Tectonic Geomorphology and Holocene Uplift Rates for Lae, Papua New Guinea

Lae, Papua New Guinea's second-largest city, sits atop the Ramu-Markham Fault Zone with a convergence rate of ~50 mm/yr. Preliminary dating of deformed river terraces indicates uplift events greater than magnitude 7.0 recur every 300-400 years at a rate of ~12 m/kyr. This dataset from a PNGAus partnership project informs seismic hazard and risk assessments for the region.

Use Cases

• Modeling seismic hazard based on inferred earthquake recurrence intervals of 300-400 years.
• Analyzing tectonic uplift patterns based on terrace riser heights of 2.5-3.0 meters.
• Assessing urban geological risk based on the interaction between riverine deposition and the Wongat South Thrust fault trace.
• Calibrating geomorphological models using the estimated uplift rate of ~12 m/kyr.

Strengths

• Includes specific geophysical measurements, including a plate convergence rate of ~50 mm/yr.
• Provides concrete uplift rate estimates (~12 m/kyr) and earthquake recurrence intervals (300-400 years).
• Results are part of a formal PNGAus partnership project, suggesting institutional collaboration.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to data_gov_au, focusing on a specific urban area.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Tectonic geomorphology study, likely involving field surveys and preliminary dating of terrace deposits.

Time Range

Holocene epoch

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-19 22:38:31.181666; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Lae Urban Area, Papua New Guinea, specifically the Ramu-Markham Fault Zone and Wongat South Thrust.