328547853483176822013-09-13T11:05:00.002+12:002013-12-18T12:38:23.421+13:00Plates and QuakesWe often get people commenting on the earthquakes moving up or down New Zealand and the pattern you can sometimes see, and why we get so many when our neighbors in Australia get so few! Well the answer is plate tectonics, the earth's outer shell is made up of plates, they are in constant motion and where they interact is where you get earthquakes, mountains and volcanoes. So here in wee New Zealand we are right in the middle of the boundary of two of these plates (this is why we get all of the fun geological hazards) Australia on the other hand are right in the middle of the Australian plate, so only a few quakes for them! <br />
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Here is a map showing the last 1500 quakes in NZ of weak intensity and above (you can see these maps and select all of NZ or just a region under the 'Map & Stats' tab on our website). I've added in (an awesomely drawn) very rough red line that shows the tectonic plate boundary that we live on, and you can see the quakes follow this. Its very interesting as the two plates interact differently along this boundary.<br />
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In the North Island the Pacific plate is going down under the Australian plate (<a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=subduction%20zone" target="_blank">subduction</a>) so that's why the quakes are more spread out, and why you can get deep events in the middle of the North Island such as this <a href="http://www.geonet.org.nz/quakes/region/newzealand/2012p783751" target="_blank">2012 Taupo event</a> The seismic waves travel very well along the boundary between
these two plates and so the earthquakes are often felt very
strongly to the east of where they occurred, i.e. Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa
and Wellington. This is also why we have all of our volcanoes in the North Island.<br />
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In the bottom of the South Island we have the opposite with the Australian plate subducting under the Pacific plate, so we also get deep events here. In the middle, for most of the South Island the two plates are colliding and grinding past each other, and this is how we get our Southern Alps (its also home to our famous <a href="http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Major-Faults-in-New-Zealand/Alpine-Fault" target="_blank">Alpine Fault.</a>)<br />
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You can see exactly how the plates are moving on a cool diagram <a href="http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Earthquakes-at-a-Plate-Boundary/Plate-Collision-in-NZ" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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For those interesting at looking at quake patterns we are still working on our <a href="http://magma.geonet.org.nz/resources/quakesearch/" target="_blank">'Quake Search' </a>function on our website, which at the moment stops at September 2012 (when our new automated system came in). This feature allows you to search for quakes using specific dates / location / depth and size and have then the quakes as dots on map (which you can click on) or the data in a spreadsheet. We hope to have this up and running very soon!, below is an example of what it will look like (its still being jazzed up).<br />
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-80976123772330845622013-08-23T11:14:00.000+12:002013-08-23T12:12:58.790+12:00Lake Grassmere Quake Rapid ResponseLast month after the <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/gYBY" target="_blank">M6.5 Cook Strait Quake</a> 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 <a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2013/07/cook-strait-quakes-rapid-response-team.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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This month the area decided it wanted more action and the <a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/x/uYBc" target="_blank">M6.6 Lake Grassmere Quake</a> 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 <a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2013/07/rapid-response-finale.html" target="_blank">last trip</a> 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.<br />
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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!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lara and Dan putting the fence around the site at Glenlee Station (SP on the map)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading off to the Awatere Valley</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lara, Caroline and the helicopter pilot at Muller Station, with a rainbow!(SM3)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lara and Dan setting up the Strong Motion instrument at Gladstone Station (SM2)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caroline supervising Dan digging at the last site, Glen Orkney Station (SM1) </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GoogleEarth showing the location of the four new sites (green triangles) and the two large quakes</td></tr>
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-68342761646416425762013-07-25T16:35:00.004+12:002013-07-25T16:35:50.237+12:00Rapid Response - finaleFollowing on from Tuesdays post on what our rapid response team were up to (and what happens at GeoNet after a large quake) <a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2013/07/cook-strait-quakes-rapid-response-team.html" target="_blank">here</a> I have some more pics from the teams final day out installing temporary sites. In total the team deployed 8 new sites in and around Kekerengu, Renwick, Cape Campbell, Wairau, Seddon and White Bluffs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A strong motion sensor was added to the existing Cape Campbell site</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam installing the strong motion sensor</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan and Todd at Kekerengu</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lara setting up the weak motion site south of Renwick</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam with his trusty spade</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The team all finished after installing a strong motion site at the Seddon Fire Station</td></tr>
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-49824191015393209792013-07-23T17:10:00.003+12:002013-07-23T17:10:45.420+12:00Cook Strait Quakes : Rapid response team - and what happens at GeoNet HQ after a big quake?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan packing a seismometer </td></tr>
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<h2>
RAPID RESPONSE </h2>
Following the weekends quake activity we had a rapid response team travel down to Marlborough yesterday, they will install temporary instruments to improve the quality and quantity of data being recorded by our network of instruments.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loading up the vehicles </td></tr>
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After loading up two vehicles the team of four were on the ferry and over to the South Island.<br />
The next morning the team then split up into two, With Dan and Todd traveling to Wairau Valley to install a strong motion site, and then onto Port Underwood to install a weak motion site. <br />
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The other team of Sam and Lara were being tailed by the TV3 Campbell Live cameras for the morning while they installed a combination site (weak and strong motion instruments) south west of Seddon in the hills, and then they were off to White Bluff to install another.<br />
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Strong motion instruments record the larger damaging shaking from earthquakes, while the weak-motion sites are more sensitive and record the smaller shakes. <br />
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I have pics from the teams below and a map showing where the places they have traveled to are, i also have a more detailed blog on how we set up temporary sites <a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/out-in-field-canterbury-day-2.html" target="_blank">here</a><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgi49C5AOJUWNFMnl-Re00dldZd06O9dXvQwrZpS4wYPPXXmBtu3OW14Zbj2oJJ8aizsw_jHfKVM4HwsiiTjgBptCyFbfXPU9PsVK7ir8sdiZyY9bLl1XbpcZoq610xuzC4CKTsE8y7Q/s1600/Wairau+valley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgi49C5AOJUWNFMnl-Re00dldZd06O9dXvQwrZpS4wYPPXXmBtu3OW14Zbj2oJJ8aizsw_jHfKVM4HwsiiTjgBptCyFbfXPU9PsVK7ir8sdiZyY9bLl1XbpcZoq610xuzC4CKTsE8y7Q/s320/Wairau+valley.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First strong motion site installed in a Wairau Valley Garage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qcLvXOxViBooV2yzVM3a0kiORbbomM-pFOWc3v0qJ2GdxJC5HZ2oEkNv4B7fB1YjfbMGTcysAm2rY70iQI5kVTlkRIeVD5LPGQWV3gxLezV_9_qiHlAYM_SPPqMBbAYUeLaurW2j4yg/s1600/Port+Underwood2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qcLvXOxViBooV2yzVM3a0kiORbbomM-pFOWc3v0qJ2GdxJC5HZ2oEkNv4B7fB1YjfbMGTcysAm2rY70iQI5kVTlkRIeVD5LPGQWV3gxLezV_9_qiHlAYM_SPPqMBbAYUeLaurW2j4yg/s320/Port+Underwood2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Port Underwood site 1/2 way through</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhvgpG56BIwUzm_wAS_JfhAXRQ5vqEog8ml9gQ7vwBtIOWOheFNCeXUNPDdZ1FUOFM5dSNVgfzp-F1Tf7lcPVvMFVc0QT-bczCzDEj3_oM3f2aTloXrhL6DwA0Q14tf2oGSp3ZnYWS8g/s1600/Port+Underwood.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhvgpG56BIwUzm_wAS_JfhAXRQ5vqEog8ml9gQ7vwBtIOWOheFNCeXUNPDdZ1FUOFM5dSNVgfzp-F1Tf7lcPVvMFVc0QT-bczCzDEj3_oM3f2aTloXrhL6DwA0Q14tf2oGSp3ZnYWS8g/s320/Port+Underwood.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan and Todd at Port Underwood</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CZ_WSsK5wevHDKpWuOvCfWsIxL2lRYPT88smYKUNgn9CUX8c0gD1RG07wvbBqFOjU7OEuxt-rA7NYrzLM9SRaCl8cQ30Hkjx5c-LlFEZx4z5T2WHVYbJMUj7kWjRPrIm4EXiD6BSULQ/s1600/Lara+seddon+site+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyiqux2gVQbQ8J-XHaJtPmoDhfjiUyZ_78CVwq0uERPU_eY0329QCDBe75Q9aVD7TyLB9JOWipZFaPwF3Y5DrtXx3mLg8hSzGxBlCax7UeAWHu1HOujuidCr-b_tss-zAY2dF0feYzXc/s1600/Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyiqux2gVQbQ8J-XHaJtPmoDhfjiUyZ_78CVwq0uERPU_eY0329QCDBe75Q9aVD7TyLB9JOWipZFaPwF3Y5DrtXx3mLg8hSzGxBlCax7UeAWHu1HOujuidCr-b_tss-zAY2dF0feYzXc/s640/Map.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map showing the site locations, Stars are the largest quakes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvScydMtMN3fCeLWOyzTlT3r0iUnRJeNYPd5qCDK86uuz23FrHdWyL2idgpbQeTq_UUIJKyusvt05oC9j68qJ9fnCvgOlB4s4nWAbndrKLIrwDo9B0FSIPFh5w7nY1Zi56VJRshVq2INg/s1600/planning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvScydMtMN3fCeLWOyzTlT3r0iUnRJeNYPd5qCDK86uuz23FrHdWyL2idgpbQeTq_UUIJKyusvt05oC9j68qJ9fnCvgOlB4s4nWAbndrKLIrwDo9B0FSIPFh5w7nY1Zi56VJRshVq2INg/s320/planning.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planning where they are going</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNX3ba8M4bCAcnOFsZ3tB8ACIFb4rIRY1n8VZrsbsg7iUgmQMr46tiWswgNqhdQO5EEOqQ_wnr7K3BpDJGbx70NYcDWWq16KjlCR_KS4Kedpp4Y-q4JFKKvhkmiYZYRvu3gqz_UV7B7k/s1600/news+crew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNX3ba8M4bCAcnOFsZ3tB8ACIFb4rIRY1n8VZrsbsg7iUgmQMr46tiWswgNqhdQO5EEOqQ_wnr7K3BpDJGbx70NYcDWWq16KjlCR_KS4Kedpp4Y-q4JFKKvhkmiYZYRvu3gqz_UV7B7k/s320/news+crew.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TV3 cameras filming </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CZ_WSsK5wevHDKpWuOvCfWsIxL2lRYPT88smYKUNgn9CUX8c0gD1RG07wvbBqFOjU7OEuxt-rA7NYrzLM9SRaCl8cQ30Hkjx5c-LlFEZx4z5T2WHVYbJMUj7kWjRPrIm4EXiD6BSULQ/s320/Lara+seddon+site+1.jpg" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seddon combo site all finished</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
What happens at GeoNet HQ after a big quake?</h2>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9GFJLekCWdRnuU0KqX5_RJNSg4CtkNf_Iei7NlpuGc1nkw7EEPmzRN44UeNZBzlHui3FapMOHJ3w6-NrCFMiWsOHa1Pf-dgKbkMZ1miH_7oWc8mawNGcTejS1xOqv3_gn7YDTD8YLzA/s1600/Friday+Screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9GFJLekCWdRnuU0KqX5_RJNSg4CtkNf_Iei7NlpuGc1nkw7EEPmzRN44UeNZBzlHui3FapMOHJ3w6-NrCFMiWsOHa1Pf-dgKbkMZ1miH_7oWc8mawNGcTejS1xOqv3_gn7YDTD8YLzA/s320/Friday+Screen.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fridays 5.7 showing on a screen</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We have a lot of different people who all come together after a large quake, each work in different areas of science and at the end it all comes together so we can figure out what is going on under the earth.<br />
<br />
To start off with we are usually standing around looking at the screens showing the quake details, for a change on Friday most of us in GeoNet felt this event.<br />
<br />
We have a duty officer on duty 24/7, their main role is to check the location of the quakes (after our automated system SeisComP3 ) but<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMC95s5JCeCuOyvwsTHrS66i6xRNdfRJ7juTgzjfgZAnNJUzVqLykrf_r63YL_ZyaNyTIhT1Kx8KudPKb5Nru-92o3Ks0-bULnvfGO_umYfYhcjVERdEu0zpYF-CQa7eqX40MG5RPbzIs/s320/mediaroom.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The media are around lots</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
during a larger event they become 'media stars' with of lots of phone calls from the media and in events like this weekends, the news crews often come into GeoNet to do TV interviews. This happens right in the middle of GeoNet in our 'media room'. This is also where we have our meetings and our offices are located off (so sometimes we are sneaking around behind the camera trying not to make too much noise)<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETxNJEyROqLy1g-YFcwoTSmP62nuvfVDUizMPtflTkjSMuq9YyqEFsntl4f7v_dHKIAjxH_SlNOu8v48vWoc9aTprF88FdZZ49YHJe1rfK4uytCtu08ZLlp3Xs7_16ruaKFGQagiLY2Q/s1600/science+meeting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETxNJEyROqLy1g-YFcwoTSmP62nuvfVDUizMPtflTkjSMuq9YyqEFsntl4f7v_dHKIAjxH_SlNOu8v48vWoc9aTprF88FdZZ49YHJe1rfK4uytCtu08ZLlp3Xs7_16ruaKFGQagiLY2Q/s320/science+meeting.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A meeting of scientists all working on the quakes</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The scientists all working on the quake sequence (from GeoNet, GNS Science and other occasionally other agencies like NIWA) have also been meeting here twice a day to discuss who is working on what, and their findings. Each have their own specialty but in a large event they all come together so we can try and figure out what is happening and what possibly might happen in the future.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU6cBv5Sd4dEGyyGpf2OAp4-QDgbaM3snHoujn2EC6yGwUG_Bo9qZNK1tbDigVsSUfPBX3-pQL108aSyZJypWAmi7dsIw5nAtrKIhbLMPhHtM-i7_SrJSJlofxOW-VQJ-DuvgTa4gK6X4/s1600/mediaroom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1fbduNMDvFRyPJkkcZasHv2IL0MwSz2V9IHScvEPwi2xuClKrJ1LwFLYHABgVuGZxXj5FHF4PNeyDtvZ-6_EQiQ_coNP4YKxArFa5rdauXmePGv0by1M6l-EcmlCKLq-ifqtD0ilfWU/s1600/commsteam.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1fbduNMDvFRyPJkkcZasHv2IL0MwSz2V9IHScvEPwi2xuClKrJ1LwFLYHABgVuGZxXj5FHF4PNeyDtvZ-6_EQiQ_coNP4YKxArFa5rdauXmePGv0by1M6l-EcmlCKLq-ifqtD0ilfWU/s320/commsteam.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Communication team working on getting the info out</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We also have a 'crisis communications' team, who all come from different parts of GNS Science and GeoNet, and together we make sure that the current science information is getting out to the public, and what other information we need to get out.<br />
<br />
So next time there is a large earthquake, you read a news story or see a scientist on the news - you now know what is going on behind the scenes.<br />
<h2>
</h2>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-69581680910208276802013-07-21T13:44:00.000+12:002013-07-21T13:44:51.378+12:00A weekend of Earthquakes - what is going on???<br />
I spoke with this weeks (lucky) duty officer Anna Kaiser who said : <br />
<br />
At this stage we might call it an earthquake "doublet" with two quite closely spaced similar sized events in very similar locations. And there have been several aftershocks over M4 following this mornings earthquake (where there was only one following Fridays).<br />
<br />
Historically there have been several quakes over M5 in the general Cook Straight region in the last decade, and there was also an earthquake swarm in 2005. Back in 1977 there was an M6 in a similar location and depth.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERhj45IBGwIciloNIsw_YyTrJ8idSFTlxz2JgxCEjlamqv4IkVnLrBV4l6b0v251mmk3K4MRxKRpY9RYGKetGHMqX4vsmJmDcO5Dfw_EEWYCHGOigk2OmgwQ2_Yh-4UJ_CyXFzila8MM/s1600/Live+instruments+21+July.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERhj45IBGwIciloNIsw_YyTrJ8idSFTlxz2JgxCEjlamqv4IkVnLrBV4l6b0v251mmk3K4MRxKRpY9RYGKetGHMqX4vsmJmDcO5Dfw_EEWYCHGOigk2OmgwQ2_Yh-4UJ_CyXFzila8MM/s640/Live+instruments+21+July.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The pic above shows a live shot of aftershocks being recorded by our instruments spread out over NZ.<br />
<h2>
What is an aftershock?</h2>
<br />
Aftershocks are earthquakes that follow the largest of an earthquake sequence. They are smaller than the mainshock, can continue over a period of weeks, months, or years, and In general, the larger the mainshock, the larger and more numerous the aftershocks, and the longer they will continue.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidz8_QN-2PUKXu1wFUEcQ9zSkPQdSsiQoCwKjzE7ZK3RSnR57qGT8OPneyEnAe11XmkmGkr6qBvn0y_BYeKNO8Wn3dkcXXMQCz0kcPDcgZ5vbF6eMPPwOSZWZS6jlOdPvYvx-_FU7K6uM/s1600/july+21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidz8_QN-2PUKXu1wFUEcQ9zSkPQdSsiQoCwKjzE7ZK3RSnR57qGT8OPneyEnAe11XmkmGkr6qBvn0y_BYeKNO8Wn3dkcXXMQCz0kcPDcgZ5vbF6eMPPwOSZWZS6jlOdPvYvx-_FU7K6uM/s640/july+21.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A section of the aftershocks following 5.8(yellow) on July 21</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
<br /></h2>
<h2>
Aftershock Rules? </h2>
A common aftershock 'rule-of-thumb' applies to the magnitude, quite often ‘the largest aftershock will be one unit below
the magnitude of the main shock'. So if you have a magnitude 8 earthquake, you would expect a magnitude 7 aftershock. So in this case with this mornings magnitude 5.8 earthquake, we would anticipate a magnitude 4.8 aftershock. and we got a 4.9! <br />
<br />
There are other rules involving a bit of math and the amount of aftershocks and their rate of decay, with the second day having half as many aftershocks as the first, and so on. But in general the magnitudes will get smaller and the amount of quakes less frequent over time, though this can vary., such as this weekend when you get another large quake.<br />
<br />
Of course as this is the earth we are speaking of, it does not always play by the rules!<br />
<h2>
<br /></h2>
<h2>
Why so many earthquakes?</h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXS4hqKyPdWeQI6-5aA-Wt6Ma-8Y9ZDxSZW07gqgDf-v8gjIQJtXmbUkworFLpo_cpuFK_SU284y4F_JHc8xS8brIVnOwj2suRqwwB38kX9xFQhLZMp8sNaSh1UYRRHMhEdRVQD8iz8k/s1600/Plate+boundary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXS4hqKyPdWeQI6-5aA-Wt6Ma-8Y9ZDxSZW07gqgDf-v8gjIQJtXmbUkworFLpo_cpuFK_SU284y4F_JHc8xS8brIVnOwj2suRqwwB38kX9xFQhLZMp8sNaSh1UYRRHMhEdRVQD8iz8k/s320/Plate+boundary.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">In
New Zealand, the Australian and Pacific plates push against each other
along a curving 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. The Hikurangi Trough marks the collision boundary to the east of
the North Island, and is where oceanic lithosphere (the Pacific Plate)
descends into the Earth’s interior as a huge inclined slab.</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylzA1OiB56qho2-yvSDH3yRoKa6RVQhphjx4MWsAJuRioGsbyuN2PmYBcsvQOo517Lz9KTJ_EIoy034Wiuxlm7RT0g8vqL6KzMI9Dq5JyMqzZK_sYzYHzWQHRSEOttNuu3_I9wv8Fhx8/s1600/1992-2012+M5+plus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylzA1OiB56qho2-yvSDH3yRoKa6RVQhphjx4MWsAJuRioGsbyuN2PmYBcsvQOo517Lz9KTJ_EIoy034Wiuxlm7RT0g8vqL6KzMI9Dq5JyMqzZK_sYzYHzWQHRSEOttNuu3_I9wv8Fhx8/s320/1992-2012+M5+plus.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"> </span></span><br />
<h2>
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Is this normal? </span></span></h2>
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Yes! Because of where we live (see above) we get lots of earthquakes, some of them are large and scary. It does occasionally seem like we are getting more than normal, but its just how the earth works.</span></span><br />
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><br /></span></span>
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">For example here is a map showing quakes over magnitude 5 from 1992 -> 2012, and you can see they tend to follow the line of the plate boundary. </span></span><br />
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><br /></span></span>
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">There is also the fact that we have the internet, smartphones etc. and are more aware of what is happening around us, where as before you might not know unless you felt an earthquake.</span></span><br />
<h2>
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">What does this mean? </span></span></h2>
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Unfortunately we don't have earthquake crystal balls just yet, so we can't say if this means 'the big one' is coming, or if this sequence will stop 'the big one' etc. All we can do is be prepared - so check out the<a href="http://www.getthru.govt.nz/web/GetThru.nsf/web/BOWN-7GY5TP?OpenDocument" target="_blank"> Get Ready Get Thru website </a></span></span><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">for what to do before, during and after an earthquake. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">You can also read more on a post i did here <a href="http://geonet-shakennotstirred.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/lots-of-earthquakes-what-does-this-mean.html" target="_blank">Lots of earthquakes - what does this mean?</a></span></span>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-6355237485395093902013-07-09T12:16:00.000+12:002013-07-09T20:09:31.464+12:00Felt it : Placenames, typos and AWOL reports<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrM59i_gFxFKqLFDg1CziRAb58qBIHrdvQ-SBJ6ixwlcYRHvLuOaMtVwRw-JJcefRU4Frx-kC52BSAU7M-HfMhQR_5ntnXRGy-MBGFbe9BJHujmrzInfzHXgFdswNa5fvMjfEsQQENIfc/s1600/Collingwood+felt+reports.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrM59i_gFxFKqLFDg1CziRAb58qBIHrdvQ-SBJ6ixwlcYRHvLuOaMtVwRw-JJcefRU4Frx-kC52BSAU7M-HfMhQR_5ntnXRGy-MBGFbe9BJHujmrzInfzHXgFdswNa5fvMjfEsQQENIfc/s400/Collingwood+felt+reports.jpg" width="400"></a>We get lots of felt reports for our earthquakes, which is great, but we often have to go though and fix them when they turn up in odd places. (Which is fine but we get people emailing in, worried about the reports being in the wrong spots).</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
We had a few emails about this earthquake on the right, in this case the suburb was 'Golden Bay' which is at the top of the South Island close to the earthquake, but there is another 'Golden Bay' on Stewart Island, this felt report is obviously on the wrong island!</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
The problem comes when filling out the 'Felt It' report form. Now after an earthquake you can feel quite shaken up, but if we can limit the incorrect addresses we can stop reports going AWOL! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkoi8TqNdqBVxq3qazDo3AjrMxCuRrmIY1lh6oMK3ZF_4jmCKQrd-m4USb0z5vERXO11R83mvGraxGFmk5Pd_3dgCTpHrqrNPArRs0kpa6pa6HJIWyXU9v8PtLD3RfsswD_Lt9wGQXjM/s1600/felt+reports.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkoi8TqNdqBVxq3qazDo3AjrMxCuRrmIY1lh6oMK3ZF_4jmCKQrd-m4USb0z5vERXO11R83mvGraxGFmk5Pd_3dgCTpHrqrNPArRs0kpa6pa6HJIWyXU9v8PtLD3RfsswD_Lt9wGQXjM/s400/felt+reports.jpg" width="400"></a></div>
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This is the beginning of the form where you put your name and address, if you hover over the <b>?</b> on the form it tells you why we want this information - and it's not Big brother or spy agencies! To see how and where an earthquake has traveled / damage etc. we need to know where you are. <br>
<br>
<br>
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The tricky bit seems to be putting in addresses , now we do have a few double-ups in place names here in wee New Zealand, some places added in 'North' to make it easier: <br>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Havelock : Havelock North</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Palmerston : Palmerston North</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Waimate : Waimate North</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
But others didn't:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Waikawa, Marlborough : Waikawa, Southland</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Manaia, South Taranaki : Manaia, Coromandel </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And that's just the towns, there are lots of doubled up suburbs! </div>
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<br></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So here are a few things to help the system know where you are: </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
* Put your address/suburb/town etc. in the the separate boxes, not all on one line. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
* Don't abbreviate Nth, Chch etc. it gets really confused with these! </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
* Watch your spelling</div>
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</div>
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Our form has dropdown menus too, so when you start to type you will get some options to choose from.</div>
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<br></div><div style="text-align: left;">And we do always aim to make this process quicker and easier, exciting things to come later in the year!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b>EXAMPLES BELOW: </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGgxFyqF6SEM74v26GVq5UfPjFiib6b22MpyLWdm1sEh-UEkAwD-tSfAKCX_jlmBaN9UtUGH5_cL7hX665NoxfETAjtb0krRj6xdTnhrQZ0L16dpsOoUkxuea8Qa9jxfXxWy1pZIzM0E/s1600/felt+right+and+wrong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="553" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGgxFyqF6SEM74v26GVq5UfPjFiib6b22MpyLWdm1sEh-UEkAwD-tSfAKCX_jlmBaN9UtUGH5_cL7hX665NoxfETAjtb0krRj6xdTnhrQZ0L16dpsOoUkxuea8Qa9jxfXxWy1pZIzM0E/s640/felt+right+and+wrong.jpg" width="640"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The rest of the AWOL felt reports are from people who clicked on the wrong quake, or they thought they felt it and it was a truck going past or strong wind (or a dream..) </div>
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-4903154778811859432013-06-19T11:12:00.001+12:002013-06-19T17:53:27.029+12:00GeoNet and Social Media<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This week i went to Auckland for the New Zealand Social Media Forum, Hoping to get some new and exciting ideas and improve how we currently use Social Media at GeoNet to get our information to you. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Having great snacks was a great start!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizblPbQTyd4lAm19wqDRpLSrKrgu5Y_00Y9RNF57TL-r1riiW2Ge_TSDlOoqvNIJsLYASqDoWMsbdMhYS3ttNJx8hqO4VxyfPU0QOx3hyphenhyphenv-qISlfSrovRzLPHC3X-ISNgDd72wNTov5kM/s640/blogger-image--1681440959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizblPbQTyd4lAm19wqDRpLSrKrgu5Y_00Y9RNF57TL-r1riiW2Ge_TSDlOoqvNIJsLYASqDoWMsbdMhYS3ttNJx8hqO4VxyfPU0QOx3hyphenhyphenv-qISlfSrovRzLPHC3X-ISNgDd72wNTov5kM/s640/blogger-image--1681440959.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>A wee bit on how we started out in Social Media</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">We started out using Twitter and Facebook in early 2010 t<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">o ask for photos and experiences following the 2010 Chile tsunami, and added</span> automatic earthquake information. Then September 4th happened!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">GeoNet quickly became a household name and our followers on social media began to grow. At this time i noticed that people had started asking questions on FaceBook - which at the time it was just running itself and no one was actually monitoring it. So I took this to my managers and they let me take it over!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This turned out to be a lot harder than I ever imagined but looking back I'm glad that I took it on. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Now</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">our Facebook and Twitter accounts are still running strong and we have videos on YouTube, photos on Flickr and of course blogs :-) <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4ZkspxLONbthgNruThnjEK-FztCAGt-Cwe17rJ_muGXaS5FwQZIZnlXIYbyhmIH5ollsgTfLCIhvOH3P9QP38IOz-JhkcxZgeP1xWQibNIhol3txhCH9CSB4Cu9iVptjHjhWPI1Jb7g/s640/blogger-image--2136866494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4ZkspxLONbthgNruThnjEK-FztCAGt-Cwe17rJ_muGXaS5FwQZIZnlXIYbyhmIH5ollsgTfLCIhvOH3P9QP38IOz-JhkcxZgeP1xWQibNIhol3txhCH9CSB4Cu9iVptjHjhWPI1Jb7g/s640/blogger-image--2136866494.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And today i have set up an account on Instagram so look for 'GeoNetNZ' and tag #GeoNet on your hazard photos <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzq87NPaGNLCIChN_CeXhyjkSEHhX_XHd8Yj3yf8eeYeuuawXJkXid-15TWNBMnllW_o10cY4vBwy7lykubNyVzPRfCO7XldRIj8ngs0cCTnl4DjfPq558G_yrMCSOXznvPAmyCIKth-w/s640/blogger-image--172753403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzq87NPaGNLCIChN_CeXhyjkSEHhX_XHd8Yj3yf8eeYeuuawXJkXid-15TWNBMnllW_o10cY4vBwy7lykubNyVzPRfCO7XldRIj8ngs0cCTnl4DjfPq558G_yrMCSOXznvPAmyCIKth-w/s640/blogger-image--172753403.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><br></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">Why share with us</b></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;clear: both; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">Getting photos and videos and observations from the public during large events allows us to better understand the effects across the nation. With tsunami, the knowledge of what they have done to New Zealand in the past helps to verify the computer simulations we are now able to perform. As there is not a lot of historical data, recent tsunami are opportunities for us to add to that long-term knowledge. When the volcanoes erupt we can get great photos from the public, last year we even had a few that let the volcanologists to see new features that they hadn't seen yet. It's also a great way to see exactly how far ash has spread. </span></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;clear: both; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;clear: both; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: left; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><b>Future</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">We are still working on improving our GeoNetQuake App, developing a Volcano App and we look forward to adding intensity picture-based 'felt it' reporting to our app later in the year, instead of completing a form you will be able to click on a picture! </span></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">I will also be keeping an eye on other social media platforms out there, and maybe joining GeoNet up. And let me know of other places you would like to see us! </span></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184009775215588354.post-42368121729181203312013-05-07T14:40:00.000+12:002013-05-07T14:40:10.169+12:00Tsunami - Beach holidays, don't just pack your togs!Its well known that Kiwis love the beach and with 119.44km being the furthest point you can be from the coast in NZ (well that's what the internet says) its not hard to see why. But when packing and loading up your car with everything you may need for your beach adventure do you think about tsunami risk? <br />
<br />
After a fair amount of public education on being prepared at home <a href="http://www.getthru.govt.nz/web/GetThru.nsf" target="_blank">'Get Ready Get Thru'</a>, which has been great, lots of kiwis are now aware of the risks around them and have supplies at home to get through a disaster. But what about when you are on holiday?<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopyTH9g5fkuHY0uNhpXWib9zULwZtLq3HRK9aka4synWtch8d3diu1LCphfPNVnWGJBlUtKCRLkbx2Yi3zHHcbX0ViDEbCzw4Q2jKeH-boungWreTeluvtXdtf10vLhbdClqTjMMXKOc/s640/blogger-image--1500063171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopyTH9g5fkuHY0uNhpXWib9zULwZtLq3HRK9aka4synWtch8d3diu1LCphfPNVnWGJBlUtKCRLkbx2Yi3zHHcbX0ViDEbCzw4Q2jKeH-boungWreTeluvtXdtf10vLhbdClqTjMMXKOc/s320/blogger-image--1500063171.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evacuation route signage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last month i went to my favorite beach (Castlepoint, in the Wairarapa) for my birthday, i took my getaway kit with me and also the thought that we were at risk (as is New Zealand's entire coastline). Castlepoint beach has tsunami warning signs on the main road pointing out the evacuation routes to higher ground, and the batch we stayed at had information on the fridge as well as emergency kits / torches etc. which was fantastic!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZ3gReqUO2ZN2ufMe4QaS00t9zPlKH8H-HTvnxXEsAkzLy2O-5wFCbBhvawjxB7OzPGK_gNSj1Dvvf6NGGqwcxLtUKeA420myyelrlFnFlzbxaDC1AUEgZOJdd7f3au84HvA5SsiOEGc/s640/blogger-image--630718615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZ3gReqUO2ZN2ufMe4QaS00t9zPlKH8H-HTvnxXEsAkzLy2O-5wFCbBhvawjxB7OzPGK_gNSj1Dvvf6NGGqwcxLtUKeA420myyelrlFnFlzbxaDC1AUEgZOJdd7f3au84HvA5SsiOEGc/s320/blogger-image--630718615.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Information on the fridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But not all beaches, batches or hotels will have this information pointed out for you, so next time you are heading off to enjoy the beach don't forget to pack emergency supplies and do a little homework on the tsunami threat, warning signs, evacuation routes/higher ground etc. It may just save your life one day.<br />
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You can find this information at local councils, the Greater Wellington tsunami evacuation zone maps are <a href="http://www.gw.govt.nz/tsunami-evacuation-zone-maps/" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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The <a class="external-link" href="http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/" rel="nofollow">Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management</a> (MCDEM) is responsible for official tsunami notifications in New Zealand. You can read more on what to do before / during / after a Tsunami from MCDEM <a href="http://www.getthru.govt.nz/web/GetThru.nsf/web/BOWN-7GZVAT?OpenDocument" target="_blank">here.</a> They also have some good info on what to put in your emergency survival and getaway kits <a href="http://www.getthru.govt.nz/web/GetThru.nsf/web/BOWN-7GZTZF?OpenDocument#kit" target="_blank">here.</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XBVIy7ZKWGfKTz5lpgYlcJRLZpNeaVqsAsEY0IXDC8aiHuctuqC80JTvjrfklW5mfeHls1sjX8hfAYRkwYUosnhmXsjX62s-eCYQnnInRqFg2Zacsw6vsEDrGC3bC5TuWD92kw7B918/s1600/newzealand-tsunami-gauge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XBVIy7ZKWGfKTz5lpgYlcJRLZpNeaVqsAsEY0IXDC8aiHuctuqC80JTvjrfklW5mfeHls1sjX8hfAYRkwYUosnhmXsjX62s-eCYQnnInRqFg2Zacsw6vsEDrGC3bC5TuWD92kw7B918/s320/newzealand-tsunami-gauge.jpg" width="241" /></a>GeoNet has tsunami gauge network around NZ which consists of pressure sensors with the capability to measure
rapid sea level changes, either confirming or ruling out the passage of a
tsunami. You can see their output <a href="http://www.geonet.org.nz/tsunami/" target="_blank">here </a><br />
Our seismograph network includes long-period seismic sensors which are able
to detect potential tsunami-generating earthquakes occurring off the New
Zealand coast. Analysis of the seismic waves can determine whether the
event is likely to have disturbed the sea floor and caused a tsunami,
allowing warnings to be issued by civil agencies. Such warnings will
frequently come too late for people on the affected coast, but they will
still be timely alerts for the initiation of any emergency response. So its important to know the warning signs and get yourself to higherground!<br />
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<h3>
Links:</h3>
<a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/tsunami/Historical+Tsunami" target="_blank">Historical tsunami</a><br />
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<a href="http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/tsunami/Tsunami+FAQ" target="_blank">Tsunami FAQ</a><br />
<br />
Worldwide Tsunami Monitoring <a href="http://ptwc.weather.gov/" target="_blank">PTWC</a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNslO7xqMopyIkfb_JLMoZE9SYxgXWshW44uYgjwnOEMQf0Bmk0c4aASoz2Pz4g2xrJt3VXhG2P_8kbunOXDcp1JTEW9tSM3tI7PSsMe96CUAlynh5n7Ud1R51mqsVxVZo_NWYIBXEmdc/s640/blogger-image-2088362553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNslO7xqMopyIkfb_JLMoZE9SYxgXWshW44uYgjwnOEMQf0Bmk0c4aASoz2Pz4g2xrJt3VXhG2P_8kbunOXDcp1JTEW9tSM3tI7PSsMe96CUAlynh5n7Ud1R51mqsVxVZo_NWYIBXEmdc/s640/blogger-image-2088362553.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful Castlepoint beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437265317259408827noreply@blogger.com1