TEPHRA SEISMITES
Evaluating earthquake hazards using liquefied volcanic-ash layers in lakes
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Lake Ngaroto (photo by F van Schie)
Latest Updates
New paper published and Disastrous Doctorates symposium
PhD student Jordanka Chaneva has a new paper, ‘Monotonic and cyclic undrained behaviour and liquefaction resistance of a pumiceous, non-plastic sandy silt’ published in the journal Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering. Please contact us if you would like a copy.This paper is based on her lab work, testing the properties of Tuhua tephra (one of the younger…
Tephra Seismites at IAVCEI Scientific Assembly, Rotorua
Two weeks ago, some of the Tephra Seismites group attended the IAVCEI (International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior) 2023 Scientific Assembly in Rotorua. The conference, with the University of Waikato a major sponsor, was originally scheduled for February 2021. Twice postponed due to COVID, it was a relief that the meeting…
Liquefaction in the Hamilton lowlands – first overview paper published
We are happy to announce that a paper was recently published at Sedimentary Geology that provides an overview about our first research outcomes of the Tephra-Seismites project. The paper can be downloaded for free for a limited time period. You can access our paper here: Kluger et al. (2023)
Project Summary

Liquefied volcanic-ash layers (‘tephra seismites’) preserved in lake sediments have never been reported. In northern New Zealand we have identified at least four such seismites in tephra-bearing lakes aged ~20,000 years in the Hamilton Basin. Our aim is to use this unique opportunity to develop a novel methodology to evaluate the frequency, possible magnitude, and likely locations of major earthquakes for the past 20,000 years in the basin. Click here to continue