Post by Brent George on Oct 8, 2023 19:01:25 GMT
Buried 'reservoir' found off NZ coast where there's a 1 in 4 chance of Megaquake
Stuff - Hikurangi:8-Oct-2023
Scientists have found a massive body of water underneath the bed of the ocean in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone, where experts say there is a 26% chance of a mega 9 earthquake in the next 50 years.
The previously undiscovered ‘reservoir’, more than 3km below the ocean floor, is revealed in a recently published study as part of an international research project to gain more information about the Hikurangi Trench off Gisborne/Tairāwhiti, where the pressure of two colliding tectonic plates could trigger a large earthquake and subsequent tsunami at any time.
GNS scientist Dr Graham Leonard, a natural hazard expert recently told Stuff that the risk of a quake in this zone is the one that gives him “sleepless nights.”
Stuff - Hikurangi:8-Oct-2023
Scientists have found a massive body of water underneath the bed of the ocean in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone, where experts say there is a 26% chance of a mega 9 earthquake in the next 50 years.
The previously undiscovered ‘reservoir’, more than 3km below the ocean floor, is revealed in a recently published study as part of an international research project to gain more information about the Hikurangi Trench off Gisborne/Tairāwhiti, where the pressure of two colliding tectonic plates could trigger a large earthquake and subsequent tsunami at any time.
GNS scientist Dr Graham Leonard, a natural hazard expert recently told Stuff that the risk of a quake in this zone is the one that gives him “sleepless nights.”