Geology & Geophysics Group
Active faulting research
Contact: Dr Lisa McNeill
Our research aims to understand and quantify fault activity with obvious relevance for our understanding of plate tectonics, crustal deformation and for geohazards, including earthquakes and tsunamis. We are also studying how fault systems develop in space and time using high resolution marine geophysics to examine fault systems in detailed 3D. Much of our work utilises marine geophysical techniques and is integrated with our research in specific tectonic settings (including rifts and subduction zones). The results of research in this area are relevant to the hydrocarbon industry and earthquake hazard assessment.
Above left: Limestone notch formed at sea level and uplifted by active faulting, Corinth, Greece. Above right: Boomer seismic profile across an active fault offshore Gulf of Corinth showing displacement of Holocene sediments (last 10,000 years).
Isopach map of sediments deformed by faults of the Whakatane graben, New Zealand
Key areas of research include:
- Study of active faults in a variety of neotectonic settings including continental rift systems, subduction zones, major strike-slip/transform faults, triple junctions and mid-ocean ridges
- Assessment of fault slip rate and activity using a variety of techniques onshore (e.g., geomorphology and paleoseismological trenching) and offshore (e.g., high resolution geophysics such as seismic reflection, bathymetry and sidescan sonar coupled with ground truthing and Quaternary dating techniques.
- Crustal and lithospheric structure of active continental margins
- Understanding how faults develop and grow on a variety of spatial and temporal scales, e.g., fault growth and propagation, fault segment linkage and slip history on short timescales
- Integrating marine and terrestrial datasets to understand complete fault systems in coastal regions
- Fault control on the migration of fluids
- Interactions between neotectonics, sedimentary processes and sea level fluctuations
Recent projects include:
- Fault activity within the Gulf of Corinth rift, Greece: rift development and seismic hazards
- Normal fault development within the Bay of Plenty (Taupo Volcanic Zone), New Zealand
- Forearc deformation and earthquake dynamics in subduction zones (e.g., Sumatra, Nankai, Cascadia, Makran)
- Crustal structure and migration of the Mendocino Triple Junction between the Cascadia subduction zone and San Andreas fault, western USA
G&G personnel involved in this research:
