New Zealand earthquakes weakened Earth’s crust: new breed of earthquakes

The Canterbury earthquakes were even more unusual than first thought and unlikely to occur anywhere else in the world, new research reveals. The research, led by seismologist Martin Reyners of GNS Science, showed the unusual rock structure of the region meant the Canterbury earthquakes produced some of the strongest vertical ground accelerations ever seen in an earthquake. The makeup of this unique dense and thick slab of rock could have implications for other regions around the lower South Island. “There will be few other places in the world where a similar earthquake sequence might occur,” Reyners said. The research, published in Nature Geoscienceshowed that the strong quakes in Canterbury also could cause widespread cracking and weakening of the earth’s crust – challenging the common assumption that the strength of the crust was constant. 

From The Extinction Protocol