Efforts being made to find out about New Zealand earthquakes that predate records

[Emily]

I think this field of study is called 'paleoseismology.'

Efforts to find out about earthquakes that predate records

Wednesday, 6 June, 2012 - 02:00

Scientists have been working on ways to find out about earthquakes that occurred before oral and written records began in New Zealand.

"We want to know if, and how often, an earthquake of the magnitude of the one in Japan last year has occurred along the Hikurangi Margin, east of the North Island, in the past," says NIWA Principal Scientist Dr Geoffroy Lamarche.

[snip]

"To better understand the likelihood of large earthquakes occurring in this active region we need to understand the frequency and magnitude of past events," says Dr Lamarche...