GeoNet New Zealand Natural Hazards Monitoring System

Overview

GeoNet is New Zealand's national geological hazard monitoring system, operated by GNS Science (Earth Sciences New Zealand) in partnership with the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHC) and Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ). It provides near-real-time data on earthquakes, volcanic activity, large landslides, tsunami, and land deformation to scientists, emergency managers, and the public.

History and Founding

GeoNet was established in 2001, following a plan presented by GNS Science in 2000 that called for a modernised national geological hazard monitoring system. In March 2001, the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake committed NZ$5 million per year for ten years to fund the project. The founding partners were GNS Science, the Earthquake Commission (now NHC Toka Tū Ake), and Land Information New Zealand. For most of its early existence GeoNet was relatively little-known outside technical circles, but following the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes—when the GeoNet website was accessed 564 million times in the six days after the September 2010 earthquake—it became a widely recognised national resource. A further funding boost of NZ$3 million was provided in 2016 after the Kaikōura earthquake. In December 2018, GNS Science opened the National Geohazards Monitoring Centre (NGMC) in Lower Hutt, providing round-the-clock staffed monitoring of all four major hazard types in a single facility—a world first.

Collections and Data Holdings

GeoNet maintains a network of over 1,000 instruments at nearly 700 locations across New Zealand, detecting on average 20,000–25,000 earthquakes per year. Instrument types include broadband seismometers, strong-motion sensors, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations for measuring land deformation, coastal tsunami gauges, DART deep-ocean tsunami sensors, and remote volcanic monitoring equipment capturing gas emissions, temperature, and camera imagery. All data are made freely available to the research community and public, including GPS RINEX files, earthquake hypocentres, and instrument waveform records.

Access and Usage

GeoNet's data and hazard information are accessible via its website at www.geonet.org.nz and through a mobile app that provides push notifications for hazard events. Citizens can submit felt earthquake reports online. The GeoNet social media presence has more than 200,000 followers. Data are used by scientists, emergency managers, insurers, engineers, and government agencies both in New Zealand and internationally.