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130:, and some turbulence reaching to the depths of the Hikurangi Trough and Kaikōura Canyon. The currents south of the Kaikōura Peninsula in particular form a complex flow structure, as warm water and cold water mix with the addition of inland water from the rivers. These currents, eddies and upwellings change seasonally between summer and winter and also in response to the topography of the seafloor and surface winds.
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was likely to fail as a result of shaking associated with a major earthquake. Failure would result in the collapse of an estimated quarter of a cubic kilometre of unconsolidated sediment. The canyon-head gully of the Kaikōura Canyon faces northwards, obliquely towards the shore. Consequently, the initial motion of a
351:. An extreme event has been modelled, incorporating failure of the entire landslide mass identified by Lewis & Barnes. These simulations indicate the potential for large tsunami runup heights along this section of coast. The effects could be more severe here if such an event coincided with storm activity or
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events centred close to Kaikōura since written records of the area began in about 1840 AD, but lichen-dating of rock-falls suggests that there may have been a major earthquake in the vicinity 175 years ago. This correlates with the estimated amount of time it would have taken to accumulate
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and nutrient-poor subtropical surface water in the north, and cold, less saline but more nutrient-rich subantarctic surface water in the south. A subantarctic ocean current of surface water flows around the southern part of the South Island of New
Zealand and moves northward to the east of the South
37:
of New
Zealand. It is 60 kilometres (37 mi) long, and is generally U-shaped. The canyon descends into deep water and merges into an ocean channel system that can be traced for hundreds of kilometres across the deep ocean floor. At the head of the Kaikōura Canyon, the depth of water is around 30
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It is estimated to take approximately a century to accumulate enough sediment in the canyon head to generate a major mass failure. Therefore, as at 2006, there was already enough sediment to pose a significant hazard. Evidence of tensional cracks at the head of the modern deposit indicate that it
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In 2019, results of tsunami modelling studies were reported, seeking to explain the 7-metre (23 ft) runup that was observed locally in Kaikōura following the earthquake. The modelling indicated that when combined with the direct effects of the large earthquake, a submarine landslide with a
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in the canyon, potentially producing a hazardous tsunami for the nearby Kaikōura coastline. Following the earthquake, it was found that a large submarine landslide had occurred. The abundant sealife in the canyon that had been identified in earlier studies had been severely affected by the
377:
In
November 2016, the Kaikōura earthquake caused submarine mudslides and sediment flows that devastated the deep-sea life in the canyon. An estimated 850 million tonnes of sediment was displaced into deep ocean, and a turbidity current travelled more than 600 km along the Hikurangi Channel.
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resulting from the displacement of sediment accumulating at the mouth of the canyon. Sediment consisting of fine sand and silt is continually deposited at the head of the Kaikōura Canyon, and by 2006 it was estimated that a total volume of 0.24 cubic kilometres (0.058 cu mi) had
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beach ridge, and has a long history of Māori settlement. An older village site dating from approximately 650 years before present, situated approximately 350 metres from the shoreline, contains reworked oven stones which are overlain by marine
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event. The return period for major magnitude 8 or intensity V earthquakes at Kaikōura has been estimated to be in the order of 150 years based on what is known about the return time of earthquake events for regional faults in the Kaikōura area.
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accumulated. Studies identified that a near-field tsunami caused by the displacement of this sediment in a submarine landslide could pose a significant threat to the surrounding area, especially coastal infrastructure such as roads and houses.
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covers an area of 10,416 hectares (25,740 acres) south of the township. The reserve is the largest and deepest marine reserve adjacent to any of New
Zealand's three main islands. No fishing, harvesting or mining is allowed in the reserve.
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deposits. Without accompanying reliable geological data, this kind of archaeological evidence is only circumstantial. However, it does indicate that the ocean has inundated past coastal settlements in the region, as a result of a severe
963:
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122:. This ocean current, which is called the Southland Current in New Zealand, meets the subtropical East Cape Current, coming from the north, off Kaikōura. The boundary between these two ocean currents is known as a
101:. It is thought to be the sink for the coastal sediment transport system that carries large amounts of erosional debris northwards up the coast from the rivers draining the tectonically active mountains of the
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deposits in cores taken from the canyon axis. Ground acceleration with a peak of 0.44 g is estimated at the Kaikōura township for a return period of 150 years. Prior to 2016, there had been no large
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is estimated to be 100 times greater than reported in other deep sea locations. The abundance of fish in the canyon was estimated at around 5,000 fish per hectare, ten times as many as in the north
Pacific.
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the sediment deposits seen at the canyon head in the 2006 studies. Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn that sediment in the canyon head gully had failed previously, and flowed down the canyon as a major
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occupation site on Seddon's Ridge, near South Bay, adjacent to the Kaikōura peninsula. These deposits indicate that marine inundation occurred sometime within the last 150–200 years. Seddon's Ridge is an
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In
September 2017, a NIWA expedition found that marine life in the canyon was recovering faster than expected, and observed high densities of sea cucumbers and urchins in some areas.
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322:. The lesser-known Hundalee Fault also terminates near the Kaikōura coast, and although it is not as large as other faults in the area, it still has the potential to trigger a
147:
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Carter, R.M; Carter, L (1982). "The
Motunau Fault and other structures at the southern edge of the Australian-Pacific plate boundary, offshore Marlborough, New Zealand".
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can be seen close to the coast south of Goose Bay, because the deep water of the Kaikōura Canyon is only one kilometre (0.62 mi) off the shoreline in this area.
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volume of 4.5–5.2 km (1.1–1.2 cu mi), occurring 10 to 20 minutes after the main earthquake rupture would be consistent with the observed 7-metre runup.
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Studies of the Kaikōura Canyon have found that it is a highly productive ecosystem with 10 to 100 times the density of marine life found in other deep sea habitats.
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specific studies have been carried out to date. However, in archaeological literature, there are some possible indications of past marine inundation events.
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metres (98 ft), but it drops rapidly to 600 metres (2,000 ft) and continues down to around 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) deep where it meets the
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921:"Modeling the large runup along a narrow segment of the Kaikoura coast, New Zealand following the November 2016 tsunami from a potential landslide"
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Rapidly accumulating sandy sediment on a steep slope in an active tectonic region is likely to be susceptible to failure during moderately large
703:
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Stirling, M; Pettinga, J; Berryman, K; Yetton, M. (2001). "Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment of the
Canterbury region, New Zealand".
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with a density of around 500 individuals per square metre on the canyon floor, ten times as many as previously found anywhere else. The
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Lewis, K.B; Barnes, P.M (1999). "Kaikoura Canyon, New
Zealand: active conduit from near-shore sediment zones to trench-axis channel".
875:
310:. There are a number of faults in this area predicted to have the capacity to produce such an event. The most likely are the
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The Kaikōura Canyon is partly within the
Hikurangi Marine Reserve that was established off the Kaikōura coast in 2014. This
1164:
717:
Stewart, Francis (4 October 2006). "Kaikoura Submarine Landslide Due to Ground Acceleration Generated from the Hope Fault".
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in the gully, and the resulting tsunami, is towards the shore of South Bay and the southern side of the Kaikōura Peninsula.
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There is evidence of past failures in similar deposits in the Kaikōura Canyon, in the presence of numerous sand and gravel
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Historical accounts of canyon-related tsunami in this region are uncertain. Geological evidence is also limited, and no
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that is 10 to 100 times more abundant than other comparable deep sea habitats. They found marine organisms such as
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De Leo, Fabio C.; Smith, Craig R.; Rowden, Ashley A.; Bowden, David A; Clark, Malcolm R. (5 May 2010).
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The upper 200 m (660 ft) of the ocean off the New Zealand coast typically consists of warm,
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A landslide-generated tsunami represents a large potential hazard to the area from South Bay to
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to explore the canyon over a period of three days. They found that the Kaikōura Canyon has an
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landslide. An estimated 850 million tonnes of sediment had flowed into deeper water, and a
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747:"Locally generated tsunami along the Kaikoura coastal margin: Part 2. Submarine landslides"
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Generalised simulation of sediment transport processes and consequent tsunami events
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Sutton, Philip J. H. (2003). "The Southland Current: A subantarctic current".
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678:"Counting what lies beneath the waves at Kaikoura's Hikurangi Marine Reserve"
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NIWA Kaikōura Earthquake Marine Research - Public Presentation 27 June 2018
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travelled more than 600 km (370 mi) along the Hikurangi Channel.
568:; Marsden, Islay D.; Francis, Malcolm (2008). Winterbourn, Michael (ed.).
876:"Kaikōura earthquake provides world-first insight into submarine canyons"
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Island to turn east into the open Pacific Ocean above the depths of the
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and is the main sediment source of the 1,500 km (930 mi) long
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Heidarzadeh, Mohammad; Tappin, David R.; Ishibe, Takeo (1 March 2019).
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Bulletin of the New Zealand National Society for Earthquake Engineering
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Walters, R; Barnes, P.L.P; Lewis, K; Goff, J.R; Fleming, J. (2006).
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of the sandy sediment deposit at the canyon head and may trigger
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Prior to 2016, there was a known risk of an earthquake-triggered
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126:. Mixing of these currents leads to the formation of offshore
832:"Massive mudslides in Kaikōura Canyon destroy seabed life"
278:. Strong ground shaking associated with rupture on nearby
902:"Kaikōura Canyon shows early signs of ecosystem recovery"
290:. It was estimated that an earthquake magnitude 8 on the
540:"Currents of change: the ocean flow in a changing world"
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Kowhai Valley and Shearwater Stream Important Bird Area
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
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The natural history of Canterbury – S20 Coastal systems
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The Kaikōura Canyon is deeply incised into the narrow,
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New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research
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New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research
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National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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448:"Giant underwater landslide in the Kaikōura Canyon"
572:. Canterbury University Press. pp. 656–658.
302:would be enough to trigger such an event. The
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595:(1695). Royal Society Publishing: 2783–2792.
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216:Pre-2016 studies of landslide tsunami hazard
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367:Effects of the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake
1290:Submarine canyons of the Pacific Ocean
244:can be seen to overlie an historical
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446:Ballance, Alison (1 December 2016).
97:, and to the edge of the southwest
205:Submarine landslides in the canyon
33:off the northeastern coast of the
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16:Submarine canyon near New Zealand
314:, previously New Zealand's most
150:(NIWA) used the research vessel
142:Diving sperm whale near Kaikōura
849:Rowden, Ashley (27 June 2018).
676:Graney, Brigid (15 July 2016).
938:10.1016/j.oceaneng.2019.02.024
282:can be expected to reduce the
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764:10.1080/00288330.2006.9517400
518:10.1080/00288330.2003.9517195
491:10.1016/s0025-3227(99)00075-4
344:released by this earthquake.
146:In 2006, scientists from the
433:10.1016/0040-1951(82)90206-2
294:or shaking equivalent to V (
1165:Kaikōura Dark Sky Sanctuary
800:10.5459/bnzsee.34.4.318-334
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1148:Facilities and attractions
1135:Waiau Toa / Clarence River
704:Department of Conservation
696:"Hikurangi Marine Reserve"
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306:region is adjacent to the
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1217:1886 SS Taiaroa grounding
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29:located southwest of the
25:is a geologically active
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1155:Hikurangi Marine Reserve
373:2016 Kaikōura earthquake
300:Mercalli intensity scale
270:Marlborough Fault System
192:Hikurangi Marine Reserve
186:Hikurangi Marine Reserve
54:2016 Kaikōura earthquake
633:"Mysteries of the deep"
292:Richter magnitude scale
663:New Zealand Government
601:10.1098/rspb.2010.0462
308:Marlborough fault zone
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134:Ecosystem productivity
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908:. 19 September 2017.
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838:. 27 February 2017.
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324:submarine landslide
211:Submarine landslide
75:tectonically active
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1256:42.550°S 173.717°E
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925:Ocean Engineering
882:. 17 October 2018
546:. 1 December 2001
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1247:173°43′01″E
1094:Mount Fyffe
1004:New Zealand
931:: 113–121.
700:doc.govt.nz
276:earthquakes
261:storm surge
175:spoon worms
1274:Categories
1244:42°33′00″S
1184:Government
1130:Oaro River
809:10092/5123
406:References
353:high tides
312:Hope Fault
87:turbidites
1062:Landforms
1041:Kekerengu
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886:4 October
860:4 October
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719:CiteSeerX
550:4 October
526:129453097
457:4 October
400:Turbidite
332:turbidite
298:) on the
159:ecosystem
1280:Kaikōura
1036:Kaikōura
1031:Clarence
1017:Kaikōura
619:20444722
389:See also
296:Moderate
256:overwash
251:uplifted
154:Tangaroa
152:RV
1210:History
610:2981985
337:seismic
230:tsunami
179:biomass
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522:S2CID
246:Māori
1046:Oaro
1013:Seat
888:2021
880:NIWA
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645:2021
615:PMID
552:2021
544:NIWA
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933:doi
929:175
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