” In a geologically well-studied country like New Zealand, there is still a lot to find out about our history of earthquakes and changing landforms,” he states.
The paper, just released in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, utilized LiDAR mapping (remote picking up innovation utilized to design ground elevation) and hereditary analysis of bull kelp from the uplifted section of the coast.
The team identified a previously unrecognized area of uplifted rocky shoreline– a bench about 1m above water level– and a genetic anomaly in kelp listed below that bench. The kelps genes suggest the types went extinct in the location following an earthquake, before being recolonized by kelp which wandered from 300km south.
The raised bench above the waterline at Rarangi was initially formed at sea level but was uplifted by earthquake activity. Credit: University of Otago
The group thinks the earthquake responsible happened about 2000 to 3000 years earlier, showing the capacity for kelp to tape-record geological disruption events.
” The location is close to a well-known active fault and a number of huge, previous earthquakes have actually been well quantified by other scientists, however this seaside uplift zone was not formerly understood– the proof for it is exceptionally clear now weve had a chance to look more carefully. Rarangi is also an incredibly popular summer swimming area, rather than some odd or remote place, and the proof of coastal uplift was concealing in plain sight,” Professor Waters says.
The research study is the current output from the groups Marsden-funded task evaluating earthquake impacts on seaside species.
” Our work uses a mix of genetics and geology, and its quite amazing that these combined methods have permitted us to identify a formerly unknown site of seaside uplift in New Zealand.
” This work serves to highlight once again simply how vibrant our nation is– and how earthquake uplift leaves lasting signatures in our seaside species.”
Reference: “Integrating kelp genomic analyses and geological information to reveal ancient earthquake effects” by Felix Vaux, Ceridwen I. Fraser, Dave Craw, Stephen Read and Jonathan M. Waters, 17 May 2023, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.DOI: 10.1098/ rsif.2023.0105.
Scientists from the University of Otago have actually revealed a previously unknown zone of coastal uplift in Rarangi, Marlborough, utilizing LiDAR mapping and kelp genetics. The findings expose a 1m above water level boosted location and a kelp species that went extinct and recolonized following an ancient earthquake, highlighting the lasting effect of seismic activities on coastal landscapes and types.
Leveraging the combined strengths of genetics and geology, a team of researchers from the University of Otago has exposed a formerly unidentified zone of seaside uplift in Rarangi, Marlborough, that was hiding in plain sight.
This unidentified earthquake uplift region was uncovered using a combination of new data sourced from laser mapping and kelp genetics.
Co-author Professor Jon Waters, of the Department of Zoology, states the study gives new insights into the modifications in Aotearoas landscapes and the current history of earthquake effects.
