An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale has struck off Australia’s south coast near Macquarie Island, where a vital Antarctic research base is located.
The tremor which caused ‘moderate shaking’ near the epicentre, struck at a depth of 10km, 4,000km from the Australian mainland at 5.09pm on Tuesday.
The Bureau of Meteorology released a statement saying there is ‘No tsunami threat to Australia from the earthquake felt in Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean.’
Macquarie Island, which is an Australian territory, is located halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica.
There has been a large earthquake close to the Australian territory of Macquarie Island (pictured is a location map)
It is the longest continuously operating Australian station in the sub-Antarctic or Antarctica.
The island includes facilities for studying geophysics, biology, upper atmosphere physics and meteorology.
The number of people working on the research station varies from 14 to 40, depending on the season and on research or construction projects.
The island has been part of Tasmania since 1900 and became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978.
It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said there is ‘No tsunami threat to Australia from the earthquake felt in Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean.’ Pictured is a map issued by BoM
Macquarie Island (pictured) is an Australian territory located halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica
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