Rate of co‐seismic strain release in the northern South Island, New Zealand

Rates of co‐seismic strain release over the last 150 years calculated from the moment tensors of large (M ≥ 7) historic earthquakes, and strain rates calculated from models of relative plate motions, are generally consistent in the northern South Island, with the rate of seismic activity accommodating about 70% of the relative plate motions. There is some evidence that the distribution of seismicity within the region during the historical period is atypical, because 85% of the co‐seismic strain release occurs west of the plate boundary, whereas geological data suggest that 60% of the relative plate movements are accommodated on the Marlborough faults, which are located on or east of the plate boundary.