Ground motion and seismic source aspects of the canterbury earthquake sequence

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the ground motion and seismic source aspects of the Canterbury earthquake sequence. Common reported attributes among the largest earthquakes in this sequence are complex ruptures, large displacements per unit fault length, and high stress drops. The Darfield earthquake produced an approximately 30 km surface rupture in the Canterbury Plains with dextral surface displacements of several meters, and a subordinate amount of vertical displacement, impacting residential structures, agricultural land, and river channels. The dense set of strong ground motions recorded in the near-source region of all the major events in the sequence provides significant insight i..