Microseismicity and P–wave tomography of the central Alpine Fault, New Zealand

Feenstra, J. P.; Thurber, C. H.; Townend, John; Roecker, S. W.; Bannister, Stephen; Boese, C. M.; Lord, N. E.; Bourguignon, S.; Eberhart‐Phillips, Donna

doi:10.1080/00288306.2016.1182561

Cited by 23 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…The seismogenic cutoff depths observed varied between 8 and 20 km and were inferred to be controlled by temperature and permeability structure variations. Feenstra et al (2016) investigated the microseismicity and seismic velocity structure around the Whataroa Valley ( Figure 1) using data from the Wisconsin New Zealand Array Rensselaer Deployment (WIZARD; Thurber et al, 2012). Feenstra et al (2016) located 680 earthquakes.…”

Section: Previous Seismicity Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Feenstra et al (2016) investigated the microseismicity and seismic velocity structure around the Whataroa Valley ( Figure 1) using data from the Wisconsin New Zealand Array Rensselaer Deployment (WIZARD; Thurber et al, 2012). Feenstra et al (2016) located 680 earthquakes. Phase arrival times and cross-correlation times from these earthquakes were combined with information from 5,822 events recorded by GeoNet and the previous studies of O'Keefe (2008), Boese et al (2012), and Bourguignon et al (2015) to undertake seismic tomography.…”

Section: Previous Seismicity Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most recent large Alpine Fault earthquake occurred in 1717 CE, and the southern section of the fault has a recurrence interval for ground‐rupturing earthquakes of 291 ± 23 years (Cochran et al, ). The central section of the Alpine Fault exhibits high rates of geodetic deformation (Beavan et al, ), low levels of contemporary (past 50 years) earthquake activity (Boese et al, ; Bourguignon et al, ; Chamberlain, Boese, & Townend, ; Eiby, ; Evison, ; Feenstra et al, ; Leitner et al, ; Scholz et al, ; Warren‐Smith et al, ), little on‐fault seismicity, and no measurable creep (Evison, ; Sutherland et al, ). The oblique motion of the Alpine Fault has exposed a thin zone of metamorphic rocks within the hanging wall (Norris & Cooper, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As described in detail below (section ), the microseismicity along the central Alpine Fault has already been examined in several studies (Boese et al, ; Bourguignon et al, ; Chamberlain, Boese, & Townend, ; Feenstra et al, ; Guo et al, ; Leitner et al, ; O'Keefe, ). However, these previous microseismicity studies have been limited in either geographic scope or in duration and tended to examine variations of seismicity perpendicular to the strike of the Alpine Fault rather than along its length.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Feenstra et al () investigated the microseismicity and seismic velocity structure around the Whataroa Valley (Figure ) using data from the Wisconsin New Zealand Array Rensselaer Deployment (WIZARD; Thurber et al, ). Feenstra et al () located 680 earthquakes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variations in Seismogenic Thickness Along the Central Alpine Fault, New Zealand, Revealed by a Decade's Relocated Microseismicity

Michailos

Smith

Chamberlain

et al. 2019

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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The Alpine Fault is an oblique strike‐slip fault that is known to fail in large magnitude (M7–8) earthquakes, yet it is currently seismically quiescent. We examine the low‐magnitude earthquake activity occurring along the central portion of the Alpine Fault using seismic data from five temporary seismic networks deployed for various lengths of time between late 2008 and early 2017. Starting from continuous seismic data, we detect earthquake arrivals and construct the longest and most extensive microearthquake catalog for the central Alpine Fault region to date, containing 9,111 earthquakes. This enables us to study the distribution and characteristics of the seismicity in unprecedented detail. Earthquake locations are constrained by high‐quality automatic and manual picks, and we perform relocations using waveform cross‐correlation to better constrain hypocenters. We have derived a new local magnitude scale calibrated by Mw values. Magnitudes range between ML−1.2 and 4.6, and our catalog is complete above ML 1.1. Earthquakes mainly occur southeast of the Alpine Fault (in the hanging wall) and exhibit low magnitudes. We observe a lack of seismicity beneath Aoraki/Mount Cook, which we associate with high uplift rates and high heat flow. Seismogenic cutoff depths vary along the strike of the Alpine Fault from 8 km, beneath the highest topography, to 20 km in the adjacent areas.

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Section: Previous Seismicity Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Previous Seismicity Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Variations in Seismogenic Thickness Along the Central Alpine Fault, New Zealand, Revealed by a Decade's Relocated Microseismicity

Michailos

Smith

Chamberlain

et al. 2019

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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Petrophysical, Geochemical, and Hydrological Evidence for Extensive Fracture‐Mediated Fluid and Heat Transport in the Alpine Fault's Hanging‐Wall Damage Zone

Townend

Sutherland

Toy

et al. 2017

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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Fault rock assemblages reflect interaction between deformation, stress, temperature, fluid, and chemical regimes on distinct spatial and temporal scales at various positions in the crust. Here we interpret measurements made in the hanging‐wall of the Alpine Fault during the second stage of the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP‐2). We present observational evidence for extensive fracturing and high hanging‐wall hydraulic conductivity (∼10−9 to 10−7 m/s, corresponding to permeability of ∼10−16 to 10−14 m2) extending several hundred meters from the fault's principal slip zone. Mud losses, gas chemistry anomalies, and petrophysical data indicate that a subset of fractures intersected by the borehole are capable of transmitting fluid volumes of several cubic meters on time scales of hours. DFDP‐2 observations and other data suggest that this hydrogeologically active portion of the fault zone in the hanging‐wall is several kilometers wide in the uppermost crust. This finding is consistent with numerical models of earthquake rupture and off‐fault damage. We conclude that the mechanically and hydrogeologically active part of the Alpine Fault is a more dynamic and extensive feature than commonly described in models based on exhumed faults. We propose that the hydrogeologically active damage zone of the Alpine Fault and other large active faults in areas of high topographic relief can be subdivided into an inner zone in which damage is controlled principally by earthquake rupture processes and an outer zone in which damage reflects coseismic shaking, strain accumulation and release on interseismic timescales, and inherited fracturing related to exhumation.

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Cross-correlation-based detection and characterisation of microseismicity adjacent to the locked, late-interseismic Alpine Fault, South Westland, New Zealand

Chamberlain

Boese²,

Townend

2017

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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Microseismicity and P–wave tomography of the central Alpine Fault, New Zealand

Cited by 23 publications

References 57 publications

Variations in Seismogenic Thickness Along the Central Alpine Fault, New Zealand, Revealed by a Decade's Relocated Microseismicity

Variations in Seismogenic Thickness Along the Central Alpine Fault, New Zealand, Revealed by a Decade's Relocated Microseismicity

Petrophysical, Geochemical, and Hydrological Evidence for Extensive Fracture‐Mediated Fluid and Heat Transport in the Alpine Fault's Hanging‐Wall Damage Zone

Cross-correlation-based detection and characterisation of microseismicity adjacent to the locked, late-interseismic Alpine Fault, South Westland, New Zealand

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