February | 2012 | new zealand earthquakes ~ preliminary maps, lists and graphs ~ 1810-2014

NZ Topo Maps

Due to Google Classic Maps being discontinued the interactive maps will now be displayed using NZ Topo Maps.
When you click on the daily map image it will open in NZ Topo Maps and by default will be an interactive Topographical Map to the scale 1:250,000.
By using the slider control on the top right you can change this to satellite view only, or any combination in between.
Click on an icon for the details of each event.
Categories
Categories
Map Key

Magnitude Colours

On the daily maps each coloured dot orb or marker represents an earthquake, the colours indicate the size range.
The epicentre of the earthquake event is at the centre of the orb.

Map Navigation

On the Classic Google maps mid 2011-mid 2014 clicking on an individual icon will open a small popup tag inside the map frame giving the detail information for that quake.
Once you have finished reading that tag you can simply click in the background map to close that tag and select another if you wish.
You can also move the map around inside the frame by clicking and holding down the left button of your mouse on the map itself, rather than having to use the up/down/left and right arrows.

You can see the earthquake maps in various versions, ie map, satellite, terrain and even Google Earth.

At the bottom of each map is text saying "see larger map". This will open a new page with the same map, but with the icons and magnitudes also as a list. The list is in a ascending time order. You can click on an icon on the map or a magnitude number on the list and a detail balloon (tag) will pop up on the map from the location of the event.

Google Earth

You may have to zoom in on the map if you are looking for details of an icon that is in a cluster.

Felt

From May - Dec31st 2010 events marked with a gold star icon are quakes that have been reported felt by the public to the Geonet Responses page on the Geonet web site.

Prior to May 2010 the largest quake of the day is marked with a tag showing the size in ML.
Dots that are marked with a yellow tag or have a larger set of rings or a larger watermark around them are earthquakes that have been reported to Geonet as felt by the public.
Details of Felt Responses can be viewed in the Comment box at the end of each post, where available
Recording Felt Responses on the popup markers and icons here was ceased on July31st 2012

Maps and Data are updated and revised as time allows.
Data

I acknowledge the New Zealand GeoNet project and its sponsors EQC, GNS Science and LINZ, for providing data used in these maps and graphs

From 01-08-2010 to 31-12-2011 clicking on this icon under each map will open a text document list, in another tab (or window in IE), with the text version of the data downloaded from Geonet.

Earthquakes that have been reported as Felt by the public to Geonet through the Internet based GeoNet Felt Earthquake Reports are underlined or marked with an F on the daily list.

Prior to May 2010 further information about Felt quakes can be viewed by clicking the blue Comments link at the bottom of each post. Some 2010 posts have Felt Maps.
The intensity of the reports is scaled according to the
Modified Mercalli scale.
KMZ/KML Files

From 25th April 2010 to Sept2014, the KMZ/KML files can be accessed by clicking on the "view larger map" text at the bottom of the interactive map, and clicking on the above "view in Google Earth" text. This will open the KML file in Google Earth on your own computer.
Or copy and paste the file address from the Google Maps box into your Browser address.
Magnitudes and corresponding energy (tons of TNT)

1 ton TNT = 4.184 GigaJoules of energy

Magnitude = Tons of TNT = Nuclear Bomb Equivalence #
4 = 15 = 0.00
5 = 475 = 0.02
6 = 15,023 = 0.79
7 = 475,063.= 5.0
8 = 15,022,833 = 790.6
9 = 475,063,712 = 25,003

The first atomic bomb exploded on July 16, 1945, Alamogordo, N.Mex. produced an explosion equal to that of 117,000 metric tons of TNT
Time

The days and hours, minutes and seconds posted in this blog are UTC time. This standard is "coordinated universal time", abbreviated UTC. This was formerly known as Greenwich mean time (GMT) Greenwich mean time was based upon the time at the zero degree meridian that crossed through Greenwich, England. GMT became a world time and date standard because it was used by Britain's Royal Navy and merchant fleet during the nineteenth century. Today, UTC uses precise atomic clocks, shortwave time signals, and satellites to ensure that UTC remains a reliable, accurate standard for scientific and navigational purposes. The New Zealand Time (NZST) is 12 hours ahead of UTC or 13 hours ahead during New Zealands Daylight Saving Time (NZDST) in the Summer.
NZ Seismic Background

Seismicity in New Zealand is dominated by the plate boundary. This boundary ( the thin blue line on the maps) runs down from the Tonga-Kermadec trench to the northeast of New Zealand, continues down the east coast of the North Island as the Hikurangi Trough, passes under the branch faulting systems of the Cook Strait-Marlborough Sounds region, and continues down the west coast of the South Island as the Alpine Fault. To the southwest of New Zealand it takes the form of the Puysegur Trench. Seismic activity is at its greatest to the northeast of the North Island. The Hikurangi Trough forms part of a westward-dipping subduction zone, the seismicity following the boundaries of the subducting plate down to depths of 300-400 km.

The seismicity also spreads out in a shallow belt (0-80 km) below the northeast-trending mountain ranges of the North Island and the Taupo Volcanic Zone behind them. (this is shown on the maps as the yellow "continental rift boundry", the red "transform fault" and the white " continental convergent boundry") The subduction zone continues below Cook Strait, but appears to come to an end, or at least the deeper earthquakes peter out, somewhere south of the Marlborough Sounds.

The northern part of the South Island, including the West Coast, has been among the most seismically active regions of New Zealand during this century; by contrast, the Alpine Fault itself, the major (transcurrent) fault accommodating plate motion in the South Island, has been seismically quiet. Seismic activity picks up rapidly in the Fiordland region and to the southwest of the South Island, and marks the beginning of a further, but eastward-dipping, subduction zone, with earthquakes recorded to depths of <200 km.

About 14,000 earthquakes, most of them minor, are recorded each year. About 200 of these are strong enough to be felt.
F_E and G_L Regions NZ

The globe is broken down into regions based on geographic and politcal boundaries. Each region is assigned a unique number.
The boundaries of these regions are defined at one-degree intervals.
The Flinn-Engdahl (F_E) seismic and geographical regionalization scheme was proposed in 1965, defined in 1974 and revised in 1995.
After the 1995 revision there are 754 F-E regions, subsequently numbered from 1 to 757 with three gaps (172, 299 and 550) at dissolved regions.
The regions are grouped into 50 larger seismic regions.
Under the F_E system New Zealand is known as Region 11
subdivided into;
158 - off W coast of North.
159 - North Island
160 - off E coast of North Is.
161 - off W coast of South Is.
162 - South Island
163 - Cook Strait
164 - off E coast of South Is.
165 - north of Macquarie Is.
166 - Auckland Islands
167 - Macquarie Island
168 - south of New Zealand

Due to the comprehensive data available from Geonet/GNS and the development of new computer programs since this Blog started, it has become necessary to re-define the New Zealand Regions further.
The 38 G_L sub- regions are designated based on thousands of earthquake epi-centers located over the last 3 years, actual physical geology and locally known regional divisions, divided primarily into half degree latitude sections.
They are not intended to replace the F_E numbers but further define F_E Regions 160, 159, 163, and 162.
Region Map (click on for interactive image)

Numbering these sub regions allows more precise calculations of energy released (or locked in) and other data processing.
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Archive for February, 2012

29/02/2012

28.02.2012 (Day59)

Preliminary Data 19 Events 1.747ML to 4.122ML
(updated 29.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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29/02/2012

27.02.2012 (Day58)

Preliminary Data 23 Events 1.927ML to 3.509ML
(updated 28.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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28/02/2012

26.02.2012 (Day57)

Preliminary Data 23 Events 1.962ML to 3.385ML
(updated 27.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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27/02/2012

25.02.2012 (Day56)

Preliminary Data 26 Events 1.872ML to 4.286ML
(updated 27.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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26/02/2012

24.02.2012 (Day55)

Preliminary Data 17 Events 2.024ML to 3.608ML
(updated 26.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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24/02/2012

23.02.2012 (Day54)

Preliminary Data 16 Events 2.297ML to 5.057ML
(updated 24.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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23/02/2012

22.02.2012 (Day53)

Preliminary Data 20 Events 2.13ML to 4.109ML
(updated 24.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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23/02/2012

21.02.2012 (Day52)

Preliminary Data 26 Events 1.413ML to 4.456ML
(updated 23.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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22/02/2012

20.02.2012 (Day51)

Preliminary Data 34 Events 1.484ML to 4.099ML
(updated 22.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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21/02/2012

19.02.2012 (Day50)

Preliminary Data 26 Events 1.757ML to 4.967ML
(updated 21.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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19/02/2012

18.02.2012 (Day49)

Preliminary Data 34 Events 2.119ML to 4.2ML
(updated 19.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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19/02/2012

17.02.2012 (Day48)

Preliminary Data 41 Events 1.394ML to 4.213ML
(updated 19.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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17/02/2012

16.02.2012 (Day47)

Preliminary Data 20 Events 1.979ML to 3.81ML
(updated 17.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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16/02/2012

15.02.2012 (Day46)

Preliminary Data 28 Events 1.648ML to 4.138ML
(updated 15.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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15/02/2012

14.02.2012 (Day45)

Preliminary Data 31 Events 1.566ML to 4.3ML
(updated 15.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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15/02/2012

13.02.2012 (Day44)

Preliminary Data 46 Events 1.565ML to 4.844ML
(updated 15.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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14/02/2012

12.02.2012 (Day43)

Preliminary Data 20 Events 1.954ML to 4.567ML
(updated 14.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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13/02/2012

11.02.2012 (Day42)

Preliminary Data 8 Events 1.3ML to 3.997ML
(updated 13.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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12/02/2012

10.02.2012 (Day41)

Preliminary Data 9 Events 2.406ML to 4.003ML
(updated 12.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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10/02/2012

09.02.2012 (Day40)

Preliminary Data 21 Events 1.629ML to 4.493ML
(updated 10.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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10/02/2012

08.02.2012 (Day39)

Preliminary Data 51 Events 1.562ML to 5.147ML
(updated 10.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Muzzy_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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09/02/2012

07.02.2012 (Day38)

Preliminary Data 14 Events 1.604ML to 5.277ML
(updated 08.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Highace_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

Posted in New Zealand Earthquakes | Leave a Comment »

07/02/2012

06.02.2012 (Day37)

Preliminary Data 11 Events 1.821ML to 3.732ML
(updated 07.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Highace_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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07/02/2012

05.02.2012 (Day36)

Preliminary Data 16 Events 1.911ML to 3.563ML
(updated 07.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Highace_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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07/02/2012

04.02.2012 (Day35)

Preliminary Data 29 Events 1.883ML to 4.073ML
(updated 07.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Highace_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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05/02/2012

03.02.2012 (Day34)

Preliminary Data 20 Events 1.43ML to 4.981ML
(updated 05.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Highace_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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03/02/2012

02.01.2012 (Day33)

Preliminary Data 27 Events 2.408ML to 5.68ML
(updated 02.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Highace_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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03/02/2012

01.02.2012 (Day32)

Preliminary Data 27 Events 2.017ML to 3.964ML
(updated 02.02.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Highace_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

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02/02/2012

31.01.2012 (Day31)

Preliminary Data 13 Events 2.098ML to 3.824ML
(updated 31.01.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Highace_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

Posted in January2012 | Leave a Comment »

01/02/2012

30.01.2012 (Day30)

Preliminary Data 21 Events 2.051ML to 4.166ML
(updated 31.01.2012 NZDT) click on orb markers for details

Geonet_Highace_GPS Visualiser_Google Earth_Google Maps_Wordpress

Posted in January2012 | Leave a Comment »

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