Strike-slip ground-surface rupture (Greendale Fault) associated with the 4 September 2010 Darfield earthquake, Canterbury, New Zealand

  • D. J.A. Barrell
  • , N. J. Litchfield
  • , D. B. Townsend
  • , M. Quigley
  • , R. J. Van Dissen
  • , R. Cosgrove
  • , S. C. Cox
  • , K. Furlong
  • , P. Villamor
  • , J. G. Begg
  • , S. Hemmings-Sykes
  • , R. Jongens
  • , H. Mackenzie
  • , D. Noble
  • , T. Stahl
  • , E. Bilderback
  • , B. Duffy
  • , H. Henham
  • , A. Klahn
  • , E. M.W. Lang
  • L. Moody, R. Nicol, K. Pedley, A. Smith

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper provides a photographic tour of the ground-surface rupture features of the Greendale Fault, formed during the 4 September 2010 Darfield earthquake. The fault, previously unknown, produced at least 29.5 km of strike-slip surface deformation of right-lateral (dextral) sense. Deformation, spread over a zone between 30 and 300 m wide, consisted mostly of horizontal flexure with subsidiary discrete shears, the latter only prominent where overall displacement across the zone exceeded about 1.5 m. A remarkable feature of this event was its location in an intensively farmed landscape, where a multitude of straight markers, such as fences, roads and ditches, allowed precise measurements of offsets, and permitted well-defined limits to be placed on the length and widths of the surface rupture deformation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)283-291
Number of pages9
JournalQuarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
Volume44
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2011

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
  • Geology
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Strike-slip ground-surface rupture (Greendale Fault) associated with the 4 September 2010 Darfield earthquake, Canterbury, New Zealand'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this