This research analyses the characteristics of the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake to determine the cause of tsunami. The findings show that two regions of seafloor motion produced the tsunami, including a Mw ~7.6 rupture on the Hikurangi subduction zone interface under Kaikōura and comparable size offshore crustal faulting in the Pacific Plate between Kaikoura and Cook Strait.
This research contributes to our understanding of how tsunamis behave.
Authors: Yefei Bai, Thorne Lay, Kwok Fai Cheung, Lingling Ye
Date: 2017
Funders: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Format: Published - Geophysical Research Letters
Reference: Bai, Y., Lay, T., Cheung, K. F., & Ye, L. (2017). Two regions of seafloor deformation generated the tsunami for the 13 November 2016, Kaikōura, New Zealand earthquake. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(13), 6597-6606. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL073717
Tsunami research
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