A model of active faulting in New...
Transcript of A model of active faulting in New...
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A model of active faulting in New Zealand NJ Litchfielda, R Van Dissena, R Sutherlanda, PM Barnesb, SC Coxc, R Norrisd, RJ Beavana, R Langridgea, P Villamora, K Berrymana, M Stirlinga, A Nicola, S Nodderb, G Lamarcheb, DJA Barrellc, JR Pettingae, T Littlef, N Pondarda, JJ Mountjoyb, K Clarka a GNS Science, P.O. Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand b National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 14901, Wellington 6021, New Zealand c GNS Science, Private Bag 1930, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand d Department of Geology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand e Department of Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand f School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand
Active fault traces are a surface expression of permanent deformation that accommodates the
motion within and between adjacent tectonic plates. We present an updated national-scale
model for active faulting in New Zealand, summarise the present understanding of fault
kinematics in 15 tectonic domains, and undertake some brief kinematic analysis including
comparison of fault slip rates with GPS velocities. The model contains 635 simplified faults
with tabulated parameters of their attitude (dip and dip-direction) and kinematics (sense of
movement and rake of slip vector); net slip rate; and a quality code. Fault density and slip
rates are, as expected, highest along the central plate boundary zone, but the model is
undoubtedly incomplete, particularly in rapidly eroding mountainous areas and submarine
areas with limited data. The active fault data presented are of value to a range of kinematic,
active fault and seismic hazard studies.
Keywords: active fault, New Zealand, tectonic domain, plate boundary, kinematics, slip rate
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Introduction
Active fault traces are a surface expression of permanent, generally coseismic, deformation.
Analyses of large datasets of active fault slip data can therefore provide insights into the
kinematics of plate boundary zones. For example, data on the geometry and slip rate of active
faults can be converted into tensor estimates of strain or seismic moment rates for comparison
with seismicity or geodetic data (e.g., Wesnousky et al. 1982; Holt & Haines 1995; Klein et
al. 2009; Stirling et al. 2009). Moreover, such data can be used for developing seismic (e.g.,
Stirling et al. 1998, 2002, 2012; Peterson et al. 2008) and tsunami (e.g., Berryman 2005;
Priest et al. 2009) hazard models. One key to the success of such analyses is having
moderately to highly complete active fault datasets with well constrained fault geometries
and slip rates, and that include reliable estimates in the uncertainty in the fault kinematic
properties.
In New Zealand a rich record of surface or near-surface land and marine active faults
are preserved. Reasons for this include: (i) its position straddling the Pacific-Australia plate
boundary zone (Fig. 1A); (ii) an historical record, albeit a short one (c. 170 years), of ground-
rupturing earthquakes; (iii) good geomorphic and bathymetric expression of faults, reflecting
a balance between deformation, erosion, and burial rates; (iv) relatively easy land access to
most recognised active fault traces; (v) large areas of forest clearance; (vi) extensive high
quality aerial photography coverage; (vii) extensive coverage of marine seismic reflection
and multibeam bathymetric datasets; and (viii) a relatively long history of the geological,
geodetic, and paleoseismological study of active faults (summarised in the next section). This
makes New Zealand an ideal place to study plate boundary kinematics using active fault data.
In this study, we summarise a new nation-wide compilation of active faults that spans
the entire New Zealand plate boundary (Fig. 1) and represents our current best understanding
of the location, style, and deformation rates of New Zealand active faults. We describe the
compilation as a model rather than database because each fault has been mapped at a
regional-scale (no better than 1:250,000) as a highly generalised line, with a single set of fault
characterisation parameters. Each mapped fault is therefore referred to as a ‘fault zone’ which
emphasises the distinction between the simplified fault zones in this model and the more
detailed active fault traces and parameters stored in databases such as the GNS Science
Active Faults Database of New Zealand (http://data.gns.cri.nz/af/). Fault zone names are
often informal. Our model is a significant advance on previous regional or national
compilations (summarised below), benefiting from numerous recent (in the last c. 10 years)
fault-specific studies, the systematic new mapping of active faults for the entire country at
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1:250,000 scale for the QMAP programme
(http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Products/Maps/Geological-Maps/QMAP.-1-250-000-
Geological-Map-of-New-Zealand), and the parallel development of other models that utilise
active fault data such as the National Seismic Hazard Model for New Zealand (Stirling et al.
2012). The tabulated characteristics of each fault zone in the model are presented in
supplementary file Tables S1 and S2, and comprise: (i) dip; (ii) dip-direction; (iii) sense of
movement; (iv) rake; (v) net slip rate; and a quality code. Also provided are regional-scale
maps of fault zone locations (supplementary file Figures S1-S9), and digital maps
(shapefile,ascii, and kmz files) of the fault zone locations (supplementary files Maps S1,S2
and S3). The derivations of each parameter for individual fault zones are described by
Litchfield et al. (2013).
The purposes of this paper are to: (i) describe the model compilation methods; (ii)
summarise the general nature and current state of knowledge of kinematics of active fault
zones in each of 15 tectonic domains (Fig. 2); (iii) provide some preliminary statistical
analysis of key model parameters; (iv) comment on model completeness; and (v) compare
geological fault slip data with GPS velocities. We expect that this paper will provide a
valuable and up-to-date synthesis upon which more detailed and/or multidisciplinary future
plate boundary kinematic investigations can be founded with confidence.
Previous regional-scale active fault compilations
The first systematic regional active fault compilation in New Zealand was undertaken by
Wellman (1953), who utilised aerial photographs to identify and map Recent and Late
Pleistocene South Island faults, including the Alpine, Wairau, Clarence, Kekerengu, and
Hope faults. Wellman (1955) then presented the first kinematic analysis of New Zealand
active faults in which transcurrent faults were grouped together in a circum-Pacific mobile
belt extending northeast across New Zealand, surrounded by a few normal faults.
Earthquakes and active faults were noted to be directly related to one another.
From the 1960s onwards, Late Quaternary fault traces were shown (as red lines) on
geological maps (e.g., Grindley 1960; Kingma 1962; Lensen 1963), but parameters
describing the kinematics of slip on these faults were only mentioned sparsely, if at all, in the
texts accompanying these published maps. In the 1970s and 1980s five active fault maps
were published as the Late Quaternary Tectonic Map of New Zealand series. This series
included the first, and in fact only, published New Zealand-wide active fault paper map
(Officers of the Geological Survey 1983). That map shows 31 named active faults and 15
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named active folds, but was not accompanied by any fault parameters such as dip, slip rate, or
sense of movement.
Over the same period a series of papers summarised the state of knowledge of earth
deformation in New Zealand at that time (Lensen 1975; Berryman 1984a,b; Lewis 1984;
Walcott 1984; Berryman & Beanland 1988). Some of these papers contain fault parameters
(e.g., 35 faults in Berryman & Beanland 1988) or summarise historical surface ruptures
(Berryman 1984b; Berryman & Beanland 1988). Most also describe regional variations in
fault styles and define a number of tectonic domains for the New Zealand region (also
Berryman & Beanland 1991).
The first digital databases of New Zealand active faults were developed in the 1990s.
The GNS Science Active Faults Database of New Zealand (http://data.gns.cri.nz/af/) was first
developed at 1:250,000 scale and nominally contains faults with evidence of activity in the
last 125,000 years (Jongens & Dellow 2003; Litchfield & Jongens 2006). Later, in the late
1990s, it began to be supplemented with data captured at 1:50,000 scale. Much active fault
data have also remained archived, if unpublished, in university theses. Significant submarine
active fault data has been collected by NIWA at a variety of scales from <1:50,000 to
1:200,000. All of these data have been meticulously perused, compiled, and incorporated
into this active fault model.
Since the early 1990s, New Zealand-wide analyses of active faults have been
primarily for the purpose of seismic hazard analysis (Stirling et al. 1998, 2002, 2012; Van
Dissen et al. 2003). The most recent (2010) update of the New Zealand Seismic Hazard
Model (Stirling et al. 2012) was compiled in parallel with the active fault model presented in
this paper. The model in this paper however, contains some new material, and is focused
more on faulting rates and deformation mechanisms, rather than as sources of past and
potentially future earthquakes.
Methods of compilation
Definition of an active fault zone
In the model presented in this paper, a fault zone is defined as active if there is either
evidence or inferred evidence for displacement in the past 125,000 years (late Pleistocene).
We make an exception for the Taupo Rift (Fig. 1A) however, which is evolving so rapidly
that fault zones in the rift are classified as active if there is evidence or inferred evidence for
displacement in the past 25,000 years (Villamor & Berryman 2001, 2006a). Thus only faults
in the inner, youngest part of the rift are included in this model. As well as representing
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timeframes over which we infer that current tectonic regime may be considered stable, these
timeframes are convenient in being marked on land by prominent marine or fluvial terraces
(Pillans 1990a, 1991) (125,000 years BP). Circa 25,000 years B.P., moreover, coincides with
the depositional age of nationally-widespread volcanic eruptive (the Kawakawa/Oruanui
Tephra e.g., Wilson 2001; Vandergoes et al. in press) that was deposited across most of
northern and central New Zealand. Offshore, many active fault zones beneath the continental
shelf are constrained by deformation of the transgressive post-last glacial (<20,000 years BP)
marine ravinement surface and associated post-glacial sediments (e.g., Lewis 1971; Nodder
1994; Barnes 1996; Lamarche et al. 2006). Farther offshore, active fault zones can be
recognized on the basis of whether or not they displace surfaces that formed since the last
interglacial period, and/or considering their prominent geomorphic expression in late
Quaternary submarine landscapes (e.g. Barnes 1996; Barnes et al. 2010). In this model we do
not include thrust faults of the frontal wedge of the Hikurangi subduction margin, which have
been considered to have developed aseismically (Barnes et al. 2010; Stirling et al. 2012).
Active fault zone traces
Our compilation maps show the generalised trace (i.e. surface position or projected surface
position) of each delineated active fault zone representative of crustal scale deformation (Fig.
1B; supplementary files Figures S1-S9 and Maps S1-S3). The simplified fault zone
characterisations presented in this paper are intended primarily to assist regional kinematic
and seismic hazard studies, and the more detailed datasets should be consulted for any
purposes relating to land-use or engineering development. The simplified fault zones (e.g.,
Fig. 3), are mostly the same as those used in the 2010 update of the New Zealand National
Seismic Hazard Model (Stirling et al. 2012). Where faults are represented in more detailed
databases by only one or a few short surface traces, the faults were either: (i) extended along
bedrock faults (faults separating different bedrock units, but mapped as inactive) from the
GNS Science 1:250,000-scale Geological Map of New Zealand (QMAP); (ii) extended along
topographic or bathymetric features, such as range-fronts or submarine ridges; or (iii) merged
to reflect minimum threshold earthquake magnitudes for ground-rupturing seismogenic
faults. Consideration was also given to likely fault length (e.g., fault zone 170 in Fig. 3A) and
subsurface connectivity (e.g., fault zones 230 and 229 in Fig. 3B).
On land ten blind fault zones are recognized. These include buried faults imaged on
seismic reflection profiles (Melhuish et al. 1996); those inferred by Jackson et al. (1998) to
exist at depth beneath active anticlines near Palmerston North (Fig. 1B); and the mainly blind
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fault inferred to have ruptured in the 1931 Napier Earthquake (Hull 1990). Offshore, no
differentiation is made here between faults imaged that terminate upward beneath anticlines
(i.e., blind faults), and those that break the sea floor to form seafloor scarps.
In the rapidly uplifting (≤ 10 mm/yr) and eroding central Southern Alps (Fig. 1A),
geodetic (Beavan et al. 2010a; Wallace et al. 2007) and geologic (Cox & Findlay 1995; Cox
& Sutherland 2007; Cox et al. 2012) data indicate that active faults must be present, but their
activity cannot be characterised in detail because Late Quaternary scarps and markers are not
preserved as a result of rapid erosion in a steep mountainous environment that has been
subject to high rates of annual rainfall and repeated glaciations. We address this gap in the
data by adding indicative fault zones, typically 5-15 km apart perpendicular to strike, that
approximately correspond to the known faults in bedrock as currently mapped (Cox & Barrell
2007; Rattenbury et al. 2010) and which are considered likely, based on structural or
geomorphic observations, to have experienced late Quaternary activity (Cox et al. 2012). The
names of most of the Southern Alps fault zones (as well as some others in this model,
particularly in offshore Bay of Plenty) are informal names that do not necessarily correspond
to published active or bedrock fault names.
Active fault zone parameters
Active fault zone parameters defined in this model are: (i) dip; (ii) dip-direction; (iii)
sense of movement; (iv) rake; (v) net slip rate; and (vi) quality code. Strike is not explicitly
tabulated, but can be derived from the fault zone traces. Table 1 provides a description of
each parameter and describes in general terms the sources of information used to assign
values for each parameter. The quality codes are further defined in Table 2. For the numerical
parameters dip, rake, and net slip rate, uncertainties are quantified by providing three values
for each, a minimum value, a maximum value, and what is considered to be the best (most
likely) value. The minimum and maximum values are inferred to approximate 95%
confidence bounds, in a qualitative rather than statistically rigorous way. The best value may
in some cases be the mean of several site-specific measurements, or be the median between
maximum and minimum values. In other cases, the best value is calculated from the best-
constrained site-specific offset and age data, and may return a value anywhere between the
maximum and minimum (e.g. for a particular fault zone, a value towards the maximum may
be considered most likely). As a result there is not necessarily a symmetrical distribution of
uncertainty between maximum and minimum values. Specific details of the derivations of
each parameter for individual active fault zones are provided by Litchfield et al. (2013).
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Selected Transects of Cumulative Net Slip Rate
To aid with our description of the fault kinematic properties of each tectonic domain in the
next section, we have calculated cumulative net slip rates for representative transects across
each domain (Fig. 2). The transects were selected to: (i) cross fault zones with the best slip
rate data; (ii) be close to perpendicular to the general strike of the fault zones in the domain;
and (iii) be close to parallel within each domain (Fig. 2). The cumulative net slip rate (the
sum of net slip rates for faults crossing each domain irrespective of fault orientation or rake)
is considered to reflect seismic moment release at the surface across the domain (rather than,
for instance, horizontal extension or contraction). The cumulative net slip rate uncertainties
were calculated from the root mean square of individual fault zone slip rate uncertainties. In
addition, the cumulative slip rate was assigned an overall high, medium, or low confidence
ranking, which is calculated from the quality codes assigned to each fault zone (high broadly
corresponds to code 1, medium to 2, and low to 4; codes 3 and 5 fault zones are not
included). We make the assumption that slip rates have been constant over the current period
of activity (125,000 or 25,000 years), unless explicitly stated.
Fault kinematics of the tectonic domains
The New Zealand plate boundary can be divided into three main components from north to
south: (i) oblique westward subduction of the oceanic Pacific Plate beneath the continental
Australian Plate east of the North Island (Hikurangi Margin); (ii) transpression (dextral) and
oblique continent-continent convergence in the South Island (South Island continental
transpression zone); and (iii) northeastward subduction of the oceanic Australian Plate
beneath the continental Pacific Plate southwest of the South Island (Puysegur Margin).
Within this overall framework, 15 tectonic domains have been recognised, based on
subjective geographic groupings of active faults that have similar geometries and kinematics
(Fig. 2). Many of these domains have been defined in previous studies (e.g., Berryman &
Beanland 1991; Stirling et al. 2002, 2012) and in particular, the domains in this study are
slightly modified from those in the 2010 National Seismic Hazard Model (Stirling et al.,
2012). Together, domains 1–6 make up the Hikurangi Subduction Margin, domains 7–12
make up the South Island continental transpression zone; and domains 13–15 make up the
Puysegur - Fiordland Margin. The characteristics of the fault zones in each of these domains
and the present state of knowledge of domain kinematics (mostly from previous studies) are
summarised briefly in the following sections, generally from north to south. Figures 4 and 5
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show the fault zones colour-coded by dominant sense of movement and slip rate,
respectively.
Extensional western North Island fault zones (domain 1)
Domain 1 contains relatively few active fault zones. In the north, two fault zones are the only
currently active faults of the Hauraki Rift (Fig. 1B) (Hochstein & Ballance 1993). These
north-northwest striking fault zones have normal senses of movement and net slip rates of
0.1–0.3 mm/yr (e.g., M. Persaud, P. Villamor & K. Berryman unpubl. data 2006).
Northeast-striking active fault zones in western Taranaki (labelled W on Fig. 1B)
appear to have purely normal senses of movement and net slip rates of 0.1–1.5 mm/yr (e.g.,
Nodder 1994; Townsend et al. 2010; Mouslopoulou et al. 2012). These form the southern part
of the mainly submarine Taranaki Basin (Fig. 1A). Farther east, at the western margin of the
Wanganui Basin (labelled E on Fig. 1B), a series of north-northeast striking fault zones also
have normal senses of displacement, although several have an additional minor component of
dextral strike-slip. Net slip rates on individual fault zones are 0.02–0.2 mm/yr (e.g., Pillans
1990b). The Wanganui Basin active faults are interpreted to be bending-moment normal
faults on uplifted basement blocks (Pillans 1990b).
A cumulative net slip rate of 3.2 +0.5/-1.1 mm/yr is calculated along the transect
shown in Fig. 2. This rate is significantly higher than the slip rates on fault zones in the
Hauraki Rift to the north (maximum 0.3 ± 0.1 mm/yr).
The active tectonics in domain 1 indicates back-arc extension distal to the present day
volcanic arc. The Hauraki Rift is largely a relict structure related to the now-extinct
Coromandel Volcanic Arc (Hochstein & Ballance 1993; Fig. 1B), and its relict nature may
account for the low slip rates on faults there. Roll-back of the Pacific Plate subducted slab
and southward motion of the southern termination of subduction and mantle corner flow has
been proposed as a mechanism for relatively large slip rates in the southern part of the
domain (Giba et al. 2010).
Extensional Havre Trough – Taupo Rift fault zones (domain 2)
The southern part of domain 2 is the Taupo Rift (also referred to as the Taupo Fault Belt after
Grindley 1960), which is situated within the active volcanic arc, the Taupo Volcanic Zone
(e.g., Cole et al. 1995; Rowland & Sibson 2001). Offshore from the Bay of Plenty coast, the
Taupo Rift broadens westward into the southern Havre Trough (Fig. 1A) (Wright 1993). In
this study, only faults within the southern 100 km of the Havre Trough have been presented.
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Fault zones within the Havre Trough - Taupo Rift mostly strike northeast and are
typically short (c. 4–33 km) and closely spaced. All appear to have a normal sense of
movement (Fig. 4). Net slip rates on individual fault zones are thought to range from 0.05 to
4 mm/yr (Fig. 5), with the highest well-constrained slip rate, at 3.5 mm/yr, in the centre of the
Taupo Rift (Villamor & Berryman 2001). A northward increase in extension rates in this
domain has been previously recognised, from 2.3 ± 1.2 mm/yr south of Mount Ruapehu (Fig.
1B) (Villamor & Berryman 2006b), to 4.4 +2.4/-1.9 mm/yr near Rotorua (Villamor &
Berryman 2001) to 13 ± 6 mm/yr immediately north of the Bay of Plenty coast (Lamarche et
al. 2006). This trend is also expressed by a northward increase in cumulative net slip rate for
the domain 2 transects shown in Fig. 2.
The Havre Trough is interpreted to be in an incipient phase of distributed and
disorganised oceanic crustal accretion and spreading (Wysoczanski et al. 2010). In the Taupo
Rift, two areas devoid of fault zones coincide with the locations of two major volcanic
centres, the Okataina and Taupo Volcanic Centres (Fig. 1B), where much of the back-arc
extension may be locally accommodated by magmatic (e.g., dike intrusion) processes (e.g.,
Seebeck & Nicol 2009; Cole et al. 2010; Rowland et al. 2010). The northward increase in
extension rates is consistent with clockwise rotation of the eastern North Island in response to
slab rollback and pinning of the southern edge of subduction against the Chatham Rise (Fig.
1B) (e.g., Beanland & Haines 1998; Wallace et al. 2004, 2007).
Contractional Kapiti – Manawatu fault zones (domain 3)
The contractional Kapiti – Manawatu fault zones lie southwest of the Taupo Rift, and
northwest of the North Island Dextral Fault Belt. The majority of domain 3 fault zones are
steep reverse structures (Fig. 4) which are likely reactivated Pliocene – early Pleistocene
normal faults (Lamarche et al. 2005). Many also have blind tips associated with hanging wall
anticlines and footwall synclines (Melhuish et al. 1996; Jackson et al. 1998; Lamarche et al.
2005).
Fault zone lengths range from c. 8 to 91 km, but the shortest are likely underestimated
because they transect highly erodible Plio-Pleistocene sediments. Net slip rates range from
0.04 to 3.0 mm/yr (Fig. 5), with the highest occurring on the submarine Mascarin Fault (3
+0.5/-2 mm/yr) (Nodder et al. 2007). Cumulative net slip rates increase northwards from 2.5
+0.3/-0.6 to 5.4 +0.6/-1.6 mm/yr (Fig. 2). The lower rate in the south is thought to be due to
the fault zones there having a greater dextral component than further northeast and
contractional motion partitioned onto reverse faults in the southern Hikurangi subduction
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margin forearc (domain 5). This apparent northward increase in slip rate is however
inconsistent with geodetic modelling that predicts a northwards decrease in shortening
(Wallace et al. 2012).
Domain 3 fault zones uplift the eastern margin of the otherwise subsiding Wanganui
Basin (Fig. 1A). The basin has been inferred to be subsiding as a result of high friction on the
plate interface, producing a downward pull and flexure of the overriding Australian Plate
(Stern et al. 1992). Reverse-slip on these fault zones may also have contributed to subsidence
through crustal shortening and lithospheric loading (Lamarche et al. 2005).
North Island Dextral Fault Belt (domain 4)
The North Island Dextral Fault Belt (also referred to as the North Island Fault System,
Mouslopoulou et al., 2007a) is a c. 470 km long series of fault zones within and along the
eastern margin of the North Island’s axial ranges (Fig. 1A). Fault zones at the southern end of
the system strike northeast and are predominantly dextral strike-slip at the ground surface
(Fig. 4). Further north, the faults become progressively more oblique with an increasing
component of extension. Where they intersect and terminate against the eastern margin of the
Taupo Rift (domain 2), the northerly-striking faults in the North Island Dextral Fault Belt
(domain 4) slip with approximately equal components of dextral and normal slip (Fig. 4)
(Mouslopoulou et al. 2007a,b; 2009).
Accompanying the northward change in slip obliquity is a decrease in overall slip rate
(Van Dissen & Berryman 1996; Beanland & Haines 1998; Mouslopoulou et al. 2007b) (Figs.
2 and 5). Net slip rates on individual fault zones are up to 11 mm/yr (dextral) in the south
(Carne et al. 2011), but are no more than 2.5 mm/yr (dextral-normal) in the north
(Mouslopoulou et al. 2007b). The four transects in Fig. 2 show that the cumulative net slip
rate decreases northward from 22.3 +1.8/-3.8 to 14.4 ± 1.7, 7.1 +0.3/-0.6, and 6.2 ± 1.1
mm/yr.
The North Island Dextral Fault Belt accommodates much of the margin-parallel
(dextral) plate motion (Walcott 1987; Cashman et al. 1992; Van Dissen & Berryman 1996;
Beanland & Haines 1998; Mouslopoulou et al. 2007a; Nicol & Wallace 2007). The fault
zones are inferred to splay upwards off the Hikurangi subduction thrust and the 1855 rupture
of the Wairarapa Fault at the southern end of the system may have involved slip on the
subduction interface (Darby & Beanland 1992; Rodgers & Little 2006). The northward
decrease in slip rates compliments the northward increasing rates of normal slip across the
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adjacent Taupo Rift to the west (southern domain 2), a displacement transfer that is
associated with clockwise rotation of the eastern North Island (e.g., Wallace et al. 2004).
The southern end of the North Island Dextral Fault Belt is along strike from strike-slip
fault zones of the Marlborough Fault System, but the two are not directly connected beneath
Cook Strait (Fig. 1A) (Pondard & Barnes 2010). The discontinuity in Cook Strait separates
more northerly-striking fault zones in the North Island Dextral Fault Belt from more easterly-
striking fault zones in the northern part of the Marlborough Fault System. This crustal scale
hinge or kink between the two dextral-slip fault systems is thought to transfer some of the slip
on the Marlborough Fault System northward onto the Hikurangi subduction thrust (Wallace
et al. 2012).
Hikurangi subduction margin forearc (domain 5)
The Hikurangi subduction margin forearc is a relatively wide domain, extending westward
from the seafloor trace of the Hikurangi subduction thrust to the North Island Dextral Fault
Belt and the Havre Trough. The majority of the fault zones are thrust faults striking northeast
in the submarine accretionary wedge, and are associated with hanging wall anticlines and
footwall synclines (e.g., Barnes et al. 2002a, 2010). In the south there are some easterly-
striking dextral strike-slip fault zones, while a series of short northeast-striking normal fault
zones occur in the northern onshore portion (Fig. 4).
Fault zone lengths range from c. 6 to 146 km, the shortest being the Raukumara
Peninsula normal fault zones and the longest the submarine thrust and strike-slip fault zones
at the south end of the domain. Net slip rates are estimated to range from c. 0.1 to 5 mm/yr
(Fig. 5), with the lowest being the Raukumara Peninsula (Fig. 1B) normal faults (Berryman et
al. 2009). The highest slip rate occurs on the Lachlan Fault (4.5 ± 2 mm/yr), a major
nearshore thrust fault uplifting Mahia Peninsula (Berryman 1993; Barnes et al. 2002a;
Mountjoy & Barnes 2011). Cumulative net slip rates for three transects which cross the
entire domain are, from north to south, 13.6 +3.4/-2.5, 9.7 ± 1.6 and 14.4 +2.5/-2.9 mm/yr
(Fig. 2).
Uplift of the inner forearc (coastal ranges) is primarily driven by subduction of the
buoyant, oceanic, Hikurangi Plateau (Fig. 1A) (Davy 1992; Kelsey et al. 1995; Litchfield et
al. 2007), with contributions from sediment underplating and localised upper plate faulting
(Walcott, 1987; Reyners et al. 1999, 2006; Nicol et al. 2002; Formento-Trigilio et al. 2003).
The fault zones in this domain are interpreted to splay upwards from the subduction thrust
(Lewis & Pettinga 1993; Henrys et al. 2006; Barker et al. 2009; Barnes et al. 2010; Pedley et
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al. 2010). The southern dextral strike-slip fault zones are inferred to facilitate slip transfer
between the northern Marlborough Fault System (domain 8) and either the southern North
Island Dextral Fault Belt (domain 4) or the Hikurangi subduction thrust (domain 6) (Wallace
et al. 2004, 2012). The normal fault zones in Raukumara Peninsula are interpreted to be
shallow, secondary extensional structures formed as a consequence of rapid uplift, and/or
trenchward collapse, of the northern forearc (Thornley 1997; Berryman et al. 2009). An
absence of consistent along-strike variations in the cumulative slip rates indicate that
convergence variability along the margin (Wallace et al. 2004) is largely accommodated by
the subduction interface and associated frontal thrusts.
Hikurangi subduction thrust (domain 6)
The Hikurangi subduction thrust extends southward from the southern end of oceanic-oceanic
crust subduction at the Kermadec Trench (Fig. 1A), where convergence rates exceed 60
mm/yr, to offshore northeastern Marlborough, where plate motion is predominantly
transferred to the Marlborough Fault System. The thrust intersects the seafloor along the
western edge of the Hikurangi Trough (Fig. 1A), and is expressed by frontal thrust-faulted
anticlinal ridges and a proto-thrust zone (Lewis & Pettinga 1993; Barker et al. 2009; Barnes
et al. 2010). Following Wallace et al. (2009) and Stirling et al. (2012), the thrust is divided
into three sections along strike (Fig. 1B), on the basis of margin characteristics, historical
seismicity and the distribution of interseismic coupling and slow slip events (summarised by
Wallace et al. 2009). The section boundaries are only approximately located however,
because of the relatively low resolution of the location of these changes at depth. The model
of Stirling et al. (2012) focused on the seismogenic part of the thrust, for the purposes of
seismic hazard modelling, whereas our model addresses all parts of the thrust down-dip from
its trace in the Hikurangi Trough.
All sections are inferred to be largely dip-slip, as the thrust takes up a significant
proportion of the plate-normal motion (Barnes et al. 1998; Nicol & Beavan 2003; Wallace et
al. 2004, 2009; Nicol & Wallace 2007). The concave (e.g., Ansell & Bannister 1996), and in
places kinked, profile of the thrust in cross-section (Henrys et al. 2006; Barker et al. 2009)
has led us not to assign single dip values to the fault. The full net slip rate on the thrust (i.e.,
including seismogenic and creeping components) ranges from 54 ± 6 mm/yr in the north, 44
± 7 mm/yr in the centre, to 25 ± 5 mm/yr in the south (Wallace et al. 2004; Stirling et al.
2012).
13
Contractional northwestern South Island fault zones (domain 7)
Contractional northeast-striking fault zones produce a range and basin topography north and
west of the transpressional Alpine Fault. Many of these fault zones are reactivated Mesozoic
or early Cenozoic normal faults (Laird 1968; Lihou 1992; Bishop & Buchanan 1995; Ghisetti
& Sibson 2006) and many have associated hanging wall anticlines and footwall synclines
(Suggate 1987; Nicol & Nathan 2001; Ghisetti & Sibson 2006). Despite their prominent
geomorphic expression, only some of these fault systems show evidence for Late Pleistocene
activity (Suggate 1987, 1989; Nicol & Nathan 2001), implying that more faults could be
potentially active than currently recognised (e.g., Stafford et al. 2008; Sibson & Ghisetti
2010).
Fault zone lengths range from c. 38 to 140 km, based mainly on bedrock geology, and
sense of movement is primarily reverse (Fig. 4). Net slip rates are poorly constrained (e.g.,
Stafford et al. 2008), and generally low (Fig. 5). Cumulative net slip rates across two
transects in Fig. 2 are 0.7 ± 0.3 (north) and 1 ± 0.4 (south) mm/yr.
The northwestern South Island fault zones have, through the Late Cenozoic, taken up
some of the plate-normal component of continental convergence in the South Island.
Deformation is particularly concentrated northwest of a major bend in the Alpine Fault,
where some of the reverse fault zones likely form footwall shortcut thrusts and backthrusts to
the Alpine Fault (Ghisetti & Sibson 2006).
Strike-slip Marlborough Fault System (domain 8)
The Marlborough Fault System is a series of predominantly continental strike-slip fault zones
(Fig. 4) in the northern South Island, which link the Hikurangi Subduction thrust (at depth) to
the Alpine Fault. Although the majority of fault zones are chiefly dextral strike-slip, several
also have measurable dip-slip motion (Fig. 4), most commonly up-to-the-northwest. For
example, reverse faults contribute to uplift of the Kaikoura Ranges (e.g., Van Dissen & Yeats
1991; Nicol & Van Dissen 2002) and parts of the continental shelf (Barnes & Audru 1999). A
normal component of slip on the Wairau and Cloudy faults create transtensional basins in
Cook Strait (Fig. 1A) (Pondard & Barnes 2010), while extension on the Hanmer Fault
contributes to localised subsidence of Hanmer Basin along the Hope Fault (Fig. 1B) (Wood et
al. 1994) (Fig. 4).
Whilst fault zone lengths range from c. 18 to 145 km, the majority of the structures
are elements of longer segmented strike-fault systems (e.g., the Hope Fault, Langridge et al.
2003, which has a total length of c. 300 km as defined here). Net slip rates range from c. 0.1
14
to 25 mm/yr (Fig. 5), with the highest being the eastern section of the Hope Fault (Langridge
et al. 2003). Cumulative net slip rates along transects (Fig. 2) are 23.5 +3.4/-3.7 (southwest)
and 37.8 ± 3.4 (northeast) mm/yr, showing a northeastward increase in the transfer of slip
from the Alpine Fault to the Marlborough Fault System.
The Wairau Fault, sometimes considered the northern part of the Alpine Fault based
on the continuity of the surrounding bedrock and total offset (e.g., Berryman et al. 1992), is
included in this domain to reflect its current role in the Marlborough Fault System. Domain 8
lies above the subducted Pacific Plate, but its constituent faults likely intersect the underlying
plate interface only in the east, where the interface is shallowest (Reyners & Cowan 1993;
Wannamaker et al. 2009; Eberhart-Phillips & Bannister 2010; Wallace et al. 2012). The age
of the Marlborough Fault System has been interpreted to decrease southeast-ward, probably
reflecting southward migration of the Hikurangi subduction thrust (e.g., Yeats & Berryman
1987; Little et al. 1998; Wallace et al. 2007).
Contractional North Canterbury fault zones (domain 9)
Lying southeast of the Marlborough Fault System, this domain is characterised by mixed
fault zone orientations and slip types (Fig. 4). In the northeastern, offshore part of the
domain, reverse and thrust fault zones with associated hanging wall anticlines and footwall
synclines largely verge eastward. They cut Mesozoic basement and possibly splay upwards
from the Hikurangi subduction thrust (Barnes et al. 1998; Wallace et al., 2012). Onshore, in
the centre of the domain, reverse fault zones with associated hanging wall anticlines and
footwall synclines, verge mainly northwest in the coastal region and southeast further inland
(Al-Daghastani & Campbell 1995; Nicol et al. 1995; Barnes 1996; Pettinga et al. 2001;
Litchfield et al. 2003). Localised northerly and easterly striking fault zones are probably
reactivated Cretaceous normal faults (Nicol & Wise 1992; Nicol 1993; Litchfield et al. 2003).
The fault zones could extend upward from a mid-crustal detachment identified in
microseismicity (Reyners & Cowan 1993; Campbell et al. 2012). Fault zones in the western
part of the domain are inferred to be predominantly transpressional (Cox et al. 2012), but
some northwest-striking fault zones form complex transfer structures between northeast-
striking faults (Abercrombie et al. 2000; Robinson & McGinty 2000). Fault zones in the far
west of the domain may splay upwards from the southeast-dipping Alpine Fault (Pettinga et
al. 2001). The exact position of the southwest boundary between domains 9 and 11 (in the
Southern Alps) is somewhat subjective, but has been defined based on a slight change in
15
strike (generally more easterly to the north) and sense of movement (some dextral motion to
the north).
Fault zone lengths range from c. 7 to 90 km, with the longest, the Porters Pass – Grey
fault zone, comprising at least two segments (Howard et al. 2005). Slip rates are mostly
poorly constrained; they range from c. 0.1 to 3.5 mm/yr, with the highest rate estimated for
part of the Porters Pass fault (3.5 +0.6/-0.4 mm/yr) (Howard et al. 2005), and the lowest on
submarine faults in the east (Barnes 1996; Barnes et al. 1998) (Fig. 5). Cumulative net slip
rates calculated along transects shown in Fig. 2 decrease northeastward from >5.6 +0.9/-0.6
to 3.1 +1/-0.8 and 2.3 ± 0.7 mm/yr, although the slip rate on the westernmost transect is a
minimum because it includes Southern Alps fault zones with no assigned slip rates.
The North Canterbury fault zones are considered to be relatively youthful (<1 Myr
e.g., Nicol et al. 1994; Barnes 1996; Cowan et al. 1996; Pettinga et al. 2001; Litchfield et al.
2003), and represent an encroachment of plate boundary deformation into the region from the
north. The evolution of this domain means the southeast boundary may be migrating south,
the possibility exists that the faults that ruptured in the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake
Sequence (e.g., Gledhill et al. 2011; Kaiser et al. 2012) could be included in this domain (e.g.,
Campbell et al. 2012) rather than the lower strain domain 11, as proposed here (see below).
Extensional North Mernoo fault zones (domain 10)
The North Mernoo fault zones are entirely submarine (Fig. 4) and comprise east-striking fault
zones on the northwestern edge of the submerged continental Chatham Rise (Fig. 1A).
Although mapping is limited by data coverage, the larger structures are inferred to be
between c. 20 and 65 km long (Barnes 1994a). Sense of movement is inferred to be normal
(Fig. 4) with net slip rates, assigned on the basis of low long-term extension (Pliocene-
Quaternary), of c. 0.1 to 0.25 mm/yr (Fig. 5). The cumulative net slip rate across this domain
is 1 ± 0.4 mm/yr (Fig. 2).
The current phase of activity started in the Late Miocene, and involved a reactivation
of Cretaceous and Eocene (normal) fault systems (Barnes 1994b). Two kinematic models to
explain this extension have been proposed. One is minor buckling at the northern end of the
southern Marlborough Fault System, which results in slivers of the Chatham Rise being
spalled off as the Chatham Rise slides past southern Marlborough (Anderson et al. 1993). The
other model invokes flexural extension (bending-moment faulting) of the edge of the
Chatham Rise at the southern end of the Hikurangi Subduction Zone (Barnes 1994a).
16
Contractional southeastern South Island fault zones (domain 11)
Domain 11 is the largest and comprises all of the active faults of onland South Island
southeast of the Alpine Fault and south of the North Canterbury fault zones (domain 9) (Fig.
2). The majority of fault zones strike north to northeast, but there is an additional set of
northwest-striking faults within much of the domain, producing an orthogonal fault pattern.
Many of these structures are range-bounding reverse faults (Fig. 4) with hanging wall
anticlines and footwall synclines (e.g., Beanland et al. 1986; Jackson et al. 1996; Markley &
Tikoff 2003). Fault zones close to the Alpine Fault have a significant component of dextral
strike-slip motion (Sutherland 1995; Ballard 1989; Cox et al. 2012) and there are two
predominantly strike-slip fault zones of note. The northwest-striking Wharekuri Fault (Barrell
et al. 2009) in the Waitaki Valley (Fig. 1B) is the only dominantly sinistral fault zone in the
model, and may facilitate eastward widening of the area of contraction east of the Alpine
Fault (see below). The east-striking Greendale Fault in the northeast corner ruptured in the
2010 Darfield Earthquake (e.g., Quigley et al. 2010, 2012; Gledhill et al. 2011) and is likely
to be a reactivated Cretaceous normal fault (Browne et al. 2012; Campbell et al. 2012;
Ghisetti & Sibson 2012; Jongens et al. 2012).
Fault zone lengths range from c. 15 to 90 km, while the range-bounding reverse fault
zones are mostly 20–70 km long. Net slip rates are 0.01 to 2.2 mm/yr (Fig. 5), with the
highest being the Fox Peak Fault (2.2 +2.4/-1.8 mm/yr) (Upton et al. 2004). Cumulative net
slip rates across the three transects shown in Fig. 2 are >3.9 +3.1/-1.9, 3.9 +1.9/-1.1, and 1.2
± 0.6 mm/yr from north to south, although the northern (and possibly the central) transect slip
rate is a minimum because it includes fault zones within the Southern Alps with no assigned
slip rates. Conversely, the central cumulative net slip rate may be a maximum as there is
some evidence for the activity of some of these (Beanland & Berryman 1989; Berryman &
Beanland 1991), as well as other east Otago (Litchfield & Norris 2000), fault zones to be
episodic.
The convergence zone in the north and centre of this domain can be described as an
asymmetric two-sided orogen, with the higher rates of erosion in the west (inboard) focusing
deformation on the southeast-dipping Alpine Fault (Koons 1990; Norris et al. 1990).
Variations in the width of the outboard zone (east) are likely to be a function of lithology,
with the widest part in the centre of the domain corresponding to thicker and weaker
schistose crust (Upton et al. 2009). Northern outboard fault zones (north of Oamaru; Fig. 1B)
likely splay upwards from a mid-crustal shear zone (e.g., Wannamaker et al. 2002; Van
17
Avendonk et al. 2004), whereas central fault zones (in Otago, the area between approximately
Oamaru and Papatowai in Fig. 1B) may splay upwards from a thick ductile lower crust
(Upton et al. 2009). Many of the outboard fault zones are reactivated Cretaceous normal
faults (Mutch & Wilson 1952; Norris et al. 1987; Ghisetti et al. 2007). Inboard (northwest-
dipping) fault zones in the centre and north of the domain are likely to be back-thrusts off the
southeast-dipping Alpine Fault (Norris et al. 1987, 1990; Cox & Sutherland 2007).
Alpine Fault (domain 12)
The Alpine Fault is a dextral strike-slip fault, defined here to be c. 740 km in length, forming
the western (inboard) side of the South Island continental-convergence zone. The fault links
the Marlborough Fault System with the Puysegur subduction thrust (Fig. 2).
In this paper, we divide the Alpine Fault into 6 sections (Fig. 1B) based on changes in
slip rate and geometry along strike. The southern sections are steeply-dipping to the
southeast, almost pure dextral strike-slip (Barnes et al. 2001, 2005), and include the highest
net slip rate (31 ± 3 mm/yr) found on the fault (Barnes 2009). The rate decreases northwards
to 23 ± 2 mm/yr in south Westland (Sutherland et al. 2006). The central sections, bounding
the western side of the Southern Alps, have a moderate dip to the southeast (Davey et al.
1998). Near Aoraki/Mt Cook (Fig. 1B) the dip-slip rate is locally up to 10 mm/yr (Norris &
Cooper 2001) and inferred uplift rates to the east of the fault are >8 mm/yr (Batt 2001; Little
et al. 2005). The dextral slip rate decreases northwards where slip is transferred onto the
Marlborough Fault System, particularly the Hope Fault (Langridge et al. 2010).
The Alpine Fault is inferred to be inherited from an Eocene rift and passive margin
that formed during the initiation of the Cenozoic plate boundary through New Zealand
(Kamp 1986; Sutherland et al. 2000). It has accrued displacement since the Late Oligocene or
Early Miocene as South Tasman ocean crust was subducted beneath Fiordland (Fig. 1A),
while continental crust of the Australian Plate (Challenger Plateau; Fig. 1A) acted as an
indentor into weaker continental crust to the southeast (Sutherland et al. 2000, 2009). The
absence of active faults west of the central Alpine Fault (southern domain 7) provides
supporting evidence that the Australian Plate is acting as a rigid indentor.
Western Fiordland Margin - Caswell High fault zones (domain 13)
Domain 13 fault zones are entirely submarine and lie west of the southern part of the Alpine
Fault. Fault zones form two parallel sets. In the west are a series of normal fault zones along
18
the edge of the Caswell High (Fig. 1A) and in the east are west-verging reverse fault zones on
the east side of the Fiordland Basin (Fig. 4).
Fault zone lengths range from c. 25 to 75 km. Net slip rates, although poorly
constrained, are inferred to be low (0.4–3 mm/yr; Fig. 5) on the basis of offset seismic
reflectors tied to dated samples (Barnes et al. 2002b). Cumulative net slip rates show a
northward decrease in slip rate from 7.4 ± 2.2 to 3.8 ± 1.3 mm/yr (Fig. 2). This decrease
continues further north as the zone narrows to just a single fault zone, the Barn Fault, which
forms part of a set of submarine, landward-dipping reverse faults which broadly correspond
to the South Westland Fault Zone and uplifts Pleistocene marine deposits along the west
coast (Sutherland & Norris 1995; Sutherland et al. 2007).
Fault zones in this domain are relatively young, commencing activity in the Pliocene
prior to 3 ± 1 Myr, but mostly developed during the Quaternary (Barnes et al. 2002b). The
thrust faults form part of a narrow wedge accommodating some of the margin-normal
component of plate motion (Delteil et al. 1996; Lebrun et al. 2000; Wood et al. 2000; Barnes
et al. 2002b). The Caswell High fault zones are the result of flexural uplift caused by the tight
bending of the Australian plate as a result of its subduction beneath Fiordland (Fig. 1A)
(Delteil et al. 1996; Malservi et al. 2003). Many of the faults may be reactivated Cretaceous
or Eocene normal faults (Sutherland et al. 2000; Wood et al. 2000).
Puysegur Ridge – Bank strike-slip fault zones (domain 14)
Puysegur Ridge (Fig. 1A), sitting above the Puysegur subduction thrust, has a faulted gully
parallel to the ridge crest that is inferred to be the surface expression of a major strike-slip
fault system, the Puysegur Ridge Fault (Collot et al. 1995). At the northern end of the ridge,
at least two splays can be traced into the Snares Trough (Fig. 1B) (Lamarche & Lebrun
2000). North of the Snares Trough, two fault zones extend across and displace wave
planation surfaces of probable Quaternary age on Puysegur Bank (Fig. 1B) (Melhuish et al.
1999).
Fault zone lengths range from c. 66 to 298 km, although it is likely that the Puysegur
Ridge Fault is segmented. The slip rates on these fault zones are unknown, because the age of
the wave-cut surface is poorly constrained and the amount of strike-slip displacement cannot
be measured on the surface. The rates for these faults are therefore assigned as a portion of
the plate convergence rate and cumulative slip rate transects have not been compiled.
The morphology and tectonic setting of Puysegur Ridge is very similar to Macquarie
Ridge to the south, where a structure analogous to the Puysegur Ridge Fault ruptured with a
19
dextral strike-slip focal mechanism in the 1989 Macquarie Ridge earthquake (Mw 8.2)
(Anderson 1990). The northern (Snares) fault zones transfer much of the margin-parallel
motion from the Puysegur Ridge Fault back to the subduction thrust at shallow (<10 km)
depths (Lamarche & Lebrun 2000).
Puysegur subduction thrust (domain 15)
The Puysegur subduction thrust is considered as a single fault zone which dips east from the
Puysegur Trench (Fig. 1A). The seafloor trace extends southward from Resolution Ridge
(Fig. 1A), to the Macquarie Ridge Complex (off Fig. 1, to the south) where plate boundary
motion is primarily dextral strike-slip (e.g., Massell et al. 2000).
A series of earthquakes on the northern end of the thrust, including the 2009 Mw7.8
Dusky Sound Earthquake, show that the sense of movement on the Puysegur subduction
thrust has a component of dextral strike-slip, and that the azimuth of the slip vector is
precisely parallel to that predicted by relative plate motions (Doser et al. 1999; Reyners et al.
2003; Beavan et al. 2010b; Fry et al. 2010). The parallelism of the Dusky Sound Earthquake
slip to the plate motion vector further indicates that the thrust takes up the majority of the
plate motion, and a net slip rate of 27 +10/-7 mm/yr has been assigned to reflect this.
Subduction on the Puysegur subduction thrust initiated at c. 10 Ma along a pre-
existing fracture zone within the southeast Tasman oceanic crust, following a major
reorganisation of the overall Pacific-Australia plate boundary (Lamarche et al. 1997; Lebrun
et al. 2000).
Discussion
Fault zone densities and lengths
Statistics have been derived for the numbers, densities and lengths of the fault zones in the
updated nation-wide model. These numbers are considered to be first-order. They are likely,
for example, to comprise fault lengths that are in many cases shorter than the actual lengths
due to erosion or burial. Moreover, some domain boundaries (particularly their outer,
offshore, edges) are necessarily arbitrary and there has been considerable simplification and
interpretation of fault zone traces (e.g., Fig. 3). Nevertheless, we think our compilations
reveal some important kinematic features of the New Zealand plate boundary zone, and also
highlight issues of potentially unidentified faults, which are discussed further in the model
completeness section.
20
A total of 635 active fault zones or fault zone sections are included in this model
(Figs. 1, 4, 5). The majority (416; 66%) are in North Island domains despite the total
geographic area of North and South Island domains being similar (Table 3). In part this
reflects the large number (196) of closely-spaced fault zones in the Havre Trough - Taupo
Rift domain, which contains 47% of North Island fault zones and 31% of the total fault zones
(Table 3). Many of the fault zones in this domain are relatively short however, and the
domain with the greatest cumulative fault zone length (3265 km) is the contractional
southeastern South Island domain (Table 3). Other domains with high fault zone numbers and
cumulative lengths are the Hikurangi subduction margin forearc and North Island Dextral
Fault Belt (Table 3). Terrestrial and submarine fault zones are similar in abundance to one
another: 299 (47%) fault zones are entirely terrestrial, 292 (46%) are entirely submarine, and
44 (7%) cross the coast. Of the entirely submarine fault zones 146 (50%) are in the offshore
Taupo Rift and southern Havre Trough.
Translating the number and length of fault zones per domain into density (i.e. dividing
the numbers and lengths by domain area), shows that indeed the Havre Trough – Taupo Rift
has the greatest density of fault zones, while the North Island Dextral Fault Belt has the
longest fault zones per area (aside from the Alpine Fault domain). Other domains of high
density are the Kapiti-Manawatu and Marlborough Fault System domains. Not surprisingly,
the least-densely faulted domains are situated further away from the main locus of plate
boundary strain (excluding the Alpine Fault, and the Hikurangi and Puysegur subduction
thrusts). These areas include the western North Island, northwestern South Island,
southwestern South Island, and Puysegur Ridge – Bank domains (Table 3). These domains
may also contain a larger proportion of unidentified active faults (e.g., Sibson & Ghizetti
2010, Ries et al. 2011), as discussed in the model completeness section below.
Fault zone kinematics and slip rates
Figure 4 illustrates that the majority (83%) of fault zones in the model are interpreted to have
a predominantly dip-slip sense of movement. Forty six percent are predominantly normal,
38% are predominantly reverse, 17% are predominantly dextral, and there is only 1
dominantly sinistral fault. Figure 4 also reveals how oblique plate boundary convergence is
partitioned in the upper plate between domains of primarily dip-slip versus strike-slip faulting
that are parallel to one another. However, it should be noted that Figure 4 only shows the
dominant sense of movement, whereas many fault zones have an oblique sense of movement
(supplementary file Tables S1 and S2).
21
Figure 5 illustrates that the highest slip rates occur along the northern and central
Hikurangi subduction thrust. The transfer of motion from the Alpine Fault onto the Puysegur
subduction thrust and the Puysegur Bank – Ridge fault zones in the south, and into the
Marlborough Fault System, and ultimately the Hikurangi subduction thrust and southern
North Island Dextral Fault Belt, in the north are also clearly shown. Forty-three fault zones
have relatively high slip rates (≥5 mm/yr). The combined length of these fault zones is 3448
km, which is 17% of the total length of fault zones in the model (20,618 km).
A total of 226 fault zones (35% of the total length) have moderate (1-5 mm/yr) slip
rates, and these are generally close to the major tectonic elements of the plate boundary zone
(Fig. 5). Some of the central Southern Alps fault zones may also have moderate slip rates.
Fault zones with low (< 1 mm/yr) slip rates (331; 42% of the total length) dominate in areas
that are distal to the chief plate boundary elements. The majority of low slip rate fault zones
are either reverse or normal (Fig. 4).
The cumulative net slip rates on the transects in Fig. 2 confirm these general patterns
of slip rate distribution across the plate boundary zone with the highest slip rates (not
including the Alpine Fault and the Hikurangi and Puysegur subduction thrusts) occurring in
the Marlborough Fault System, followed by the southern North Island Dextral Fault Belt and
the northern Taupo Rift – Havre Trough. Notable along-strike changes in cumulative slip rate
occur within single domains. These include the rapid northward decrease in cumulative slip
rate along the North Island Dextral Fault Belt, and the parallel northward increase in slip rate
across the Kapiti - Manawatu fault zones and the extensional Havre Trough – Taupo Rift. In
contrast, the slip rate on the Hikurangi subduction thrust decreases strongly to the southwest,
whilst the Alpine Fault rate decreases to the northeast, illustrating a transfer of strain from
these first-order plate boundary structures onto second-order fault zones in between.
Model completeness
Our model has added significant numbers of active faults to previous New Zealand-wide
compilations. However, like other national active fault or fault source databases (e.g.,
Machette et al. 2004; Yoshioka et al. 2005; Basili et al. 2008; Clark et al. 2012), the model is
undoubtedly incomplete. Table 4 summarises our best assessment of the relative level of
completeness of each domain and lists the main areas where we consider the model to likely
be incomplete. Not surprisingly, the two main areas of likely incompleteness are: (i) rapidly
eroding and difficult-to-access mountainous areas; and (ii) some submarine areas where there
is currently insufficient knowledge of likely active faulting.
22
A more quantitative calculation of model completeness is beyond the scope of this
study, but a preliminary analysis of 532 fault sources in the 2010 version of the New Zealand
National Seismic Hazard Model (Stirling et al. 2012) showed a power-law distribution for
faults with slip rates ≥1 mm/yr (Nicol et al. 2011). Departure from the power-law distribution
can be interpreted to indicate that the seismic hazard model (and therefore the model
presented in this paper given the overlap) is incomplete at slip rates ≤1 mm/yr. The level of
completeness will vary between regions with faults with higher slip rates (e.g., 0.5-1 mm/yr)
most likely to be undersampled where they are exceeded by erosion or deposition rates (e.g.,
the Southern Alps and western Canterbury Plains).
Comparison of geological and geodetic rates
The type of fault parameters presented in this model may be used in studies of seismic hazard
(e.g., Stirling et al., 2012), kinematic deformation (Beavan et al. 2007; Wallace et al. 2012),
and fault interactions (Robinson et al. 2009, 2011; Pondard and Barnes 2010). Comparison of
the permanent deformation, revealed by fault slip rates typically measured over thousands to
tens of thousands of years, with strains recorded by GPS velocities, measured over the last
few decades, places constraints on the spatial distribution, sampling biases and timing of
deformation. We present one such comparison, that of regional horizontal deformation for the
transects shown in Figure 2. Only mean values are calculated here, but considering the
uncertainties in fault zone slip rates in Figure 2, it is only differences of several mm/yr or
more that are considered significant. Only horizontal deformation is compared, as a nation-
wide vertical GPS velocity field is currently unavailable.
Cumulative horizontal fault zone slip rates were obtained by first converting the net
slip rates of individual fault zones to horizontal slip rates, and then into transect parallel and
normal components. These were then summed for each transect and a resultant vector
calculated. Horizontal GPS velocities relative to a fixed Australian plate were calculated from
a velocity field produced using a spline-fitting function to 920 site velocities (Beavan 2012).
Velocity differences were calculated across each transect (i.e., difference between velocities
at the transect endpoints), and were resolved into transect parallel and normal components.
The outer edges of the transects in domain 10 and 13 lie outside the current version (4.0) of
the GPS velocity field, so velocity differences for those transects could not be calculated.
Inspection of Figure 6 and Table 5 shows that for the majority (37 of 47) of transects,
the rates of GPS deformation are higher than the cumulative fault slip rates. This is likely to
be for a variety of reasons, including incompleteness in the fault model in some areas (Table
23
4), that GPS data includes distributed deformation between the faults in the model and, for
the North Island, because elastic strains in the GPS signal are accruing due to (and in the
future will likely be converted to) slip on the Hikurangi subduction thrust (Nicol and Wallace
2007). Distributed deformation may take the form of large-scale vertical-axis block rotations,
folding associated with fault slip at depth and fault slip that is below the resolution of the
present data (i.e. incomplete sampling of fault slip rates). Incomplete sampling may be
particularly important for transect-normal deformation (i.e. strike-slip faulting) in domains 1,
2, 7, 9 and 11 where fault slip rates are generally low (e.g., <1 mm/yr), fault piercing points
are rare and, for parts of domains 9 and 11, erosion rates are likely to be higher than the slip
rates, removing evidence of fault displacements.
In the predominantly strike-slip North Island Dextral Fault Belt and the Marlborough
Fault System, cumulative fault slip rates are generally significantly higher (e.g., ~20-100%)
than GPS deformation. This difference may partly arise because faults in these domains take
up most, if not all, of the margin-parallel plate motion over geological timescales, while
contemporary deformation is distributed beyond these relatively narrow domains. For
example, geological slip rates are greater than GPS rates in the Marlborough Fault System
(33.2 versus 18.8 mm/yr), while GPS rates significantly exceed geological slip rates in
domains either side (northwestern North Island and North Canterbury). Thetotal transect-
normal deformation across all three domains are similar however, 34.4 (geological slip rates)
and 33.1 mm/yr (GPS), respectively. There is no evidence for episodic activity on any fault
zones in the North Island Dextral Fault Belt and the Marlborough Fault System, so we infer
episodicity is unlikely to account for the higher geological slip rates.
There is a general consistency between the overall sense of motion (contraction or
extension) defined by geological and GPS data for nearly all transects (43 of 47 transects).
This consistency indicates that the contemporary elastic strains will be largely converted to
long-term (thousands to millions of years) permanent deformation in earthquakes (e.g., Nicol
and Wallace 2007). Of the four transects with differing geological and GPS sense of
movement, three (transect M1 in the North Island Dextral Fault Belt, and the southwestern
transects in the Marlborough Fault System and North Canterbury domain) are mainly the
result of sensitivity to the orientation of transects. Both fault and GPS deformation is at a
high angle and therefore a small change in transect orientation results in transect parallel
motion switching from extension to contraction and vice versa. The fourth transect with
differing geological and GPS sense of movement is in the western North Island, where the
24
GPS velocities indicate transect parallel (WNW-ESE) contraction but the fault zones are all
clearly extensional. There is currently no clear explanation for this difference.
A final general observation is that fault zone slip is inferred to be transect parallel
(i.e., pure normal or reverse) for a number of transects (marked with an * in Figure 6A)
whereas the GPS velocities are always oblique. There may be explanations for some of these
differences, such as the permanent transect normal motion being taken up by block rotations
in the Havre Trough - Taupo Rift, and Alpine Fault locking contributing to the GPS velocities
across southeastern South Island transects. However, in other cases it raises the question as to
whether fault slip is purely dip slip, or if strike-slip components are unrecognised.
There are clearly drawbacks to this 2 dimensional (transect parallel and normal)
comparison, such as the sensitivity of the results to the orientation and endpoints of transects.
To further improve understanding of plate boundary kinematics in the future, the approach of
Wallace et al. (2004, 2007, 2012) could be applied on a New Zealand scale, whereby GPS
velocities, active fault data, and earthquake slip vectors are inverted simultaneously to derive
block rotations and degree of interseismic coupling. Alternatively, both datasets can be
converted to strain rates for direct comparison (e.g., Holt & Haines 1995; Beanland & Haines
1998; Beavan et al. 2007).
Summary and conclusions
A new, regional-scale model of active faulting in New Zealand has been compiled which
contains 635 fault zones, including 631 upper crustal fault zones and 4 subduction thrusts.
Fault zone traces are available for download in shapefile, ascii and kmz formats
(supplementary files Maps S1- S3). One of the biggest additions to this model over previous
compilations is the large number of submarine fault zones, which comprise 52% of the total.
Tabulated fault parameters include: (i) dip; (ii) dip-direction; (iii) sense of movement;
(iv) rake; (v) net slip rate; and (vi) quality code, and are available for download
(supplementary files Table S1 and S2). We endeavoured to obtain, assign, or infer each of
these for all faults, with the main exception being slip rates for the central Southern Alps
faults, where geomorphic markers are generally absent as a result of high rates of erosion.
The fault zones have been grouped into 15 tectonic domains, comprising subjective
geographic groupings of fault zones which have similar kinematics. The current knowledge
of kinematics in each domain have been summarised, primarily from previously published
work.
25
The majority (83%) of the fault zones have a dip-slip sense of movement; 46% are
normal, 38% are reverse, 17% are dextral, and there is only 1 sinistral fault.
In terms of fault identification and mapping, the model is estimated to be mostly
complete for fault zones with slip rates ≥1 mm/yr. Main areas where the model is likely to be
incomplete are not surprisingly, areas of rapidly eroding and/or difficult to access hills and
mountains, and submarine areas where high resolution seismic and swath data have yet to be
collected. Data is also unavailable from the rapidly eroding central Southern Alps, where
there are mapped faults but unknown slip rates, such that the southeastern South Island
domain has the largest disparities between cumulative fault zone slip rates and differences in
horizontal GPS velocity.
The model should be useful for a range of purposes, and an example is provided
comparing horizontal cumulative fault slip rates with GPS velocity differences parallel and
normal to selected transects crossing each domain. This example has highlighted several
differences which could be explored with more sophisticated kinematic modelling and will
help target future active fault studies.
Supplementary files:
Table S1: Active fault zone parameters and data source references.
Table S2: Microsoft excel file of the active fault zone parameters.
Figures S1–S8: Index and enlarged maps of the active fault zone traces.
Map S1: Shapefile of the active fault zone traces and parameters (attribute table), in NZTM
2000 projection.
Map S2: Ascii file of the active fault zone traces, in WGS84 projection.
Map S3: Kmz file of the active fault zone traces, in Google Earth coordinate system.
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the New Zealand Science and Technology Contracts C05X0702
and C05X0804 (GNS Science) and C01X0702 (NIWA). We would like to thank Dougal
Townsend and John Begg for their helpful reviews. We would also like to acknowledge
Neville Palmer for the GPS velocity data, Patrick Sweetensen for his work on the references,
and Bella Ansell for assistance with figures.
26
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Figure captions
Figure 1 A, Tectonic setting of New Zealand. The Pacific plate motion vectors relative to the
Australian plate are from Wallace et al. (2007) and the coloured bathymetry map is from
CANZ (1996). AF is the Alpine Fault, AR is North Island axial ranges, CH is Caswell High,
ChP is Challenger Plateau, CR is Chatham Rise, CS is Cook Strait, cSA is central Southern
Alps, F is Fiordland, HP is Hikurangi Plateau, HR is Hauraki Rift, HkT is Hikurangi Trough,
HvT is Havre Trough, KR is Kaikoura Ranges, KT is Kermadec Trench, PR is Puysegur
Ridge, PT is Puysegur Trench, RR is Resolution Ridge, RP is Raukumara Peninsula, TB is
Taranaki Basin, TR is the Taupo Rift, WB is Wanganui Basin. B, New Zealand active fault
zones (n = 635) compiled for this study. Enlarged maps, on which fault zones are individually
numbered for correlation with the fault zone parameter table, are contained in supplementary
file Figures S1-S9. Sense of movement is also shown for all faults in supplementary file
Figures S1-S9, but is shown for selected faults here; ticks denote the downthrown side of
normal fault zones; triangles the upthrown side of reverse fault zones; arrows the sense of
movement of strike-slip fault zones. The boundaries between sections of the Hikurangi
subduction thrust and the Alpine Fault are denoted with short cross-lines. CVA is
Coromandel Volcanic Arc, CaP is Campbell Plateau, E is eastern Taranaki Rift, FB is
Fiordland Basin, HB is Hanmer Basin, HR is Hauraki Rift, MtR is Mount Ruapehu, MtC is
Mount Cook, O is Oamaru, OVC is Okataina Volcanic Centre, P is Papatowai, PB is
Puysegur Bank, PN is Palmerston North, ST is Snares Trough, TVC is Taupo Volcanic
Centre, W is western Taranaki Rift.
Figure 2 Major New Zealand tectonic domains, defined primarily by grouping fault zones
with similar sense of movements. Black lines are representative transects along which
cumulative net slip rates (mm/yr) have been calculated from summing net slip rates on
individual fault zones, as labelled. Uncertainties have been calculated from the root mean
square of individual fault zone net slip rate uncertainties. H, M, and L are relative confidence
rankings, broadly H (high) = most slip rates were calculated from field or seismic reflection
data, M (moderate) = most slip rates were assigned from nearby fault zones or consideration
of slip rate budgets, L (low) = most slip rates were inferred.
Figure 3 Examples of active fault traces in the GNS Science Active Faults Database
(http://data.gns.cri.nz/af/) (red) and the simplified active fault zones compiled for the model
presented in this paper (black). A, Simplification of multiple trace normal faults in the central
46
Taupo Rift. B, Simplification and extension of strike-slip faults, and the addition of an
inferred connecting fault (230) in highly erodible hill country, northeast North Island. The
map locations are shown on Fig. 1B as dotted rectangles. Numbers refer to the fault zone
numbers in supplementary file Table S1.
Figure 4 Fault zones coloured according to their dominant sense of movement. Domain
names are listed in Figure 2.
Figure 5 Fault zones coloured according to their net slip rate (best estimates). Domain names
are listed in Figure 2. The map highlights that the highest slip rates are along the main plate
boundary elements, as well as the transfer of deformation between faults such as the Alpine
Fault and the Marlborough Fault System.
Figure 6 Comparison of cumulative horizontal fault zone slip rates (red) and horizontal GPS
velocity differences (between transect endpoints) (blue) for selected transects across tectonic
domains, shown as vectors (A), transect parallel motion (B), and transect normal motion (C).
In A, where the cumulative horizontal fault zone slip rate vectors are shorter than the size of
the arrow heads, the arrow heads are not shown, and the asterisks mark vectors which are
very close, or exactly parallel to the transects. The vectors are shown relative to a fixed
Australian plate.
PACIFICPLATE
AUSTRALIANPLATE
A
Figs. 1B & 2
B
40°S
170°E 175°E N
35°S
48
42
41 mm/yr
40
TR
cSAH
kT
AF
PT P
R
KT
RR
HP
CR
WB
TB
CS
RP
HvT
F
CH
AR
AR
40°S
45°S
165°E 170°E 175°E 180°
Fig. 3A
Fig. 3B
MtC
TVC
OVC
O
P
PN
HB
CVA
MtR
FB
ST
PB
CaP
HR
W
E
KR
HR
400 km
ChP
40°S
45°S
165°E 170°E 175°E 180°
3.2 H
15.2 H5.9 ± 0.9 M4.4 ± 0.7 M
6.2 ± 1.1 M
7.1 M
14.4 ± 1.7 L
5.4 M
13.6 M
9.7 ± 1.6 M
14.4 L
0.7 ± 0.3 L
1.0 ± 0.4 L
37.8 ± 3.4 H
+3.4
-3.7
23.5
M
2.3 ± 0.7 L
1.0
± 0
.4 L
1.2 ± 0.6 L
3.8 ± 1.3 M7.4 ± 2.2 M
+0-2.6
+0.3-0.6
+0.6-1.6
2.5 M
+0.3-0.622.3 M
+1.8-3.8
+3.4-2.5
+2.5
-2.9
3.1
L+1.0
-0.8
>5.6
L+
0.9
-0.6
>3.9 M
+3.1-1.93.9 L
+1.9-1.1
2
3
5
4
10
8
7
9
11
12
1. extensional western North Island fault zones2. extensional Havre Trough - Taupo Rift fault zones3. contractional Kapiti - Manawatu fault zones4. North Island Dextral Fault Belt5. Hikurangi subduction margin forearc6. Hikurangi subduction thrust7. contractional northwestern South Island fault zones8. strike-slip Marlborough Fault System9. contractional North Canterbury fault zones10. extensional North Mernoo fault zones11. contractional southeastern South Island fault zones12. Alpine Fault13. western Fiordland Margin - Caswell High fault zones14. Puysegur Ridge - Bank strike-slip fault zones15. Puysegur subduction thrust
1
Tectonic domains
13
14
6
15
+0.5-1.1
10 km10 km
170
172
171
173
17417
517
6
177 17
8
A
B
231
10 km
Reverse
Normal
Dextral
Sinistral
Dominant sense of movement
40°S
45°S
165°E 170°E 175°E 180°
2
3
5
4
10
8
7
9
11
12
1
13
14
6
15
40°S
45°S
165°E 170°E 175°E 180°
2
3
5
4
10
8
7
9
11
12
1
13
14
6
15
³40
10 - 19.9
5 - 9.9
1 - 4.9
Slip rate (mm/yr)
0.5 - 0.9
unknown
£ 0.4
20 - 39.9
*
-9.1 -6.1
-2.9 -4.3-2.3 -1.8
1.9 6.00.5 1.5
-1.3 2.8
0.04 -1.1
1.0 5.7
2.4 8.8
9.5 3.8
7.1 8.9
6.7 10.4
0.4 5.9
0.6 4.1
4.0 2.20.7
-3.1
1.2 2.21.4
1.2
>1.2
-1.3
-0.6
>1.9 9.7
2.5 9.2
0.2 8.2
1.8
4.5
B
-1.1 -1.9
Fault zone slip rates
GPS velocity differences
0.8
3.1
N
14
11
13
109
8
7
3
4
6
25
1
12
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
**
*
*
20 mm/yr
14
11
13
109
8
7
3
4
6
25
1
12
A
0.4
5.2
C
0 7
.4
0 3
.7
0 5
.1
0 6
.90.8
3.1
3.2
6.3
6.9
5.3
13.4
8.0
19.2
12.
8
0.04
8.5
0.2
18.
67.9 1
1.3
0 5
.9
0 4
.6 33.2 18.8
22.5 16.51.2 4
.8
0.7 8.6
>3.4 11.2
0
>1.2 2
0.3
0.2
17.
7
0.5
20.
5
0
0
109
12
3
8
2 5
4
1
6
13
11
14
7
Cumulative horizontal fault zone slip rates (mm/yr)
GPS horizontal velocitydifferences (mm/yr)
1
Table 1 Descriptions of active fault zone parameters compiled in this model (supplementary files Table S1 and S2) and the main methods of
data compilation. The derivations of each parameter for individual fault zones are described by Litchfield et al. (2013).
Parameter Unit Description Main methods of compilation:
Dip 0 – 90º Downward inclination of the fault plane from the horizontal. All fault zones are considered to be planar and the best estimate of average dip used.
(i) Obtained from direct measurements in shallow natural or trench exposures, seismic reflection profiles, or multibeam bathymetric data. (ii) Inferred from geomorphic expression (e.g., upthrown side) and sense of movement, contiguous fault zones along strike, or from fault zones within the same tectonic domain. Uncertainties: (i) Obtained from the range of dip values in an exposure or a seismic profile line. (ii) Inferred to span reasonable values (generally no more than ±10º-15º).
Dip-direction N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW
The geographic octant towards which the fault zone dips.
Based on the overall strike of the mapped fault zone, combined with information for dip described above.
Sense of movement
Normal Reverse Dip-slip Sinistral Dextral
Strike-slip
Dominant, and where applicable, secondary sense (type) of relative movement (slip or displacement) on the fault plane.
(i) Obtained from direct measurements in shallow natural or trench exposures, or seismic reflection profiles. (ii) Inferred from geomorphic expression (e.g., topographic or bathymetric scarps, offset channels) and dip, or from more direct data for nearby fault zones of similar strike and/or geological setting.
Rake 0 – 360º, where: 360º = 0º = pure
dextral 90º = pure normal
180º = pure sinistral 270º = pure reverse
The direction of hanging wall slip, relative to a horizontal line on the fault plane.
(i) Obtained directly from field data (e.g., fault plane striations). (ii) Calculated from some combination of H:V ratios (e.g., from offset geomorphic features) and dip, or strike-slip rate and dip-slip rate. (iii) Inferred, generally assuming pure dip-slip or strike-slip motion. Uncertainties: (i) Calculated from the range of field-derived values, H:V ratios, or slip rate components. (ii) Inferred values assumed to be reasonable based on other fault zones in the same tectonic domain (generally no more than ±10º). Note: Except where multibeam bathymetric data can be used, the expression of strike-slip on submarine fault zones cannot generally be quantified unequivocally in marine seismic reflection data.
Slip rate mm/yr Net (rake-parallel) rate of movement averaged over a time period spanning at
(i) Calculated from strike-slip, vertical, and/or dip-slip rate, dip, and/or rake. The calculated slip rates are generally from offset geologic units (e.g., tephras in a trench)
2
least two, but typically many more, ground-rupturing earthquakes. Where fault zones have associated folds, the net slip rate usually includes displacement accommodated by folding.
or geomorphic features (e.g., fluvial terrace surfaces or channels), or seismic reflectors (e.g., the post-glacial marine transgression surface). (ii) Assigned from long-term (millions of years) slip rates, particularly if the rates are broadly consistent with GPS strain rates or a portion of overall plate boundary rates. (iii) Inferred from:
(a) Geomorphic expression (e.g. scarp height or morphology) in relation to the assumed age of the faulted geomorphic surface.
(b) Slip rates assigned to nearby similar fault zones (e.g., from onshore to offshore fault zones).
(c) Consideration of geomorphic expression combined with a slip rate budget for a particular part of the plate boundary.
Quality code 1-5, where 1 is the high quality
and 5 is poor. See Table 2 for
definitions
Subjective ranking of the relative quantity and type of data available for each fault zone, particularly in regard to calculation of slip rate.
Assigned using the definitions in Table 2.
3
Table 2 Definitions of the quality code parameter. The codes are particularly weighted
toward the quality of slip rate data. Code number Description
1 Fault zone with high quality field (e.g., trench, dated displaced markers) or marine (e.g., swath, markers with well constrained ages) data.
2 Fault zone with some constraints from field or marine data; slip rate largely estimated from considering regional slip rate budgets.
3 Fault zone in offshore Bay of Plenty (northern domain 2 in Fig. 2) with well constrained geometries from swath and seismic data, but slip rate inferred based on distribution of extension rates derived from modelling of onshore GPS data.
4 Fault zone with few data and slip rates mainly inferred from geomorphic expression (e.g. scarp height and morphology as an indicator of age).
5 Fault zone within the central South Island (northwestern domain 11 in Fig. 2) that does not have demonstrable activity and hence a slip rate has not been inferred.
4
Table 3 Number and density of faults in each tectonic domain. The highest values for each
are shown in bold. Island Domain
number Number of fault zones
% of total number of fault zones
Cumulative fault zone
length (km)
Domain area
(km2)
Density 1 No. of fault zones per
km2
Density 2 Length (km) of fault zones
per km2 North 1 27 4% 788 110,394 0.0002 0.0071 2 196 31% 3086 42,468 0.0046 0.0727 3 28 4% 684 11,353 0.0025 0.0602 4 63 10% 2224 24,513 0.0025 0.0907 5 100 16% 3142 92,249 0.0011 0.0341 6 3 0.5% 700 15,533 0.0002 0.0451
North Totals
416 66% 10,623 296,520 0.0014 0.0358
South 7 9 1% 569 53,337 0.0002 0.0107 8 41 6% 1536 21,023 0.0020 0.0730 9 43 7% 1461 24298 0.0018 0.0601 10 12 2% 482 8,391 0.0014 0.0574 11 81 13% 3265 151,612 0.0005 0.0215 12 6 1% 741 6,692 0.0009 0.1107 13 21 3% 945 20,298 0.0010 0.0465 14 4 1% 553 21,705 0.0002 0.0255 15 1 0.2% 430 10,079 0.0001 0.0427
South Totals
219 34% 9981 317,497 0.0007 0.0314
NZ totals 635 20,064 614,017 0.0010 0.0336
5
Table 4 Summary of our best assessment of domain fault zone mapping completeness. Domain number
Relative level of
completeness
Likely main areas where the fault model is incomplete
1 Medium (i) Centre – rapidly eroding areas of soft mudstone (ii) South and North – submarine areas where seismic profile analysis has not been undertaken or is incomplete
2 High (i) Centre – volcanic centres buried beneath lakes and tephra cover
3 Medium (i) North – rapidly eroding areas of soft mudstone and dunefields (ii) Far south – submarine areas of strong seafloor erosion
4 High (i) Centre – difficult access (steep, forest-covered) areas of moderate erosion and few Late Pleistocene deposits
5 Medium (i) North – rapidly eroding areas of soft mudstone and (ii) North – submarine areas with less seismic profile coverage
6 High (i) Additional fault zone segmentation possible
7 Low (i) All onshore areas – difficult access (steep, forest-covered) areas of moderate erosion and few Late Pleistocene deposits
(ii) All submarine areas
8 High (i) Southwest – difficult access and rapidly eroding areas of high rainfall
9 Medium (i) Southwest – difficult access and rapidly eroding areas of high rainfall (ii) Southeast – submarine areas where seismic profile analysis still needs
to be completed
10 Medium (i) Everywhere – inadequate density of high resolution seismic data, swath data absent
11 Medium (i) Northeast – areas of thick, young alluvium (ii) West and southwest – difficult access high rainfall and/or erosion areas
12 High (i) Additional fault zone segmentation possible
13 Medium (i) Far north – close to coast
14 Low (i) Everywhere –absence of high resolution seismic or swath data
15 High (i) Additional fault zone segmentation possible
6
Table 5 Total fault slip rates and GPS velocities for representative transects across each domain (Fig. 2).
Domain Transect1 Total Fault Slip Rates GPS Velocities Differences
Total Net2 HTP3 HTN4
Total Horizontal5 HTP6 HTN7 HTP8 HTN9
1
3.2 -1.3 0.4 5.9 2.8 5.2 1.5 4.8 2 N 15.2 -9.1 0.00 9.6 -6.1 7.3 -3.0 7.3 2 M 5.9 -2.9 0.00 5.6 -4.3 3.7 1.4 3.7 2 S 4.4 -2.3 0.00 5.5 -1.8 5.1 -0.4 5.1 3 N 5.4 1.9 0.00 9.1 6.0 6.9 4.1 6.9 3 S 2.5 0.5 0.8 3.4 1.5 3.1 1.0 2.2 4 N 6.2 -1.1 3.2 6.6 -1.9 6.3 0.9 3.1 4 M1 7.1 0.04 6.9 5.4 -1.1 5.3 1.1 -1.5 4 M2 14.4 1.0 13.4 9.8 5.7 8.0 4.6 -5.4 4 S 22.3 2.4 19.2 15.5 8.8 12.8 6.4 -6.3 5 N 13.6 9.5 0.04 9.3 3.8 8.5 -5.7 8.4 5 M 9.7 7.1 0.2 20.6 8.9 18.6 1.9 18.3 5 S 14.4 6.7 7.9 15.4 10.4 11.3 3.8 3.3 7 N 0.7 0.4 0.00 8.4 5.9 5.9 5.6 5.9 7 S 1.0 0.6 0.00 6.1 4.1 4.6 3.5 4.6 8 N 37.8 4.0 33.2 19.0 2.2 18.8 -1.8 -14.4 8 S 23.5 0.7 22.5 16.8 -3.1 16.5 2.4 -6.0 9 N 2.3 1.2 1.2 5.3 2.2 4.8 0.9 3.7 9 M 3.1 1.4 0.7 8.7 1.2 8.6 -0.1 7.9 9 S >5.610 >1.210 >3.410 11.2 -1.3 11.2 0.0 7.8 10
1.0 -0.6 0.00 ND
11 N >3.910 >1.910 >1.210 22.5 9.7 20.3 7.8 19.0 11 M 3.9 2.5 0.2 19.9 9.2 17.7 6.7 17.5 11 S 1.2 0.2 0.5 22.1 8.2 20.5 8.0 19.9 13 N 3.8 1.8 0.00 ND 13 S 7.4 4.5 0.00 ND
7
1 N = Northern, M = Middle, S = Southern. 2 These values, with their uncertainties and a confidence ranking, are plotted in Figure 2. 3 HTP = Horizontal Transect-Parallel, negative = extension, positive = contraction. 4 HTN = Horizontal Transect-Normal, negative = sinistral (none), positive = dextral. 5 ND = No Data, as one end of these transects are outside the velocity field. 6 HTP = Horizontal Transect-Parallel, negative = extension, positive = contraction. 7 HTN = Horizontal Transect-Normal, negative = extension, positive = contraction. 8 HTP = Horizontal Transect-Parallel. Absolute differences, so negative is where cumulative fault slip rates > GPS velocities. 9 HTN = Horizontal Transect-Normal. Absolute differences, so negative is where cumulative fault slip rates > GPS velocities. 10 Minimum because the transect crosses central Southern Alps Faults which have no slip rates.