Questions and Answers
Questions can be posted by students on the Ask-an-Expert Web Board. The answers were provided by Shelley the LEARNZ Field Trip Teacher and Geospatial Experts.
All field trips have an Ask-an-Expert web discussion board for this purpose. When the web board closed one month after the field trip, a selection of questions and answers were moved to this page.
I was wondering how long until Canterbury will fully recover from the 2011 earthquakes?
Hi Tristan, yes this is a question that many people are asking but it is very difficult to answer. Before a building can be rebuilt the damaged building needs to be demolished and this could take days, or even weeks, or months if it's complicated (like the Grand Chancellor building). Over 1000 buildings in the CBD will end up being demolished and then there are the 10,000 homes that need to be rebuilt as well. Also services such as water and sewage pipes need to be repaired in some areas and some roads also need to be repaired. So when you take into account all that needs to be done it will take years for Christchurch to be fully rebuilt. Some people say 10 years, other people say even longer but within a few years things will be much better than what they are now.
From Shelley the LEARNZ field trip teacher.
How do you know if the pipes are working, and is there a machine to show broken pipes?
Hi there, often people know if pipes are broken because they have no water or water doesn't drain away. There may even be water visible above ground where a pipe has burst. If people can't see the break they can use CCTV cameras (closed circuit TV cameras) to look along pipes and find the damage so they dig up only the area where the pipe is broken. The level of pipes can also be measured using GPS equipment so they know if it still slopes downhill so water can flow through it. You can find out more on the background pages.
From Shelley the LEARNZ field trip teacher.
How are maps being used to help rebuild Christchurch?
Maps are being used in lots of different ways to help the rebuild. Maps help record and show where damage to houses and services exists so people can be sent to the right places to make repairs. Maps have shown which roads are closed and where areas have been cordoned off.
Maps of peoples' properties have had information added to them; such as where water and sewage pipes are broken, where land levels have changed and where there have been rock falls. A map like this with more than one set of information on it is called a Geographic Information System (GIS). These maps have been used to help decide which areas should not be rebuilt on. Maps also show where land can be developed for new subdivisions. So without maps the Christchurch rebuild would be much harder and slower.
From Shelley the LEARNZ field trip teacher.
We are wondering how does geospatial activity make volcanoes erupt?
Hi Barbara and Donna, geospatial is the word used to describe anything to do with the location of something or where it is in the world. Geo means Earth and spatial means space. So rather than geospatial activity you are probably thinking of geological activity, or earth movement. Earthquakes and volcanoes are both forms of geological activity. Earthquakes can trigger volcanoes because during an earthquake the land may move and a volcanic vent which is blocked may be released causing a volcano - but only if the volcano was close to erupting anyway. Volcanoes can also trigger earthquakes because as magma rises to the surface before an eruption it causes small movements in the Earth's crust felt as earthquakes.
From Shelley the LEARNZ field trip teacher.
When are we going to rebuild more pools like QE2?
Hi there, good question. There are plans to build more pools in Christchurch to replace the ones that have been damaged but the land has to be cleared and made safe to build on first. The Central City Plan includes a large pool and sporting complex. Building should start in the next year or so.
From Shelley the LEARNZ field trip teacher.
