Earth Sciences and Image Analysis: Astronaut Debriefing Captions

STS-092 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Debriefing with Crewmembers
November 28, 2000

SEISMIC AND VOLCANIC HAZARDS; CITIES

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STS092-701-27 Mendoza, Argentina sustained extensive damage in 1861 from an earthquake on a buried fault that passes beneath the city. The low hills south of town mark an area where the ground surface is arched over the tip of the fault.

STS092-701-39 San Juan, Argentina was leveled by an earthquake in 1944; the main earthquake-producing fault lies west of the town. Secondary faults to the north and east of the city also moved at that time and compounded the damage.

STS092-701-84 Snow-covered Southern Alps, South Island, New Zealand. The straight, active segment of the Alpine Fault Zone marks the western edge of the Southern Alps. Mount Cook marks the beginning of a series of SE-trending fault splays; bright blue Lake Pukaki occupies one of these fault valleys.

STS092-711-18 The Australian and Pacific tectonic plates converge along the Alpine Fault Zone, producing the Southern Alps; the northwest side is also moving northeast relative to the opposite side. Red Hill has been split and the remainder is now ~480 km to the south; linear fault splays such as the Wairau are also active strike-slip faults (3-10 mm/yr offset).

STS092-710-56 Near Lake Wakatipu, on the east side of the southern Alpine fault zone, is the offset portion of the Red Hill block.

STS092-703-77 In contrast with South Island, the crust of North Island is being stretched and lava reaches the surface at aligned active volcanoes such as Ruapehu and Tongariro; White Island (with plume) is the northernmost subaerial volcano of the line and Lake Taupo is a volcanic crater lake. Volcanic heat is harnessed to generate power.

STS092-711-21 The Alpine fault zone splays out to the northeast, and the plate boundary changes style and direction at Cook Strait. The city of Wellington and the active Wellington fault (northeast) are near the node where the Alpine fault system ends and the Hikurangi Trench system begins.

STS092-713-48 Tongariro National Park (dark vegetated areas surrounding the peaks) includes the active volcano Ruapehu and the dormant Tongariro. In the 1995 eruption, acid waters from the crater lake were blown out of the crater over the surrounding countryside.

STS092-711-11 No longer a volcanic threat, Banks Peninsula is a deeply eroded old volcano ~24 million years old; the crater now provides a deep-water harbor for Christchurch.

STS092-309-6 Mt. Egmont, on North Island, is another old volcano (~24 Ma). The vegetated dark cone of the volcano, within a national park, contrasts sharply with the surrounding cleared and cultivated land.

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This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate.

Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." .

NASA Responsible Official: Susan Runco

Curator: jsc-earthweb@mail.nasa.gov

Contributors: Earth Sciences Web Team

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

International Space Station National Laboratory

Last Update:

Server: 1

STS092-701-27	Mendoza, Argentina sustained extensive damage in 1861 from an earthquake on a buried fault that passes beneath the city. The low hills south of town mark an area where the ground surface is arched over the tip of the fault.
STS092-701-39	San Juan, Argentina was leveled by an earthquake in 1944; the main earthquake-producing fault lies west of the town. Secondary faults to the north and east of the city also moved at that time and compounded the damage.
STS092-701-84	Snow-covered Southern Alps, South Island, New Zealand. The straight, active segment of the Alpine Fault Zone marks the western edge of the Southern Alps. Mount Cook marks the beginning of a series of SE-trending fault splays; bright blue Lake Pukaki occupies one of these fault valleys.
STS092-711-18	The Australian and Pacific tectonic plates converge along the Alpine Fault Zone, producing the Southern Alps; the northwest side is also moving northeast relative to the opposite side. Red Hill has been split and the remainder is now ~480 km to the south; linear fault splays such as the Wairau are also active strike-slip faults (3-10 mm/yr offset).
STS092-710-56	Near Lake Wakatipu, on the east side of the southern Alpine fault zone, is the offset portion of the Red Hill block.
STS092-703-77	In contrast with South Island, the crust of North Island is being stretched and lava reaches the surface at aligned active volcanoes such as Ruapehu and Tongariro; White Island (with plume) is the northernmost subaerial volcano of the line and Lake Taupo is a volcanic crater lake. Volcanic heat is harnessed to generate power.
STS092-711-21	The Alpine fault zone splays out to the northeast, and the plate boundary changes style and direction at Cook Strait. The city of Wellington and the active Wellington fault (northeast) are near the node where the Alpine fault system ends and the Hikurangi Trench system begins.
STS092-713-48	Tongariro National Park (dark vegetated areas surrounding the peaks) includes the active volcano Ruapehu and the dormant Tongariro. In the 1995 eruption, acid waters from the crater lake were blown out of the crater over the surrounding countryside.
STS092-711-11	No longer a volcanic threat, Banks Peninsula is a deeply eroded old volcano ~24 million years old; the crater now provides a deep-water harbor for Christchurch.
STS092-309-6	Mt. Egmont, on North Island, is another old volcano (~24 Ma). The vegetated dark cone of the volcano, within a national park, contrasts sharply with the surrounding cleared and cultivated land.

This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate. Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." .
	NASA Responsible Official: Susan Runco Curator: jsc-earthweb@mail.nasa.gov Contributors: Earth Sciences Web Team	National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center	International Space Station National Laboratory Last Update:
Server: 1