A seismologist says there is no proof a recent wave of earthquakes in the Pacific are linked, but it is possible they are.
A magnitude 6.0 quake occured near Samoa on Thursday morning, after a series of earthquakes in the region and in Indonesia. Australian sources have suggested a link.
GNS Science seismologist John Ristau says this cannot be determined for sure.
Dr Ristau says proving this would require detailed modelling to see how stress was changing in the earth's crust and how different faults were interacting.
But he says a link cannot be ruled out and earthquakes in the past have often triggered other quakes nearby, and sometimes over long distances.
