Puysegur Tremor And Nucleation Geophysical Observatory

This field campaign complements a larger New Zealand-wide analysis of earthquake interactions and precursors to be undertaken under the auspices of a Royal Society of New Zealand, Rutherford Discovery Fellowship held by PI Chamberlain. To complement this nationwide analysis, we plan to undertake a focused study of nucleation processes and the interaction between fast and slow earthquakes at New Zealand's most seismically active plate boundary region: the Puysegur Subduction Zone (PSZ). The PSZ has received minimal seismological attention due in part to its remoteness and the challenging mountainous terrain surrounding it. Nevertheless, and in contrast to the better-studied Hikurangi Subduction Zone, the PSZ hosts frequent large (M>6) earthquakes as well as tremor, a type of seismic signal accompanying deep slow slip. We plan on deploying combined seismic and geodetic monitoring stations throughout Fiordland to detect and characterise earthquakes and slow-earthquakes on the PSZ. We will extend our dataset using legacy data and matched-filter detection techniques to evaluate variability in slip-rates and thus examine the kinematic and dynamic precursors to large earthquakes.