Central Otago is thought to define a series of actively growing asymmetric anticlines above buried reverse faults. Geological studies have established that these faults have been periodically active, followed by long periods of quiescence when the activity migrates to another structure in the region. Because of the periodic nature of the deformation, it is hypothesized that the variations in geodetic strain rates might provide some indication as to which structures are active and those that are not. The Central Otago deformation network was established to measure the contemporary deformation using GNSS techniques in order to provide some insight into the seismic risk of the region.
Collaboration
This project has been undertaken in collaboration with GNS Science.