Deep quakes at Taupo, NZ

All this were occuring around 100 km deep at lake Taupo, NZ from July 2011 to now. There was another one, same depth this November, I just can't find link.

I was just wondering what could be happening that deep!

I live somewhat near the place so just a bit worried.

nz.news.yahoo.com...
nz.news.yahoo.com...
tvnz.co.nz...

reply to post by ahnggk


I live a bit south to you top of the south. I think mother earth is stirring, magma moving etc. What it means? Well we are here but for the grace of god every single day, so don't worry about the what if enjoy the here and now!

Those quakes are too deep to come from magma chamber, its just earth's crust. These quakes are pretty much normal and are not sign of magma moving, just sign that there is some tensions in crust.

But if quakes start to happen at 10km, that is coming from magma chamber. Magma chamber there is 16km thick, 50km wide and 160km long. If quakes start happening there, its time to run, specially if they happen at top of that chamber. Quakes leading to eruption are not very strong, but they have harmonic movement, like in waves. Intensity grows, then subsides then again grows in precise intervals.

I too live in the top of the south and felt the 5.3 we had in the Cook strait yesterday, freaky stuff

There is a huge caldera under Lake Taupo but as Thebel said unless they are closer to the surface, I wouldn't get too concerned.

reply to post by Thebel


I didn't know that before, thanks a lot! What I've read about supervolcanoes is that period of unrest takes really long time, like hundred years before eruption. This means we still got at least a hundred years