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Images, UC QuakeStudies

Liquefaction 'volcanos' in Kaiapoi, after the September 4th earthquake. Silt erupted out of the ground, piling up over the surface and leaving cracks at the mouth of the volcano.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Liquefaction 'volcanos' in Kaiapoi, after the September 4th earthquake. Silt erupted out of the ground, piling up over the surface and leaving cracks at the mouth of the volcano.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Liquefaction 'volcanos' in Kaiapoi, after the September 4th earthquake. Silt erupted out of the ground, piling up over the turf and leaving cracks at the mouth of the volcano.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Liquefaction 'volcanos' in Kaiapoi, after the September 4th earthquake. Silt erupted out of the ground, piling up over the surface and leaving cracks at the mouth of the volcano.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Liquefaction 'volcanos' in Kaiapoi, after the September 4th earthquake. Silt erupted out of the ground, piling up over the surface and leaving cracks at the mouth of the volcano.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Liquefaction 'volcanos' in Kaiapoi, after the September 4th earthquake. Silt erupted out of the ground, piling up over the surface and leaving cracks at the mouth of the volcano.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Liquefaction 'volcanos' in Kaiapoi, after the September 4th earthquake. Silt erupted out of the ground, piling up over the surface and leaving cracks at the mouth of the volcano.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of University of Canterbury Geology staff and students using ground penetrating radar (GPR) to survey land on the Greendale faultline. From left: Thomas Wilson, Dewiyani Bealing, Zach Whitman and Matt Cockcroft.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Research Report No.2010-03 Ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) for geometric-mean pseudo-spectral acceleration amplitudes from New Zealand (NZ) earthquakes are developed. A database of 2437 three-component ground motion records is developed by applying stringent quality criteria to the historically recorded events in NZ. Despite the large number of records, the database is deficient in empirical records from large magnitude events recorded at close distances to the fault rupture plane. As a result, the basis for the NZ-specific GMPE development is to examine the applicability of foreign GMPEs for similar tectonic regions and then modify the most applicable GMPEs based on both theoretical and statistically significant empirically-driven arguments. For active shallow crustal events, five different GMPEs are considered. It was found that the McVerry et al. (2006) model, which is the current model upon which seismic design guidelines and site-specific seismic hazard analyses in NZ are based, provided the worst fit to the NZ database, and that the Chiou et al. (2010) (C10) modification of the Chiou and Youngs (2008) model was the most applicable. Discrepancies between the C10 model and the NZ database that were empirically identified and theoretically justified were used to modify the C10 model for: (i) small magnitude scaling; (ii) scaling of short period ground motion from normal faulting events in volcanic crust; (iii) scaling of ground motions on very hard rock sites; (iv) anelastic attenuation in the NZ crust; and (v) consideration of the increased anelastic attenuation in the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ). For subduction slab events, initially three models were considered. It was found that all of the models had some significant biases with respect to applicability for NZ. The Zhao et al. (2006) (Z06) model was selected because of the rigorous database upon which it was developed and modified by: (i) NZ-specific scaling at small magnitudes; (ii) path scaling at large distances; (iii) consideration of the increased TVZ attenuation; and (iv) revision of the standard deviation model. Based on these modifications the developed model showed no bias of the inter- and intra-event residuals as a function of various predictor variables. The standard deviation of the residuals using the revised standard deviation model also indicated that the model has an adequate precision. Three GMPEs were considered for subduction interface events. The Zhao et al. (2006) (Z06) model was the best performing model with only bias exhibited in the site response model, and possible over-prediction of large magnitude events. The Z06 interface model was modified to account for site response and magnitude scaling using the same functional forms as those of the developed active shallow crustal and subduction slab models. The developed model showed no bias of the inter- and intra-event residuals as a function of various predictor variables. The developed GMPEs include specific features as evident in the NZ database; consistent scaling for parameters not well constrained by the NZ database; and pseudo-spectral amplitudes for vibration periods from 0.01 to 10 seconds. Hence, these models represent a significant advance in the state-of-the art for empirical ground motion prediction in NZ.