Saturday started with quite a bit of optimism from the crew. The drilling team thinks they have removed all debris from the borehole and are hoping to start drilling in the next 24 hours. The mood in Whataroa is very good. I began my morning with some field work collecting samples of the Alpine Fault gouge. My research for my master's thesis is focused on fault gouge and this sums up the reason for the trip to New Zealand in a way. Fault gouge is the very fine particles of rock that are formed when the two rocks along a fault plane rub against each other creating a fine powder. Over millions of years of earthquakes, this gouge accumulates to a few centimeters thick layer along the primary slip zone. In our rock mechanics lab at OU, we use a rotary shear machine to test the mechanics of the gouge by putting it in a confined cell and rotating the cell at a specific velocity and normal force. We then collect frictional characteristics, temperature, water, CO2, and many other mechanical attributes of the specific gouges or clays. This helps geologist understand what affect the gouge has on the fault rupturing into an earthquake. There are many other characteristics of a specific fault that plays a role in determining if and when a fault will rupture, this is why the team here is so diversified. There are geochemist looking at the chemistry of the changing rocks as they get closer to the fault or the fluids found in the rocks near the fault. There are petrologist looking at the mineralogy of the rocks as they change near the alteration zone, and there are structural geologist, such as myself, that are looking at structures on a large scale or microscale in the fault. Many drilling programs similar to this have been done in the past, this project differs in the way that they are drilling and installing monitoring equipment BEFORE the fault ruptures, whereas the previous drilling programs have been drilled after an event has occurred. Having monitoring equipment in place along the fault at depth could possible provide some very interesting data to the geologist here leading up to an earthquake and directly after the earthquake. Some of the equipment that will be in place will measure temperatures, pressures, and seismic activity. All very valuable information during an earthquake. One concern we have come across is the thermal gradient, or how fast the temperature increases with depth. We are currently around 396 meters and the temperature is close to 60 degrees Celsius. Since the monitoring equipment is electrical, there are some concerns that the equipment will not function correctly near the actual fault plane. If the temperature gets too high, the equipment will be installed at a depth in which it will work properly. Only time will tell.
Virginia Toy's birthday is coming up on Sunday so she decided to organize a New Zealand BBQ in the coastal town of Okarito. Okarito is a small vacation town for New Zealanders a few kilometers south west of Whataroa. Most of the crew made it out to celebrate and have a glass of wine or two. It is a very small town but the views are unbeatable. Soon after we ate a wiffle ball and bat made there appearance. I wasn't keen on playing at first, I sat back and watched New Zealanders, English, Japanese, Czech, and a few other nationalities swing away at the ball. I was soon called out for being American and not playing baseball/wiffle ball with them. I tried to refuse but the chants got louder so I stepped up to bat with the pressure of hearing the chanting of "Chance" or "American". No pressure! The first pitch was a little close so I did not swing. I had had a glass of wine or two so I was definitely doubting my hand-eye coordination. The second pitch was right in my sweet spot so I swung away, and I believe I represented my country well. The ball was launched off my bat and into the bushes way over everyone's head. A walk off homerun. America! I am not going to lie, I was quite relieved with my performance. The game ended soon and a campfire on the beach was lit. There aren't many things better than a large campfire on the beach with the mountains towering behind you.
Way to represent, Slugger!
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