Paleoseismology of the Akatore Fault, Otago, New Zealand

Two trenches reveal at least three reverse fault ruptures on the Akatore Fault, constrained to have occurred between 13,314 B.C. and 1278 A.D. Slip rate and recurrence interval for the current active period are 0.3–2.4 mm/yr and 670–5110 years respectively. The dataset is presented by Geoscience Australia Data and was last updated in 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling earthquake recurrence intervals based on the identified three-event rupture history.
• Assessing seismic hazard for nearby Dunedin based on the fault's slip rate of 0.3–2.4 mm/yr.
• Studying fault aperiodicity based on the evidence of a ~110,000 year quiescent period ending.
• Correlating geological events using the dated marine terrace displacement.

Strengths

• Event timing is constrained with specific date ranges for three separate fault ruptures.
• Provides quantified fault displacement (1.6–2.7 m) and slip rate (0.3–2.4 mm/yr).
• Integrates multiple data sources: trench logs, GPR profiles, and sediment analyses.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Paleoseismic study involving trench excavation, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles, and sediment analysis.

Time Range

Events constrained between 13,314 B.C. and 1278 A.D.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:12:05.561924; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Akatore Fault, Otago, New Zealand