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)
We are glad to announce that Tehnuka, who is a postdoc in our Tephra-Seismites group, will give an Early-Career Researcher Plenary talk at the volcanology conference of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) 30 Jan-3 Feb 2023.
Although she is currently working with tephras, Tehnuka’s main research area until now has been in volcanic degassing. She is particularly interested in how we can understand volcanic processes and plumbing through gas geochemistry, and in developing methods to collect, analyse, and interpret gas data from active volcanoes. Much of her work to date has used ground-based remote sensing to investigate open-vent volcanism.
The topic of her ECR plenary talk will be “Un-mixing messages: finding meaning in volcanic gases“. Further details and an abstract can be found at https://confer.eventsair.com/iavcei2023/plenary-speakers.”
M.Sc. student Richard Melchert has worked for the Tephra-Seismites group since mid 2021 and assisted with lake coring, sediment description, and other laboratory work. In his recently submitted dissertation entitled “Sedimentology and characterisation of soft-sediment deformation structures within lacustrine successions in 20,400-year-old Lake Rotoroa, Hamilton, New Zealand”, he studied liquefaction structures in Lake Rotoroa, which provide evidence for earthquake activity since the formation of the lake around 20,000 years ago.
Richard used a range of techniques, including X-ray computed tomography (CT), ground penetrating radar (GPR), and grain size analyses. The CT scans enabled him to visualise the liquefaction structures in three dimensions (see figures below).
Tephra Seismites PhD student Jordanka Chaneva attended the QuakeCoRE Annual meeting in Napier between 29th August to 1st September 2022. She presented part of the on-going triaxial testing research through a poster entitled “Cyclic undrained behaviour and liquefaction resistance of pumiceous, non-plastic sandy silt”. The poster-abstract is now available to read at: http://www.quakecore.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-Abstract-Book-FINAL.pdf
Join the upcoming NZGS Webinar presented by Max Kluger, who will provide an overview about newest findings from the Tephra-Seismites project.
The webinar will take place on 28th March 12:30PM to 1:30PM. Registration is free an can be made at https://www.engineeringnz.org/courses-events/event/hamiltons-seismic-hazard/
This week we analysed the internal structure of the sediment cores we collected at Rotoroa, Rotokaeo, and Waiwhakareke using a medical CT scanner at Hamilton Radiology. This method provides a first estimation about whether or not seismites (tephras deformed by earthquake activity) are present in the sedimentary record. Next week we plan to cut the cores lengthwise for detailed sediment description and sampling.
Members of the Tephra Seismites group and colleagues from UoW Earth Sciences attended the annual Waikato Regional Natural Hazards Forum at Hauraki District Council, Paeroa, on Friday 20 November. They joined colleagues from district and regional councils, Civil Defence and Emergency Management, and other research institutes to hear about and discuss aspects of natural hazard management and mitigation, with a focus on community engagement.
The Waikato team, including four (post)graduate students, gave a series of short ‘lightning talks’ on current research about newly-discovered faults in Hamilton and the liquefaction potential of lacustrine ash layers.
On Friday, 13th November 2020, paleoseismologists Dr Pilar Villamor and Dr Kate Clark of GNS Science visited the Tephra Seismites team at University of Waikato, to discuss their future collaboration. They will work together to map faults within the Hamilton lowlands, and eventually link the occurrence of fault ruptures to liquefaction observed in lacustrine tephra layers.
Tephra Seismites 