A recent swarm of earthquakes in Lake Taupō is not a sign "New Zealand's favourite volcano is about to erupt", according to a GNS scientist.
GNS Volcano Duty Officer Steven Sherburn commented on the swarm today.
"We've located over 160 quakes in the Taupō area over the last week (since 10 July), with eight of these being between M3.1 and M3.8. Earthquakes in the Lake Taupō area are typically shallower than 10 km, and the recent events are no different," he said.
Most of the quakes were too small to be felt by Taupō residents, although several of them have caused light shaking to be felt in the area.
"We see activity like this at Taupō on a fairly regular basis. Quake swarms are common in the Taupō Volcanic Zone, and several are recorded each year. Larger ones have lasted weeks-to-months and have included many hundreds of earthquakes.
"In terms of quakes under the lake, this number of quakes isn’t unprecedented. In the last year we’ve registered over 1000 quakes in the lake area," Mr Sherburn explains.
He says the swarm will likely die off and there is no indication the earthquakes are linked to any volcanic activity.
SHARE ME