Boulder accumulations related to storms on the south coast of the Reykjanes Peninsula (Iceland)

Étienne, Samuel; Paris, Raphaël

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2009.02.008

Cited by 140 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…During the last decade, several boulder fields were described from Hawaii (Noormets et al 2004), Australia (Nott 2000;Scheffers et al 2008), Sumatra and Samoa (Etienne et al 2011), Japan (Goto et al 2010), Bahamas and Caribbean (Kelletat et al 2004;Scheffers 2006), the north-eastern Atlantic area (Williams and Hall 2004;Fichaut and Suanez 2008;Etienne and Paris 2010) and from coastal areas around the Mediterranean Sea (e.g. Mastronuzzi and Sansò 2004;Scicchitano et al 2004;Scheffers 2006;Mastronuzzi et al 2007;Maouche et al 2009;Pignatelli et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Rabat and Larache boulder fields; new examples of high-energy deposits related to storms and tsunami waves in north-western Morocco

Medina

Mhammdi²,

Chiguer

et al. 2011

Nat Hazards

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The coastal areas of south-west Iberia and north-west Morocco host numerous megaclast accumulations thought to have been emplaced by high-energy waves, namely by the major tsunami related to the 1 November 1755 AD earthquake. New observations were carried out along several transects from Rabat and Larache areas, using statistical methods applied to boulder size. The main results are (a) the boulders belong to two or three sources located within the Pleistocene-Holocene formations of both areas, but only from a single source at Harhoura; (b) the boulders in Larache are generally small, thin and show a normal polarity, whereas those of Rabat are much larger and are often overturned; (c) the directions of inclination of imbricate boulders are variable at Rabat (N, NW and W), whereas they are constant in Larache (WNW); (d) the blocks were displaced for distances up to 150 m in Rabat, while the displacement of the Larache boulders was stopped by the MHW cliff; (e) the hydrodynamic equations suggest that tsunami waves, with maximum amplitudes of 5-11 m in Rabat and 4.5 m in Larache, were responsible for the displacement of the largest boulders, whereas storms may have displaced smaller ones.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Rabat and Larache boulder fields; new examples of high-energy deposits related to storms and tsunami waves in north-western Morocco

Medina

Mhammdi²,

Chiguer

et al. 2011

Nat Hazards

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“…Imbrication of flattened clasts in hurricane ridges was also observed by McKee (1959), Baines et al (1974) and Spiske and Jaffe (2009). Bluck (1967) argues that imbrication is the result of multiple wave run up, and that such conditions typically prevail during storm surges during which thousands of waves wash ashore (e.g., Williams and Hall, 2004;Etienne and Paris, 2010;Weiss, 2012). These conditions do not occur during tsunami inundation.…”

Section: Implications Given By Internal Sedimentary Structures and Rementioning

confidence: 67%

“…The capacity of storms to form coarse-clast ridges is an important criterion that allows the distinction from tsunami emplaced coarse-clast deposits (e.g., Etienne and Paris, 2010;Paris et al, 2011). This is because the organization (e.g., imbrication) of such a ridge requires multiple reworking by waves rather than the impact of a single tsunami wave front (e.g., Williams and Hall, 2004;Etienne and Paris, 2010).…”

Section: Implications Given By Morphology and Clast Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is because the organization (e.g., imbrication) of such a ridge requires multiple reworking by waves rather than the impact of a single tsunami wave front (e.g., Williams and Hall, 2004;Etienne and Paris, 2010). The coral-rubble ridge on the central northern shore of Anegada comprises several characteristics typical for such presumably storm emplaced ridges, such as a clast-supported fabric with hardly any sandy material in between, a dominant fraction of well-rounded and incrusted reef-rubble clasts, imbrication of flat clasts, and an abrupt landward termination (e.g., McKee, 1959;Baines et al, 1974;Morton et al, 2006Morton et al, , 2008Richmond and Morton, 2007;Spiske and Jaffe, 2009).…”

Section: Implications Given By Morphology and Clast Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A coral-rubble ridge as evidence for hurricane overwash, Anegada (British Virgin Islands)

Spiske¹,

Halley

2014

Adv. Geosci.

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Abstract.A coral-rubble ridge fringes part of the north shore of Anegada, a low-lying island in the northern Caribbean. Both historical reports and the geological record underline its vulnerability to tsunami and hurricanes. In this study we document the sedimentary characteristics of a coral-rubble ridge, which extends discontinuously along 1.5-1.8 km of chiefly north-facing shores at Soldier Wash. The ridge is less distinctive and appears only in patches along the west-facing shoreline at Windless Bight, where the wave regime is calmer. It is located ca. 8 m from the fair-weather shore, has a maximum width of 15 m and a maximum thickness of 0.8 m. The lower seaward-facing slope of the ridge is relatively flat, probably due to successive reworking, whereas the upper seaward slope is steep and partly displays avalanching faces. The landward flank is gently sloping and terminates abruptly. The ridge is mainly composed of well-rounded, encrusted and bored coral rubble (average diameter of 16 cm) that has been reworked in the shallow marine environment prior to transport. Only a few pieces of angular beach rock and karstified Pleistocene limestone are incorporated. The components build a clast-supported framework. No sand is present in the interstices. Imbrication of flat clasts indicates a deposition during landward bed load transport. The ridge morphology, composition and related hydrodynamic conditions during its emplacement are typical for coral-rubble ridges deposited by hurricane-induced storm surges. In comparison, nearby evidence for tsunami inundation is very different because the tsunami-transported coral boulders on Anegada are much bigger (2 m) than the biggest components in the ridge, they are deposited much farther inland (up to 1.5 km), and the corals seem to have been freshly broken out of the reef by the tsunami.The age of the ridge is difficult to estimate. The dark grey surface of the ridge is caused by bioweathering by endolithic organisms that takes tens of years and may give a very rough estimate of the minimum age of the ridge.Storms and related surges that built the ridge were likely stronger than 2010 hurricane Earl, which attained category 4 north of the island. Earl was able to slightly rework the lower seaward part of the ridge, but transported only few and smaller pieces of coral rubble and sand onshore. Therefore, the coral-rubble ridge found at the north shore of Anegada may imply that the island is vulnerable to hurricane-induced surges of greater impact (in relation to storm path and intensity) compared with the any of the recently documented storms which were only able to rework the ridge.

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“…While there is no ambiguity for observations of recent tsunamis (Goff et al, 2006;Goto et al, 2007), large boulder accumulations may be associated with historic and prehistoric events related to tsunamis (Nott, 2000;Mastronuzzi and Sansò, 2000;Williams and Hall, 2004;Mastronuzzi et al, 2007;Maouche et al, 2009;Paris et al, 2009). Nevertheless, we cannot rule out the possibility of transport by storms (Barabano et al, 2010), and some recent case studies show the role of storm waves in forming boulder accumulations worldwide (Noormets et al, 2002;Nott, 2004;Goto et al, 2009Goto et al, , 2011Suanez et al, 2009;Etienne and Paris, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

First evidence of accumulation of mega boulders on the Mediterranean rocky coast of Provence (southern France)

Vella

Demory

Canut

et al. 2011

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. An accumulation of boulders was recently discovered along the rocky coast of the Gulf of Fos located in Provence, in an area exposed to a south-westerly wave regime. The coast around this locality forms the western extremity of the calcareous Nerthe range between Marseille and the Rhône Delta. Several mega blocks are scattered to a distance of 30 m behind the coast line. The largest block (33.5 tonnes) has been transported about 39 m inland, up to about 2 m a.s.l. On the Mediterranean coast, the origin of such blocks is often attributed to tsunami-generated waves, but in the case examined here, although the origin is unclear, the differences in surface state between boulders indicates several events generated by south-westerly storms. Radiocarbon dating on several different shells collected from seven different boulders yields a wide dispersion of ages ranging from 4000 BP to the Modern Period. The differences in surface appearance, as well as the differences of fauna conservation and surface coloration, in some cases in a very fresh state, along with the dispersion of radiocarbon ages, suggest that historic storm events have affected these megablocks.

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Boulder accumulations related to storms on the south coast of the Reykjanes Peninsula (Iceland)

Cited by 140 publications

References 39 publications

The Rabat and Larache boulder fields; new examples of high-energy deposits related to storms and tsunami waves in north-western Morocco

The Rabat and Larache boulder fields; new examples of high-energy deposits related to storms and tsunami waves in north-western Morocco

A coral-rubble ridge as evidence for hurricane overwash, Anegada (British Virgin Islands)

First evidence of accumulation of mega boulders on the Mediterranean rocky coast of Provence (southern France)

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