Are inundation limit and maximum extent of sand useful for differentiating tsunamis and storms? An example from sediment transport simulations on the Sendai Plain, Japan

Watanabe, Masashi; Goto, Kazuhisa; Bricker, Jeremy D.; Imamura, Fumihiko

doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2017.12.026

Cited by 31 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Generally, scientists assume that wind wave-driven runup cannot reach those limits (e.g., Cox et al, 2018). Furthermore, geologists characterize deposits based on the hydrodynamic differences between tsunamis and storm, which create distinctive sedimentary patterns (Mamo et al, 2009;Switzer & Jones, 2008;Tuttle et al, 2004;Watanabe et al, 2017Watanabe et al, , 2018. Nevertheless, recent observations of apparent infragravity (IG) dominated flooding during storm and swell events appear very tsunami-like due to the generated extreme runup (Roeber & Bricker, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tsunami versus Infragravity Surge: Comparison of the Physical Character of Extreme Runup

Montoya

Lynett

2018

Geophysical Research Letters

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Recent observations of energetic infragravity (IG) flooding events, such as those in the Philippines during Typhoon Haiyan, suggest that IG surges may approach the coast as breaking bores with periods of minutes: a very tsunami‐like characteristic. Energetic IG waves have been observed in various locations around the world and have led to loss of lives and damages to property. In this study, a comparison of overland flow characteristics between tsunamis and energetic IG wave events is presented. In general, whenever the tsunamis and energetic IG waves have similar runup, tsunamis tend to generate greater flow depths and longer flood durations than IG. However, flow velocities and Froude number are larger for IG primarily due to bore‐bore capture. This study provides a statistical and physical discriminant between tsunami and IG, such that in areas exposed to both, a proper interpretation of overland transport, deposition, and damage is possible.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tsunami versus Infragravity Surge: Comparison of the Physical Character of Extreme Runup

Montoya

Lynett

2018

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…This is because, in some cases, it is possible that such deposits might also be explained by unusually large‐scale storm surges (e.g. Morton et al ., ; Pilarczyk et al ., ; Soria et al ., ; Watanabe et al ., , ). In this study, it is also difficult to determine whether PL‐b was formed by a past tsunami or storm surge based solely on its distribution and sedimentological characteristics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redeposition of volcaniclastic sediments by a tsunami 4600 years ago at Kushima City, south‐eastern Kyushu, Japan

et al. 2019

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The Hyuga‐nada Sea, south‐eastern Kyushu, Japan, is located between a strong (Nankai Trough) and a weak interplate coupling zone (Ryukyu Trench). Over the past 400 years this area has only experienced Magnitude 7·5 earthquakes or smaller and associated small‐scale tsunamis. However, this short historical record most likely does not include the full range of high magnitude, low frequency giant earthquakes that might have occurred in the region. Thus, it is still unclear whether giant earthquakes and their associated tsunamis have occurred in this region. This paper reports on a prehistoric tsunami deposit discovered in a coastal lowland in south‐eastern Kyushu facing the Hyuga‐nada Sea. There is a reddish‐brown pumiceous layer preserved in a non‐marine, organic‐rich mud sequence obtained from onshore sediment cores. This layer is recognized as the ca 4600 year old Kirishima‐Miike tephra (that is now placed around 4500 years ago) sourced from Mount Kirishima, southern Kyushu. Another whitish pumiceous layer is evident below the Kirishima‐Miike tephra in almost all of the sediment cores. A relatively high percentage of marine and brackish diatoms is recorded within this lower pumiceous layer (but not in the surrounding muds or in the overlying Kirishima‐Miike tephra), indicating a marine or beach sediment source. Plant material obtained from organic‐rich mud immediately below the event layer was dated to ca 4430 to 4710 cal yr bp, providing a limiting‐maximum age for this marine incursion event. The presence of marine diatoms below the event layer is probably explained by pre‐seismic subsidence. An absence of the resting spore of the planktonic brackish diatom Cheatoceros and the appearance of the freshwater diatom Eunotia serra immediately above the event layer probably represents a marked change to a relatively low‐salinity environment. Assuming that there were no significant local geomorphological changes, such as drainage obstruction caused by formation of a new barrier spit, it is considered that co‐seismic or immediate post‐seismic uplift are the most likely explanations for this notable environmental change. Based on the crustal movements noted before and after the marine incursion, this event is interpreted here as an earthquake‐generated tsunami. Moreover, because of these notable seismic crustal movements the tsunamigenic earthquake probably occurred immediately offshore of the study site.

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“…However, Watanabe et al . () examined the quantitative difference in the distribution of tsunami and storm deposits based on numerical simulations of inundation and sediment transport due to tsunami and storm events on the Sendai Plain (Japan) and concluded that the calculated distance from the shoreline inundated by the 2011 Tohoku‐oki tsunami was smaller than that inundated by storm surges from hypothetical typhoon events. Watanabe et al .…”

Section: Discrimination Of Tsunami Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Watanabe et al . () suggested that in the case of gently sloping coasts the inundation limit of storm surges may be further inland than that of tsunamis. These authors suggested the use of the total volume of sediment deposited to differentiate tsunami and storm deposits.…”

Section: Discrimination Of Tsunami Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Typically, tsunami deposits extend further inland than storm deposits in the case of 'similar' wave heights at the coast. However, Watanabe et al (2018) examined the quantitative difference in the distribution of tsunami and storm deposits based on numerical simulations of inundation and sediment transport due to tsunami and storm events on the Sendai Plain (Japan) and concluded that the calculated distance from the shoreline inundated by the 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami was smaller than that inundated by storm surges from hypothetical typhoon events. Watanabe et al (2018) suggested that in the case of gently sloping coasts the inundation limit of storm surges may be further inland than that of tsunamis.…”

Section: Discrimination Of Tsunami Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tsunami deposits: Present knowledge and future challenges

Costa

Andrade

2020

Sedimentology

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Tsunami deposits are the primary source of information on (past) large tsunami events and thereby are crucial for accurate hazard assessments. Tsunami deposits studies have developed over the last three decades, but this is still a young geoscience discipline. Following the 5th International Tsunami Field Symposium in 2017 an opportunity arose to publish a Special Issue focusing on present knowledge and future research challenges. This paper aims to briefly review current state‐of‐the‐art research, summarizing major findings and gathering relevant works that describe the progress achieved over the last three decades. In this paper the relevance of tsunami deposits, their peculiar sedimentary characteristics and their differentiation from other high energy events are presented. Especially over the last decade an incredibly high number of studies have been published on tsunami deposits, many of which are of a high quality and provide detailed literature reviews. Some of these studies represent the current progress discussed here. Challenges are also introduced, to spur a discussion on future scientific questions that can and should be addressed by tsunami geoscientists. Coupling onshore–offshore records is an area where tsunami geoscience faces some of its major challenges. Moreover, the application of non‐destructive high‐resolution techniques to study the internal structure and composition of tsunami deposits can also provide an opportunity to further examine deposits, and from this derive physical parameters of the forcing mechanism. Another topic is better understanding of the erosional signature of tsunami events and a continuation of the effort to better incorporate age‐estimation methods by developing more accurate dating methodology. Finally, there is also the need for the improvement of empirical, forward and regressive numerical models to better contribute to the characterization of tsunami events.

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Are inundation limit and maximum extent of sand useful for differentiating tsunamis and storms? An example from sediment transport simulations on the Sendai Plain, Japan

Cited by 31 publications

References 41 publications

Tsunami versus Infragravity Surge: Comparison of the Physical Character of Extreme Runup

Tsunami versus Infragravity Surge: Comparison of the Physical Character of Extreme Runup

Redeposition of volcaniclastic sediments by a tsunami 4600 years ago at Kushima City, south‐eastern Kyushu, Japan

Tsunami deposits: Present knowledge and future challenges

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