How a major Auckland eruption would reshape the city
16 May, 2021 07:30 AM
5 minutes to read
Simulation of a volcanic eruption in the Auckland area. Video / Brandspank
Scientists have simulated how Auckland could recover from a major volcanic eruption within the city - costing industries billions of dollars and transforming entire residential areas. Auckland straddles a large volcanic field home to more than 50 volcanic centres, posing an ever-present hazard to the city s 1.6m-strong population.
While its existing volcanoes are thought unlikely to erupt again, the Auckland Volcanic Field is young and potentially active - with the potential to bring fast-moving surges of hot rock and gas, and widespread ashfall.
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Thomas Wilson, a Professor from the University of Canterbury who is leading the research, says the chance of an eruption in our lifetime is somewhere between 5 and 15 percent - a fairly unlikely scenario.
However he says an Auckland volcano will almost certainly erupt at some point in the future - we just aren t sure when or where . If it did happen, the impacts would be so large that it is well worth the emphasis we are putting on the planning for potential evacuations, insurance exposure, and critical infrastructure resilience with our partners in the public sector, Prof Wilson explained. Nicole Allen, left, and Amilea Sork attach the volcanic rock to “the cannon”, an air-pressure based launching mechanism at the University of Canterbury to replicate the effect of volcanic ballistics during an eruption.
Press Release – Earthquake Commission Scientists unleashing volcanic ballistics onto Kiwi roofs hope to help Aucklanders understand and manage their volcanic hazards. Auckland sits on an active volcanic field with 53 known volcanic centres and it is likely there will be an eruption in …
Scientists unleashing volcanic ballistics onto Kiwi roofs hope to help Aucklanders understand and manage their volcanic hazards.
“Auckland sits on an active volcanic field with 53 known volcanic centres and it is likely there will be an eruption in the future, we just aren’t sure when or where,” says lead researcher Professor Thomas Wilson from the University of Canterbury.