DEtermining VOlcanic Risk in Auckland-DEVORA

03/10/2025

Got plans this weekend? Come join the DEVORA team THIS SUNDAY at our Auckland Heritage Festival event: Volcano Fest – Explore Auckland's Fiery Past and Future!🌋

Ever picked up a rock and wondered what it was? Curious about the volcanoes of Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, what it means to live on a volcanic field, or why some volcanoes ooze lava while others erupt with explosive force?

Come along for:
🔥 Volcano experiments - watch both oozing and explosive eruptions.
🪨 A showcase of fascinating rocks and minerals from the Auckland Volcanic Field.
👩‍🔬 Meet the experts - chat with University of Auckland volcano scientists and geologists, and get your burning questions answered.

Perfect for families, kids, and kids-at-heart. Don’t miss it!

📅 Sunday 5th October
🕙 10am – 3pm
📍 University of Auckland, Central City Campus, inside Commerce A Building 114 (look for the red doors!). See here for a map of the location: https://maps.auckland.ac.nz/auckland/fa64ffa351cb4fe680fa2929/details/08395296da07481e8982045d

Full event details here 👇
https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/2025/10/volcano-fest-explore-auckland-s-fiery-past-and-future/?source=/heritage-festival/heritage-festival-events/

Have a chat with volcano scientists and geologists from the University of Auckland, ask any questions you have about volcanoes, earthquakes, rocks, and the natural world around us.

26/09/2025

🔎 Did you know there are hidden faults beneath Auckland’s busy streets?

Eos science writer Kate Evans has just published an article highlighting the passion project by Jill Kenny, Jan Lindsay, and colleagues, who have worked hard to uncover hidden faults beneath Auckland’s urban landscape.

After many years of piecing together borehole data from across the city, the team used information from 8,200 boreholes in addition to remote sensing and geophysical data to provide a model of post-Miocene faulting in the Auckland region, revealing 10 likely and 25 possible faults beneath Auckland. Their work, recently published in the New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, is the most detailed catalogue of buried faults in the region yet.

While it’s not yet clear if any of these faults are active, the research is a big step forward in understanding the rocks beneath our feet and how they might connect to Auckland’s volcanoes. 🌋

You can check out the full Eos article here 👇
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EO250354

An innovative analysis has identified 10 likely and 25 possible faults in the region.

18/09/2025

12/09/2025

Seeing Auckland through a volcanic hazard lens 🌋

Recently, postgraduate students from the School of Environment, The University of Auckland, braved wind and rain to explore multiple volcanoes across the Auckland Volcanic Field. As part of the Earth Science geohazards course, this field trip offers an opportunity to understand how complex hazard assessment, risk management, and emergency planning in an urban setting can be, highlighting what it takes to prepare Auckland for a potential future volcanic event. ⚠️🚨

The trip also provided a meaningful opportunity to connect with the cultural heritage of our maunga. Thank you to Mangere Mountain Education Centre for guiding us through Te Pane o Mataoho / Māngere Mountain and sharing the history and stories that make this maunga so special. 👏

The learning didn’t stop there! The next day, students participated in a role-play exercise back at the University, simulating a possible Auckland Volcanic Field eruption scenario. Acting as scientists, emergency managers, and other key roles, the students navigated tricky decisions, intense discussions, and a good dose of chaos, and, using the knowledge gained during the field trip, managed to successfully evacuate everyone to safety. 🎭

It was an action-packed two days full of hands-on learning, critical thinking, and real-world experience responding to natural hazards 📚

📸 Click on each photo to see more about what the students got up to!

05/09/2025

📢 Welcome to part 6 of Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 – the grand finale!

Over this series, we’ve pulled back the curtain on some of Rangitoto’s hidden secrets, from how its “oddball” quirks inspired a world-first drilling project, to the seismometer still deep within that borehole, quietly listening to every shake and quake. 🕵️🛠️

Today, we’re taking you behind the scenes of some past and present research projects using data from Rangitoto’s seismometer, RBAZ. Each study adds another piece to the puzzle of understanding Auckland’s subsurface structure and the origins of the Auckland Volcanic Field. While the full picture is still taking shape, these early results offer a rare glimpse beneath the surface. 🧩🔎

Click through the photos below to explore more:

📸 1: Peering underground: an “MRI” of Auckland’s hidden layers
📸 2: Looking deeper: new sensors to reveal Auckland’s subsurface secrets
📸 3: Using earthquakes to map the subsurface
📸 4: Beneath the volcano
📸 5: And that’s a wrap!

What surprised you most in this series? If you enjoyed it, which other Auckland volcano would you like us to feature next? We’d love you to share your thoughts in the comments! 💭

You can catch up on parts 1–5 below:

Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #1: https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid0r8LgFXLkNo8WmNyzC5GFRhATknkyq1kcBQeSeF5TzDtFzsnz2GUGakXFm8MrCxWUl

Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #2: https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid0YcUVoJfsxC1DTjVjjh9rqY1twbtZ4sfWZggFcJS58sy3sC2rN6PJnSZQkgngTPpBl

Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #3:
https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid02NJLh9iSVzSU5cWeTnYL2ghXfEj64Fsxss5vneMtUtE25ss75a3LgpNNaL7iGefLdl

Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #4:
https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid0dounsc3gAAoPrqV7g3gtffAMHc3y5HtiyEDC2e7Hs89iuHknjez3WYyS4UxJQiqQl/

Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #5:
https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid02DgHGeTcoh5YWW1hqGG5Jbsj2pvd3ycWds54Q41RVjrqm7rJGao1GHAoqbhpLqKKKl?rdid=64nVNbP0XlmoEyBg #

25/08/2025

Read the full story here 👇
https://www.naturalhazards.govt.nz/news/sleeping-giant-hot-solid-magma-found-beneath-auckland-hints-at-post-eruption-future/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMZ1UJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFSY1FlbE93d2dCZ1MweWJoAR7VT6AtSMtSJHBFiHcxITEYp7YQDwk3XBq44k05RqFMmNc1C8raWgXx_HI6-A_aem_tpKjHLhg70VbZ7SclVDgvg

🔥 Rangitoto is still warm… 600 years after its last eruption!

This surprising discovery from the DEtermining VOlcanic Risk in Auckland-DEVORA research programme (funded by us and Auckland Council) shows how long heat can last after a big eruption - and what it could mean for Aucklanders in the future.

It’s not a sign the volcano is waking up, but it is a clue to how we’d rebuild and live near a new volcano.

Full story below 👇

25/08/2025

"It's telling us Rangitoto is a bit more active than we thought."

Full story ⬇️

22/08/2025

📢 Welcome back to part 5 of Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥!🌋

Over the past few weeks, we’ve uncovered some of Rangitoto volcano’s best-kept secrets - from its “oddball” nature among the other volcanoes of the Auckland Volcanic Field, to how our borehole seismic station, RBAZ, has been recording (almost) every shake and quake for over a decade! 🫨

Today, we reveal how we collect this seismic data and what it looks like, giving insights into what signals are measured beneath Auckland! Click through the photos below to see how this unfolds:

📸 1: Data retrieval trip to RBAZ
📸 2: Action shot
📸 3: It’s an earthquake!
📸 4: First insights using RBAZ

In the grand finale of this special series, we’ll reveal some past and present research projects using RBAZ data, and what they can tell us about the subsurface – stay tuned!

Missed the earlier posts? You can catch up here:
Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #1: https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid0r8LgFXLkNo8WmNyzC5GFRhATknkyq1kcBQeSeF5TzDtFzsnz2GUGakXFm8MrCxWUl

Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #2: https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid0YcUVoJfsxC1DTjVjjh9rqY1twbtZ4sfWZggFcJS58sy3sC2rN6PJnSZQkgngTPpBl

Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #3:
https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid02NJLh9iSVzSU5cWeTnYL2ghXfEj64Fsxss5vneMtUtE25ss75a3LgpNNaL7iGefLdl

Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #4:
https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid0dounsc3gAAoPrqV7g3gtffAMHc3y5HtiyEDC2e7Hs89iuHknjez3WYyS4UxJQiqQl/

14/08/2025

We’ve just released a new resource to help councils and agencies lead conversations with communities about natural hazard and climate change risk tolerance.

Funded by NHC and developed by the Let’s Talk About Risk team, the guidance includes practical tools, case studies, and advice for designing inclusive and meaningful engagement.

Sarah-Jayne McCurrach, Head of Risk Reduction at NHC, says:

“This guidance helps ensure decisions reflect what people value and are willing to live with.”

Download the guidance here: https://www.naturalhazards.govt.nz/news/new-guidance-helps-councils-to-lead-risk-conversations

11/08/2025

📢 We’re back with part 4 of Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥!

Previously, we explored how Rangitoto stands out among the volcanoes of the Auckland Volcanic Field, how its unique features complicate planning for potential future eruptions, and how this led us to drill through the volcano. Today, we reveal what has been occupying the Rangitoto drillhole since 2014. 👀🌋

It doesn’t breathe fire or hoard treasure, but it does monitor for underground rumblings beneath the Auckland Volcanic Field. Click through the photos below to see “how we train our dragon” – the seismometer at the seismic monitoring station on Rangitoto. 🐉

📸 1: Meet RBAZ
📸 2: Anatomy of a seismic monitoring station
📸 3: How the seismometer listens to Earth’s deepest secrets
📸 4: Keeping the seismometer fed

Once trained, seismometers can share the Earth’s seismic secrets. In the next post of this special series, we’ll show you how we capture these signals and what they can tell us about the subsurface – stay tuned!

In case you missed them, you can find the previous parts below 👇

Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #1: https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid0r8LgFXLkNo8WmNyzC5GFRhATknkyq1kcBQeSeF5TzDtFzsnz2GUGakXFm8MrCxWUl

Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #2: https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid0YcUVoJfsxC1DTjVjjh9rqY1twbtZ4sfWZggFcJS58sy3sC2rN6PJnSZQkgngTPpBl

Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 #3:
https://www.facebook.com/DEVORAProject/posts/pfbid02NJLh9iSVzSU5cWeTnYL2ghXfEj64Fsxss5vneMtUtE25ss75a3LgpNNaL7iGefLdl

04/08/2025

Perfect timing with our Rangitoto: 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 series! Have you seen this stunning stylised digital elevation model of Rangitoto Island?

The image below shows elevation data obtained through LiDAR, revealing what’s hidden beneath the forest canopy on the island’s surface. This captures all the lava flows and surrounding terrain on Rangitoto. 🌲🌋

This data was newly released as part of a dataset covering 3,507 km² of Auckland by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand.

You can explore part 2 of the Auckland LiDAR datasets (2024) on the LINZ Data Service here: https://data.linz.govt.nz/layer/122580/