A team of scientists is considering the logistics of drilling into New Zealand's longest seismic fault line, the Alpine fault, which stretches 650 kilometres from Milford Sound to Marlborough.
Up to 50 researchers will meet early next year to discuss the logistics of drilling into the Alpine fault.
Team leader John Townend says the project will give scientists access to rocks that were recently directly involved in seismic activity.
He says any findings may build on evidence from a similar project on the San Andreas fault in California, which has suggested there might be a way to predict earthquakes.
