The Mw7.8 2016 Kaikōura earthquake: Surface fault rupture and seismic hazard context
Date
2017-06-30Authors
Stirling, Mark W.
Litchfield, N. J.
Villamor, Pilar
Van Dissen, Russ J.
Nicol, Andy
Pettinga, Jarg
Barnes, Philip
Langridge, Robert M.
Little, Tim
Barrell, David
Mountjoy, Joshu
Ries, W. F.
Rowland, Julie V.
Fenton, C.
Hamling, Ian
Asher, C.
Barrier, Andrea
Benson, Adrian
Bischoff, Alan
Borella, Josh
Carne, R.
Cochran, Ursula
Cockcroft, Matt
Cox, Simon
Duke, Grace
Fenton, F.
Gasston, C.
Grimshaw, Chris
Hale, D.
Hall, Brendan S.
Hao, Ken X.
Hatem, Alex
Hemphill-Haley, Mark
Heron, David
Howarth, J.
Juniper, Z.
Kane, Tim
Kearse, J.
Khajavi, Narges
Lamarche, Geoffroy
Lawson, S.
Lukovic, Biljana
Madugo, C.
Manousakis, I.
McColl, Sam
Noble, D.
Pedley, Kate
Sauer, K.
Stahl, T.
Strong, Delia
Townsend, Dougal
Toy, Virginia
Villeneuve, Marlene
Wandres, A.
Williams, J.
Woelz, Susanne
Zinke, Robert
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Show full item recordAbstract
We provide a summary of the surface fault ruptures produced by the Mw7.8 14 November 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, including examples of damage to engineered structures, transportation networks and farming infrastructure produced by direct fault surface rupture displacement. We also provide an overview of the earthquake in the context of the earthquake source model and estimated ground motions from the current (2010) version of the National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) for New Zealand. A total of 21 faults ruptured along a c.180 km long zone during the earthquake, including some that were unknown prior to the event. The 2010 version of the NSHM had considered multi-fault ruptures in the Kaikōura area, but not to the degree observed in the earthquake. The number of faults involved a combination of known and unknown faults, a mix of complete and partial ruptures of the known faults, and the non-involvement of a major fault within the rupture zone (i.e. the Hope Fault) makes this rupture an unusually complex event by world standards. However, the strong ground motions of the earthquake are consistent with the high hazard of the Kaikōura area shown in maps produced from the NSHM.