Geoscience 2022

Public Lecture Speakers

Sally Potter

Biography

Sally has been researching how to best communicate forecasts and warnings for natural hazards for over 10 years.

She has helped write GeoNet’s earthquake forecasts and eruption forecasts following the Whakaari/White Island 2019 eruption, as well as emergency mobile alerts. She reviewed New Zealand’s volcanic alert level system and investigated how often Taupo supervolcano has had unrest. She co-leads international and domestic research programmes on severe weather, looking at how to improve warnings.

Talk: Warning! Natural hazard forecasts and why people respond in different ways

Where can you find out more about the natural hazards that might affect you? Why do people respond in different ways to warnings, and what makes them more effective? How can you contribute to our understanding of hazards and their impacts? What will forecasts and warnings look like in the future?

This interactive presentation will show you how we can use the best science available to support our decisions and get ourselves ready for impending natural hazards.

Dr Kate Clark

Biography

Dr Kate Clark has been researching past large earthquakes and tsunamis in Aotearoa/New Zealand for over 15 years. Kate’s studies started at Massey University where she used tiny microfossils to look at changes in ocean temperature, and she ended up captivated by how fossils record sudden changes in sea level caused by large earthquakes. Her research has made major contributions to understanding the hazard posed to Aotearoa/New Zealand by our largest fault lines: the Alpine fault and the Hikurangi Subduction Zone.

Talk: Past coastal earthquakes and tsunamis of Aotearoa/New Zealand, and preparing for our shaky future

Much of the Aotearoa/New Zealand coastline has been shaped by past earthquakes. The coastal landscape bears the imprint of dramatic uplift, sudden subsidence, and tsunami impact. Earthquake geologists use these landscape clues to piece together the history of earthquakes and tsunamis over thousands of years. Kate will explore how the coastal landscape of the lower North Island and upper South Island contains the story of past earthquakes, and how this information helps us prepare for future seismic events.