Crustal deformation of the Marlborough Fault Zone in the South Island of New Zealand: Geodetic constraints over the interval 1982–1994

Abstract

Crustal deformation across the Marlborough fault zone in the South Island of New Zealand has been investigated by resurveying with the Global Positioning System (GPS) a triangulation and trilateration network across part of the zone. The principal strain rates, which mostly have errors between 5% and 10%, vary systematically across the region. The principal axis of horizontal contraction gradually swings from SE‐NW southeast of the Hope fault to almost east‐west in the west. The component of velocity parallel to the strike of the faults can account for 95% of the relative motion between the Australian and Pacific plates. This component exhibits little variation west of the Alpine (Wairau) fault, and shows an almost linear variation from the Wairau fault to the east coast. The horizontal strain rate northwest of the Wairau fault is a small east‐west uniaxial contraction (∼0.1 ppm yr−1). If it is assumed that the crustal blocks bounded by the major faults are primarily driven by basal shear tractions, with stresses on the faults being relatively insignificant, then the slip rates expected on the faults may be derived from the observed velocity variations across the fault zone. These predicted slip rates are in good agreement with geologically observed slip rates. The larger slip rates on the Hope fault are related to the observation that the strain field extends southeast of the fault over a distance large compared with the spacing between the faults. The agreement between predicted and geological slip rates lends support to the idea that the observed pattern of deformation reflects that in the lower lithosphere.