The Waipara – Kowai groundwater allocation zones (referred to as zones) are located 50 kilometers north of Christchurch. Land use in the Waipara zone has evolved from dry land farming towards horticultural and irrigated pastoral farming, and as such the demand for groundwater resources has increased significantly. Recent 14C age dating has shown that deep wells tap >1000 years old water, raising concerns about possible resource mining. The Kowai groundwater allocation zone has had minimal regional hydrogeological investigations and previously little is known about the groundwater resources here. The Waipara – Kowai groundwater allocation zones are located near obliquely convergent plate margin and the Porters Pass Fault System. Recent (early Quaternary) deformation has been noted by workers along margins and associated with emerging structures within basins. These emerging faults and folds within the basin are acting as hydrological barriers, hindering the passage of groundwater within the basin. A geomorphic map was constructed for this study based on existing soils maps, limited field soil surveys and morphometric analysis. Nine geomorphic surfaces are described, with inferred ages of modern to >73 ka. The geomorphic investigation revealed that the Kowai groundwater allocation zone surface is stepped, with increasing thickness of loess up gradient on the downlands. Near the coast there is intercalated terrestrial and marine sediments, to the west overlying the Kowai Formation are small alluvial fans. In the Waipara Basin the Waipara fan dominates the central portion of the basin, with smaller fluvial and alluvial fans building out from the margins. Groundwater recharge was investigated using chemical, isotopic, water level observations and a simple water balance. It was found that in the Kowai zone the major recharge sources were the rainfall, losses from the rivers and streams. The southern region of the Waipara zone is recharged by rainfall with small contributions from the Kowai River (North Branch). In the South region of the Waipara Basin groundwater recharge is derived from rainfall and losses from streams. The groundwater systems are conceptualized as being topographically driven, with slope – basin floors interactions being an important source of groundwater recharge.

The aim of this thesis was to examine the spatial and the temporal patterns of anxiety and chest pain resulting from the Canterbury, New Zealand earthquaeks. Three research objectives were identified: examine any spatial or termporal clusters of anxiety and chest pain; examine the associations between anxiety, chest pain and damage to neighbourhood; and determine any statistically significant difference in counts of anxiety and chest pain after each earthquake or aftershock which resulted in severe damage. Measures of the extent of liquefaction the location of CERA red-zones were used as proxy measures for earthquake damage. Cases of those who presented to Christchurch Public Hospital Emergency Department with either anxiety or chest pain between May 2010 and April 2012 were aggregated to census area unit (CAU) level for analysis. This thesis has taken a unique approach to examining the spatial and spatio-temporal variations of anxiety and chest pain after an earthquake and offers unique results. This is the first study of its kind to use a GIS approach when examining Canterbury specific earthquake damage and health variables at a CAU level after the earthquakes. Through the use of spatio-termporal scan modelling, negative and linear regression modelling and temporal linear modelling with dummy variables this research was able to conclude there are significant spatial and temporal variations in anxiety and chest pain resulting from the earthquakes. The spatio-termporal scan modelling identified a hot cluster of both anxiety and chest pain within Christchurch at the same time the earthquakes occurred. The negative binomial model found liquefaction to be a stronger predictor of anxiety than the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority's (CERA) land zones. The linear regression model foun chest pain to be positively associated with all measures of earthquake damage with the exception of being in the red-zone. The temporal modelling identified a significant increase in anxiety cases one month after a major earthquake, and chest pain cases spiked two weeks after an earthquake and gradually decreased over the following five weeks. This research was limited by lack of control period data, limited measures of earthquake damage, ethical restrictions, and the need for population tracking data. The findings of this research will be useful in the planning and allocation of mental wellbeing resources should another similar event like the Canterbury Earthquakes occur in New Zealand.

Coastal and river environments are exposed to a number of natural hazards that have the potential to negatively affect both human and natural environments. The purpose of this research is to explain that significant vulnerabilities to seismic hazards exist within coastal and river environments and that coasts and rivers, past and present, have played as significant a role as seismic, engineering or socio-economic factors in determining the impacts and recovery patterns of a city following a seismic hazard event. An interdisciplinary approach was used to investigate the vulnerability of coastal and river areas in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, following the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence, which began on the 4th of September 2010. This information was used to identify the characteristics of coasts and rivers that make them more susceptible to earthquake induced hazards including liquefaction, lateral spreading, flooding, landslides and rock falls. The findings of this research are applicable to similar coastal and river environments elsewhere in the world where seismic hazards are also of significant concern. An interdisciplinary approach was used to document and analyse the coastal and river related effects of the Canterbury earthquake sequence on Christchurch city in order to derive transferable lessons that can be used to design less vulnerable urban communities and help to predict seismic vulnerabilities in other New Zealand and international urban coastal and river environments for the future. Methods used to document past and present features and earthquake impacts on coasts and rivers in Christchurch included using maps derived from Geographical Information Systems (GIS), photographs, analysis of interviews from coastal, river and engineering experts, and analysis of secondary data on seismicity, liquefaction potential, geology, and planning statutes. The Canterbury earthquake sequence had a significant effect on Christchurch, particularly around rivers and the coast. This was due to the susceptibility of rivers to lateral spreading and the susceptibility of the eastern Christchurch and estuarine environments to liquefaction. The collapse of river banks and the extensive cracking, tilting and subsidence that accompanied liquefaction, lateral spreading and rock falls caused damage to homes, roads, bridges and lifelines. This consequently blocked transportation routes, interrupted electricity and water lines, and damaged structures built in their path. This study found that there are a number of physical features of coastal and river environments from the past and the present that have induced vulnerabilities to earthquake hazards. The types of sediments found beneath eastern Christchurch are unconsolidated fine sands, silts, peats and gravels. Together with the high water tables located beneath the city, these deposits made the area particularly susceptible to liquefaction and liquefaction-induced lateral spreading, when an earthquake of sufficient size shook the ground. It was both past and present coastal and river processes that deposited the types of sediments that are easily liquefied during an earthquake. Eastern Christchurch was once a coastal and marine environment 6000 years ago when the shoreline reached about 6 km inland of its present day location, which deposited fine sand and silts over this area. The region was also exposed to large braided rivers and smaller spring fed rivers, both of which have laid down further fine sediments over the following thousands of years. A significant finding of this study is the recognition that the Canterbury earthquake sequence has exacerbated existing coastal and river hazards and that assessments and monitoring of these changes will be an important component of Christchurch’s future resilience to natural hazards. In addition, patterns of recovery following the Canterbury earthquakes are highlighted to show that coasts and rivers are again vulnerable to earthquakes through their ability to recovery. This city’s capacity to incorporate resilience into the recovery efforts is also highlighted in this study. Coastal and river areas have underlying physical characteristics that make them increasingly vulnerable to the effects of earthquake hazards, which have not typically been perceived as a ‘coastal’ or ‘river’ hazard. These findings enhance scientific and management understanding of the effects that earthquakes can have on coastal and river environments, an area of research that has had modest consideration to date. This understanding is important from a coastal and river hazard management perspective as concerns for increased human development around coastlines and river margins, with a high seismic risk, continue to grow.

Individual responses to natural disasters are highly variable. The psychological and behavioural response trajectories of those who manage to cope well with adverse life events are in need of further investigation. Increased alcohol use is often observed in communities exposed to mass traumas, particularly among those exposed to severe levels of trauma, with males drinking more than females. The current study examined patterns of alcohol use and motivations for drinking among a sample of psychologically resilient individuals with varying levels of exposure to the Canterbury earthquakes (N = 91) using structured and semi-structured interviews and self-report measures. As hypothesised, there was a significant increase in alcohol consumption since the earthquakes began, and males reported significantly higher levels of pre-earthquake and current alcohol consumption than females. Contrary to expectations, there was no association between traumatic exposure severity and alcohol consumption. While participants reported anxiety-based coping motives for drinking at levels comparable to those reported by other studies, depression-based coping motives were significantly lower, providing partial support for the hypothesis that participants would report coping motives for drinking at levels comparable to those found by other researchers. No gender differences in drinking motives were found. As expected, current alcohol consumption was positively correlated with anxiety and depression-based coping motives for drinking. Psychological resilience was not significantly associated with alcohol use, however resilience was negatively associated with depression-based coping motives for drinking. These findings have inter-generational and international implications for post-traumatic intervention.

This thesis is concerned with equine attachment as a form of interspecies fictive kinship, in relation to the practices, social relations, and motivations of participant groups within the Canterbury thoroughbred racing industry. Exploring the interconnections between intimacy and investment, as both financial and emotional commitments, the different sectors of the industry are analyzed as actor-network assemblages in which boundaries between professional, economic, and social relations are porous. The thesis argues that the parameters of a distinct equine community are delineated through regulated forms of haptic access. Distinctions regarding those who are and are not permitted to touch horses, articulates with a regime of risk regulation, which is more broadly explored in its physical, social, financial, and emotional dimensions. Also integral to the character of this networked community of practitioners is the symbolism of naming and branding thoroughbreds, as well as the secular rituals of the auction and the race-day. Conceived as a naturalcultural phenomenon, the race is analyzed in terms of the cross-species meanings and experiences of jockeys and apprentices, who are understood as representatives of an occupational sub-culture. Finally, this thesis also explores the preponderance of women in South Island racing; charting the path by which they have successfully adopted traditionally male-dominated roles.

The Waipara – Kowai groundwater allocation zones (referred to as zones) are located 50 kilometers north of Christchurch. Land use in the Waipara zone has evolved from dry land farming towards horticultural and irrigated pastoral farming, and as such the demand for groundwater resources has increased significantly. Recent 14C age dating has shown that deep wells tap >1000 years old water, raising concerns about possible resource mining. The Kowai groundwater allocation zone has had minimal regional hydrogeological investigations and previously little is known about the groundwater resources here. The Waipara – Kowai groundwater allocation zones are located near obliquely convergent plate margin and the Porters Pass Fault System. Recent (early Quaternary) deformation has been noted by workers along margins and associated with emerging structures within basins. These emerging faults and folds within the basin are acting as hydrological barriers, hindering the passage of groundwater within the basin. A geomorphic map was constructed for this study based on existing soils maps, limited field soil surveys and morphometric analysis. Nine geomorphic surfaces are described, with inferred ages of modern to >73 ka. The geomorphic investigation revealed that the Kowai groundwater allocation zone surface is stepped, with increasing thickness of loess up gradient on the downlands. Near the coast there is intercalated terrestrial and marine sediments, to the west overlying the Kowai Formation are small alluvial fans. In the Waipara Basin the Waipara fan dominates the central portion of the basin, with smaller fluvial and alluvial fans building out from the margins. Groundwater recharge was investigated using chemical, isotopic, water level observations and a simple water balance. It was found that in the Kowai zone the major recharge sources were the rainfall, losses from the rivers and streams. The southern region of the Waipara zone is recharged by rainfall with small contributions from the Kowai River (North Branch). In the South region of the Waipara Basin groundwater recharge is derived from rainfall and losses from streams. The groundwater systems are conceptualized as being topographically driven, with slope – basin floors interactions being an important source of groundwater recharge.