The Extinction Protocol site - Sth Island Earthquakes article

  An excellent article was posted on the Extinction Protocol site on Sth Island earthquake activity. Here is the article....

 South Island of New Zealand rattled by unending spasm of earthquakes

Posted on January 1, 2012 by The Extinction Protocol

January 1, 2012 – NEW ZEALAND – An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale on Saturday struck near New Zealand’s Christchurch city, which had witnessed serious damage after being hit by 6.3-magnitude earthquake in February. On Sunday, the South Island was hit again by two 5.0 magnitude earthquakes- 18 and 24 km from Christchurch and both earthquakes were below 24 km in depth. The earthquake’s epicenter was located at the depth of some 10 km, only 14 km from Christchurch. First tremors were registered at 1.44 pm on Saturday local time. No death or casualties, however, were reported and no tsunami alert was issued. Last week, the area was hit by three powerful aftershocks, measuring 5.3-5.8 on the Richter scale. New Zealand’s second largest city Christchurch was hit by a series of aftershocks following the 7.1-magnitude earthquake Sep 4, 2010. The most devastating aftershock measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale rattled the area in February, causing extensive damage and leaving over 180 people dead. –Hindustan Times 

Psychological stress mounting: Christchurch was rocked by a swarm of earthquakes overnight, the biggest a magnitude 5.5 jolt, further fraying residents’ nerves but causing no new damage. The 5.5 aftershock came at 5.45am and was centered 20 kilometers east of Christchurch at a depth of 15 kilometers. GeoNet have said there were actually two tremors of the same magnitude 12 seconds apart and they were felt strongly in Christchurch. Power company Orion said the aftershock caused a transformer at its Dallington substation to trip, leaving 10,000 customers without power. Power was restored by 8am, while Transpower had checked equipment at its Bromley substation, Orion said. “We are now dealing with a few minor faults and should have them resolved in couple of hours,” said Stu Kilduff, Orion Operations Manager. Christchurch City Council says the aftershocks have not caused any new damage to the city. A power outage in the Brooklands, Burwood area affected a small number of pump stations but these are now operating. Residents are reporting items tossed onto the floor by the tremor which they say was accompanied by a rumble. Abbey Leila Sullings summed up the feelings of many in Christchurch when she posted on Facebook that she is over the earthquakes and needs some sleep. Steven McCoy posted: “When will they stop?!” Alyssa Smith posted that her family wants to move out of Christchurch but is too poor to move. “Hundreds in our situation but count our lucky stars we’re not in Japan!” she wrote, referring to the magnitude 7.0 quake that jolted eastern and northeastern Japan on Sunday.

Geological stability eroding: The 5.5 tremor was followed by a 4.2 quake at 5.50 am centered 20 km north east of Christchurch, and two 4.1 quakes at 5.54 am and 6.06 am in the same area. Another, measuring 3.9, was recorded in the same area at 6.49 am and another of 3.8 magnitude at 7.33 am. Later, a 4.1 magnitude quake was recorded at 9.01 am in the same area, followed by a 3.7 tremor at 10.04 am. Another 3.7 shake was felt at 10.18 am, centered 10km east of Christchurch and a 3.9 quake was recorded at 12.28 pm 20 km east of the city. Earlier in the day, a quake measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale struck at 5.03am, centered 20 kilometers north east of Christchurch at a depth of eight kilometers, after a 3.5 jolt was recorded at 2.20 am in the same area. A 4.3 tremor was felt at 1.31 am, in the same area and 12 kilometers deep. That came four minutes after a 5.1 jolt centered 20 km north east of Lyttelton at a depth of 15km. Before midnight, there was a magnitude 4 tremor at 10.05pm, 10 km north east of Christchurch, seven km deep, and a 3.5 jolt at 7.38pm, 20 kilometers north east of the city and 5km deep. The continuing tremors follow the two major quakes measuring 5.8 and 6  that rocked the city on the afternoon of December 23. -TVNZ 

As the map above shows, New Zealand is under assault from ever-intensifying seismic forces that have been exacerbated by geological Earthchange which has seen both more pronounced tectonic plate agitation and volcanism in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Archipelagos and Island arcs near tectonic plate junctions may be among the planet’s first casualities from this new dynamic catastrophism. -The Extinction Protocol

Online Task #1: e-reflection

Online Task #1 is to complete an e-reflection

Question:  Reflect on what you learned last year in Year 9 Social Studies. What was the most thought provoking or interesting topic or concept from last year? Why?
Comment below.... 

Hands-on-Science Free Public Geology Lecture

Geology Lecture on Earthquakes & the risk for Dunedin

  The following article was published in the Otago Daily Times...

City urged against complacency over quakes

Home » News » Dunedin

By John Gibb on Tue, 17 Jan 2012

News: Dunedin | Earthquakes

Although the odds of a major earthquake hitting Dunedin soon are relatively low, citizens "should not be complacent", geologist Prof Richard Norris warned yesterday. University of Otago geologists Dr Virginia Toy and Prof Norris gave an open lecture on "New Zealand Earthquakes and Earthquake Hazard in Dunedin" at the university's St David lecture theatre last night, during the university's latest annual Hands-on Science school.
Prof Norris acknowledged in an interview the level of overall earthquake hazard in Christchurch was about twice that of Dunedin.
He said Dunedin people should not be alarmist, or "panic". The city's overall seismic hazard level was relatively low, but it was wrong to think of it as perpetually stable.
"There's no reason for complacency in Dunedin.
"It does have these faults very close to the city, which Christchurch didn't know that it did. We know about ours."
Although much of the Dunedin central business district was built on solid rock, some unreinforced masonry buildings in the city could collapse in a major shake.
He noted the Akatore Fault line, part of which was situated at Taieri Mouth, last broke about 1000 years ago.
Recent offshore seismic imaging and ocean floor mapping by Callum Bruce, a BSc (Hons) geology student supervised by Dr Andrew Gorman, has helped clarify the offshore expression of the Green Island fault.
This fault, which could be seen near Black Head, linked to the Akatore system and ran towards the St Clair cliffs.
It was unknown how Dunedin's nearby faults would operate in the event of a big earthquake, including whether only one would break or whether this would later contribute to other nearby faults also moving, he said.
Dr Toy noted that New Zealand sat astride "the active Pacific-Australian tectonic plate boundary".
Further south, off Fiordland, the Australian plate subducted beneath the Pacific plate and some of New Zealand's largest recent earthquakes had occurred on this interface, she said.
Closer to home, the Akatore and Green Island faults were "capable of generating earthquakes that could be just as damaging in Dunedin as an Alpine Fault earthquake".
However, they slipped much less commonly than the Alpine Fault - every few thousand years, she said.
The Alpine Fault accommodated about 70% of the plate boundary motion, and the fault had a high - about 50% - chance of rupturing to generate a magnitude-8 earthquake in the next 50 years.
Otago scientists were in the initial stages of a major drilling project, to try to sample some of the fault rocks generated during earthquakes from depth, and measure the conditions, including stress and fluid pressure, at depths where earthquake ruptures started.
In the Mackenzie Country, faults such as the Ostler Fault slipped reasonably irregularly - every few thousand years - and were much less predictable than the Alpine Fault.
They accommodated the remaining 30% or so of the plate boundary motion. The Christchurch earthquakes were related to slips on this kind of fault, she said.
 
Readers comments:

Earthquake probability

Submitted by Hype.O.Thermia on Tue, 17/01/2012 - 3:08pm.

Professor Norris said Dunedin's "overall seismic hazard level was relatively low, but it was wrong to think of it as perpetually stable."   Relatively is the important word. I think what is important for Dunedin and NZ as a whole, planning future development, is knowing which parts of NZ are at highest risk and which are lowest.  Are there any that would not be affected by the predicted magnitude-8 movement of the Alpine Fault? 
If no parts of the country can be regarded as "perpetually stable" the issue is for all practical purposes meaningless, unless we all decamp to somewhere else that actually is (according to the best current knowledge) perpetually stable.  What it means is that quakes are among the normal "abnormal" events which have to be given consideration in planning, but not so much emphasis that paralysis sets in because nothing can ever be declared 100% risk free for all time. 
Quakes, hundred-year floods that recur in a couple of years, big storms  and big droughts, they are all blips in the diagram of normal occurrence.  It is when in one place or another they become the norm that our view of reality has to change.

Welcome to Year 10 Social Studies 2012

Welcome 10RS! 

Introduction....


Welcome 10RS to Social Studies in 2012. This year we will be working through a range of inquiry topics - from Resources Under Pressure, Natural Disasters, Treaty of Waitangi, the World of Work, Geography skills and more. You will also undertake weekly quizzes, field trips and your own research assignments.

Why  is Social Studies important? 


Social studies helps you to "understand your world and gives you the skills and knowledge to play you part in society". This statement focuses on the study of society and of human activity in the contexts of continuity, change, and contemporary issues. You will be able to investigate and explore important social issues, make decisions, work cooperatively, and build your knowledge of your history, your land, and your society.

Social studies is important to the whole community. It emphasises the skills and processes involved in social participation, which, along with the prescribed settings and perspectives, will help you as students to become informed, confident, and effective citizens. You will be challenged to think clearly and critically about human behaviour and to explore different values and viewpoints. An emphasis is placed on learning about New Zealand society and the countries and regions that have significance for New Zealand. 

Ms Fridd.