Investigating subduction earthquake geology along the southern Hikurangi margin using palaeoenvironmental histories of intertidal inlets

Clark, K.; Hayward, Bruce W.; Cochran, Ursula; Grenfell, HR; Hemphill‐Haley, Eileen; Mildenhall, D. C.; Hemphill‐Haley, Mark; Wallace, Laura

doi:10.1080/00288306.2011.562903

Cited by 25 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Sea level in New Zealand between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1500 is poorly constrained but is inferred to have been about the same as today at A.D. 1000 and to have fallen to ∼0:5-0:6 m below present by A.D. 1350 (Figueira, 2012;Hayward, Grenfell, Sabaa, and Clark, 2012); it then rose again by 0.2-0.3 m between A.D. 1350 and A.D. 1900 and a further 0.3 m since A.D. 1900 (Gehrels et al, 2008;Figueira, 2012). Identification of tectonic subsidence in the Big Lagoon area is consistent with previous work (Brown, 1981;Ota et al, 1995;Hayward, Wilson, et al, 2010;Clark, Hayward, et al, 2011), but in this study we identify two sudden subsidence events that have not been previously recognized. We use the stratigraphic record from Big Lagoon to infer that tectonic subsidence over the past 1000 yrs has primarily occurred during two earthquakes, which we call earthquakes 1 and 2 (Fig.…”

Section: Evidence For Tectonic Subsidencesupporting

confidence: 81%

“…5. Synchroneity: In terms of regional synchroneity of submergence, similar paleosol-silt contacts have not been described at other sites in the region Hayward et al, 2011;Clark, Hayward, et al, 2011), but as we shall discuss in the Seismic Sources section, there are correlations to regional tectonic events.…”

Section: Earthquakementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aside from subsidence attributed to the A.D. 1855 earthquake, no coseismic events were identified in these studies (Hayward, Wilson, et al, 2010;Clark, Hayward, et al, 2011). The amount of subsidence during the A.D. 1855 Wairarapa earthquake was not surveyed but historical observations and estimates have been compiled by Grapes and Downes (1997).…”

Section: Big Lagoon Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sediment cores from previous studies on the southern and western margins of Big Lagoon show evidence of net tectonic subsidence since the mid-Holocene at rates of ∼0:2-1 mm=yr (Hayward, Wilson, et al, 2010;Clark, Hayward, et al, 2011;Clark, Van Dissen, et al, 2011). Aside from subsidence attributed to the A.D. 1855 earthquake, no coseismic events were identified in these studies (Hayward, Wilson, et al, 2010;Clark, Hayward, et al, 2011).…”

Section: Big Lagoon Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1, Litchfield et al, 2014) and contains a rich record of coastal neotectonics (Pillans and Huber, 1995;McSaveney et al, 2006;Cochran et al, 2007;Berryman et al, 2011;Clark, Hayward, et al, 2011). However, to date all evidence of tectonic coastal deformation (mostly in the form of marine terrace uplift) has been attributed to earthquakes on upper plate faults, and no evidence of subduction earthquakes has been described.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence for Past Subduction Earthquakes at a Plate Boundary with Widespread Upper Plate Faulting: Southern Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand

Clark¹,

Hayward²,

Cochran³

et al. 2015

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

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At the southern Hikurangi margin, New Zealand, we use salt marsh stratigraphy, sedimentology, micropaleontology, and radiocarbon dating to document evidence of two earthquakes producing coseismic subsidence and (in one case) a tsunami over the past 1000 yrs. The earthquake at 520-470 yrs before present (B.P.) produced 0:25 0:1 m of subsidence at Big Lagoon. The earthquake at 880-800 yrs B.P. produced 0:45 0:1 m of subsidence at Big Lagoon and was accompanied by a tsunami that inundated ≥ 360 m inland with a probable height of ≥ 3:3 m. Distinguishing the effects of upper plate faulting from plate interface earthquakes is a significant challenge at this margin. We use correlation with regional upper plate paleoearthquake chronologies and elastic dislocation modeling to determine that the most likely cause of the subsidence and tsunami events is subduction interface rupture, although the older event may have been a synchronous subduction interface and upper plate fault rupture. The southern Hikurangi margin has had no significant (M > 6:5) documented subduction interface earthquakes in historic times, and previous assumptions that this margin segment is prone to rupture in large to great earthquakes were based on seismic and geodetic evidence of strong contemporary plate coupling. This is the first geologic evidence to confirm that the southern Hikurangi margin ruptures in large earthquakes. The relatively short-time interval between the two subduction earthquakes (∼350 yrs) is shorter than in current seismic-hazard models.

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Section: Evidence For Tectonic Subsidencesupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Earthquakementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Big Lagoon Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Big Lagoon Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence for Past Subduction Earthquakes at a Plate Boundary with Widespread Upper Plate Faulting: Southern Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand

Clark¹,

Hayward²,

Cochran³

et al. 2015

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

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Kinematics and paleoseismology of the Vernon Fault, Marlborough Fault System, New Zealand: Implications for contractional fault bend deformation, earthquake triggering, and the record of Hikurangi subduction earthquakes

et al. 2014

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The~40 km long Vernon Fault, in the Marlborough Fault System of New Zealand, is characterized by dextral slip with subordinate reverse slip and exhibits abrupt variations in strike of up to 90°. Onshore fieldwork, paleoseismic trenching, and offshore high-frequency seismic reflection data are integrated together to identify the kinematics and paleoseismic history of three sections of the fault: (1) the NNE striking Vernon Hills section which branches off from the Awatere Fault; (2) the NE striking Big Lagoon section which borders Big Lagoon to the south and extends~9 km offshore to the east; and (3) the E-W striking Wairau Basin section, which is entirely submarine. The Vernon Fault can be shown to have a dextral slip rate of 0.8-4.9 mm/yr with a preferred estimate of 0.9 mm/yr (on the Big Lagoon section). We infer that a further unrecognized 3-4 mm/yr of dextral slip has been accommodated off fault as a result of accumulated slip on small and/or blind reverse faults adjacent to a 6 km wide restraining bend in the main fault. The onshore and offshore paleoseismic records are in good agreement. These indicate three to five events at eight sites and a mean recurrence interval of 3.9 ± 1.2 ka over the past~16 kyr, with the last event taking place at~3.3 ka. Earthquakes on the Vernon Fault are responsible for <25% of the Holocene subsidence rate of Big Lagoon over the last~13 ka. Most of the subsidence of this lagoon has been the result of surface deformation related with southern Hikurangi megathrust earthquakes.

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The application of diatoms to reconstruct the history of subduction zone earthquakes and tsunamis

Dura

Hemphill‐Haley

Sawai

et al. 2016

Earth-Science Reviews

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Earthquake and tsunami records on centennial and millennial temporal scales are necessary to understanding long-term subduction zone behavior and the occurrences of large, but infrequent events. Microfossils, such as diatoms, incorporated into coastal stratigraphy provide some of the most detailed reconstructions of the history of earthquakes and tsunamis. We explore qualitative and quantitative techniques that employ the relation between diatoms and salinity, tidal elevation, and life form to: (1) reconstruct records of vertical land-level change associated with large earthquakes; and(2) identify anomalous sand and silt beds deposited by tsunamis. A global database shows that diatoms have been successfully employed in the reconstruction of earthquake and tsunami histories in Chile, the Indian Ocean, Japan, New Zealand, the North Sea, the Pacific Northwest of North America, and the South Pacific. We use case studies from some of these locations to highlight advancements in the field and new capabilities that diatoms have enabled. Examples from the Pacific Northwest of North America illustrate the evolution of quantitative diatom-based reconstructions of earthquake-related landlevel change. In Alaska and Japan, diatoms have documented land-level changes throughout the earthquake deformation cycle, including possible preseismic land-level change signals and postseismic deformation. Diatoms helped identify coseismic uplift along the central Chile subduction zone coast, and uplift and subsidence along the Alaska-Aleutian megathrust, expanding our knowledge of the variability of slip in megathrust ruptures. In tsunami studies, diatoms help determine the provenance of anomalous sands and silts found in low-energy coastal stratigraphic sequences. In Japan, allochthonous marine and brackish diatoms within sand deposits signaled repeated marine incursions into a coastal lake, helping identify a possible predecessor to the 2011 Tohoku tsunami. In the Pacific Northwest of North America and Chile, diatoms were used to estimate tsunami run-up beyond the landward limit of tsunami sedimentation.Examples from the North Sea, Thailand, and Japan show how the fragmentation and sorting of diatom valves may provide evidence of high-energy transport during the rapid, turbulent flow of a tsunami. To conclude, we emphasize the importance of studying the modern diatom response to changes in land level and/or tsunami inundation to improve diatom-based records of prehistoric earthquakes and tsunamis.

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Investigating subduction earthquake geology along the southern Hikurangi margin using palaeoenvironmental histories of intertidal inlets

Cited by 25 publications

References 48 publications

Evidence for Past Subduction Earthquakes at a Plate Boundary with Widespread Upper Plate Faulting: Southern Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand

Evidence for Past Subduction Earthquakes at a Plate Boundary with Widespread Upper Plate Faulting: Southern Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand

Kinematics and paleoseismology of the Vernon Fault, Marlborough Fault System, New Zealand: Implications for contractional fault bend deformation, earthquake triggering, and the record of Hikurangi subduction earthquakes

The application of diatoms to reconstruct the history of subduction zone earthquakes and tsunamis

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