Queensland could be the victim of a tsunami or other earthquake-related consequences in the next 10 years, according to UQ researchers.
Director of the University’s Earth Systems Science Computational Centre (ESSCC) Professor Peter Mora said there was a high level of seismic activity within the earth’s plates surrounding Australia.
“The north-east of Australia is very exposed,” he said.
"Our international research collaboration partners in the USA forecast that within the next 10 years, a great earthquake with a magnitude of at least 7 on the Richter scale is likely to strike to the north of New Zealand, which could mean a potential tsunami hazard for Queensland.
“I think it is a misconception that Australia is safe from natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis. We are actually very prone. Within the Australian plate, there is a high level of seismicity compared to within other plates around the world, including the Americas.”
Professor Mora and his team of 20 staff at the ESSCC are housed in the Sir James Foots building at the St Lucia campus to be officially opened tomorrow, Friday, May 20. They study and simulate earthquakes and other solid earth phenomena with the help of one of the most powerful “supercomputers” in the country.
“UQ is hosts the headquarters of the state and federally-funded Australian Computational Earth Systems Simulator (ACcESS) which is a major national research facility. It enables us to study solid earth phenomena to try and improve our understanding of the planet,” he said.
“This could help lead to discovering massive new minerals resources, help Australia to become a world leader in developing new green geothermal energy resources, and provide the scientific underpinning for earthquake forecasting and improved tsunami modelling capabilities.”
ESSCC is a world leader in understanding the earth’s dynamics, working collaboratively with more than 40 prestigious national and international research centres, including NASA JPL, Tokyo University and Beijing University.
For more information:
*Senior Communications Officer Tiffany Lippett, (07) 3365 2049 or t.lippett@uq.edu.au
*ESSCC Director, Professor Peter Mora, (07) 3346 4133 or
director@esscc.uq.edu.au
*ACcESS Chief Executive, Scott McTaggart, (07) 3346 4115 or scottm@access.edu.au
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