The Canterbury Earthquake: Why and How

Uploaded by proudlydismal on Sep 30, 2010
Prof Kevin Furlong (Penn State University & UC Erskine Fellow) gave a fascinating description and explanation of the extraordinary Earthquake to hit Christchurch New Zealand (in the Canterbury region) on Sept 4. This is one seminar you don't want to miss, you don't want your family to miss, nor expats or friends overseas. Kevin is a superb speaker, providing deep insight and explanation in an informative but non-technical manner, as he "walked the fault line" literally hours after the massive quake struck. Kevin's abstract: "Earthquakes such as the September 4 Canterbury event reflect New Zealand's position astride the Pacific-Australia plate boundary. Although we tend to focus on the major, highly visible fault lines, such as the Alpine Fault, it is important to remember that many secondary structures can host large and damaging earthquakes. This event provides evidence of the ongoing plate motions but also the manner in which plate boundary deformation is distributed.

This presentation will focus on both details of the actual event and
where it fits into the bigger picture of plate tectonics in New Zealand."