A review is presented here of tsunami deposits in the geological record. It begins with a discussion of the relationships between the processes of tsunami generation and propagation and the sedimentary responses. This is followed by a consideration of the sedimentary processes associated with the passage of tsunami waves across coastlines. Attention is also given to the sedimentary processes associated with tsunami-triggered gravity backwash flows and comparisons are made with turbidity current action. We observe that despite sedimentary evidence for recent tsunamiites, geological research on ancient tsunamis has not identified stratigraphic units associated with onshore tsunami sedimentation. Equally, it is noted that nearly all published studies of sedimentary processes associated with modern tsunamis have not considered patterns of sediment transport and deposition in the offshore zone. 相似文献
A series of elevated imbricated boulders were investigated on the Otago coastline, southeast New Zealand, through field surveying and optical luminescence dating. By using established hydrodynamic relationships of sediment transport the energy required to move the clasts was calculated and compared to the historic record of marine inundations of that coast. The boulders are platy in shape and are over 2 m long in some cases, and are sourced from a locally outcropping conglomerate unit which appears to be the only lithology on this section of coast that erodes to produce clasts of this size. It is estimated that the boulders were deposited by a tsunami between 2 and 3 m high during the latter part of Marine Isotope Stage 5. They therefore represent the first pre-Holocene tsunami deposit and one composed of large boulders described on the New Zealand coastline. 相似文献
A large number of studies have documented the structural and sedimentary architecture of the Corinth Gulf, especially the major E–W trending normal faults important in accommodating the main extensional strain and associated growth of the Gilbert fan deltas. However, the role of several N–S oriented structures that crop out at the surface and are detectable at depth by seismic reflection and gravity surveys are not clearly understood. Based on new geological data, collected near Xylokastro, we describe the N–S oriented tectonic activity of this area. The mapped inland faults correspond to off-shore structures identified in re-interpreted seismic lines and appear to have acted as a major transfer zone during the opening of the Corinth Gulf. Reconstruction of the paleo-topography based on sedimentary facies and the environment of clay mineral formation suggest these transfer zones played an important role in controlling both local structural relief and depositional conditions of the Gilbert fan deltas. 相似文献
Modern and known-age Pleistocene fluvial sediments were investigated by optical dating of quartz to test the suitability of the approach for dating deposits from the deeply incised Middle Rhine Valley. Samples from modern flood sediments revealed skewed distributions indicating different residual levels of equivalent dose (De) within the different aliquots. Nevertheless, a substantial number of aliquots from the modern deposits reflect De values close to zero. For the Pleistocene samples, optical ages are in general consistent with age control given by the presence of the Laacher See Tephra and radiocarbon dating. However, some samples overestimate the known age by a few thousand years when using the arithmetic mean. This is apparently explained by including aliquots in the determination of mean De where the optical signal was incompletely bleached at deposition. The most difficult issue in this context is identifying a suitable approach that can distinguish between the variability of De due to partial bleaching and microdosimetry. However, even when considering these limitations it appears that optical dating will by a quite suitable method to date Pleistocene sediments from such a complex fluvial environment, especially when focusing on a precision scale beyond a few thousand years. 相似文献
Before ESR/U-series models were applied to ungulate teeth, it is generally assumed that calculated ages are close to the “real” ages when they range between the values obtained with the EU and LU models. When the samples show signs of uranium-leaching, a realistic mathematical modelling of the age is not possible. On the other hand, some samples have undergone a very late U-uptake “affecting” directly the U-series ages and rendering the calculated ages younger.
We present results obtained on two open-air sites, which show the limits of such combined models in the case of late uranium incorporation. For the Middle Pleistocene site of Isernia la Pineta (Italy), the ESR dates are expected to fall within the limits imposed by the Ar–Ar results. The other site, the Lower Palaeolithic deposits of Ambrona (Spain), yielded two sets of samples: some at the top of the sequence with uranium uptake ranging between EU and LU limits and thus giving a good idea of the “real” age of the site; others at the base displaying a very late U-uptake, which render an age determination difficult. 相似文献
The Andaman-Sumatra Tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004, was by far the largest tsunami catastrophe in human history. An earthquake of
9 to 9.3 on the Richter scale, the extension of waves over more than 5000 km of ocean and run-ups up to 35 m are its key features.
These characteristics suggest significant changes in coastal morphology and high sediment transport rates. A field survey
along the west coast of Thailand (Phuket Island, Khao Lak region including some Similan Islands, Nang Pha mangrove areas and
Phi Phi Don Islands) seven to nine weeks after the tsunami, however, discovered only small changes in coastal morphology and
a limited amount of dislocated sediments, restricted to the lower meters of the tsunami waves. This is in striking contrast
to many paleo-tsunami's events of the Atlantic region. Explanations for this discrepancy are sought in:
a. Mechanics of the earthquake. A rather slow shock impulse on the water masses over the very long earthquake zone,
b. Shallow water in the earthquake zone, and
c. Bathymetry of the foreshore zone at the impacted sites. Shallow water west of Thailand has diminished wave energy significantly.
The differences in geomorphological and sedimentological signatures of this tsunami compared with many paleo-tsunami worldwide
makes it unsuitable to be used as a model for old and future tsunami imprints by an event of this extreme energy and extension. 相似文献
In an attempt to date a palaeolandslide that took place along the Baga Bogd Massif, in Mongolia, the infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) method has been applied to lacustrine silty sediments directly overlying the landslide mass. The IRSL age estimates obtained on alkali feldspar grains (>40 μm) and polymineral fine grains (4–11 μm) provide a minimum age for the landslide event. The IRSL ages on alkali feldspars corrected for long-term fading using the protocol of Mejdahl (1988, 1989) suggest that the palaeolandslide occurred at the beginning of the Last Interglacial. These are in good agreement with the 10Be cosmogenic dates obtained on faulted and abandoned alluvial fans in the Gobi-Altay mountains. This study demonstrates for the first time that the IRSL dating method can successfully be applied for establishing landslide chronologies. 相似文献