Northwest Sumatra and Offshore Islands Field Survey after the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

Abstract

An International Tsunami Survey Team ITST conducted field surveys of tsunami effects on the west coast of northern and central Sumatra and offshore islands 3–4 months after the 26 December 2004 tsunami. The study sites spanned 800 km of coastline from Breuh Island north of Banda Aceh to the Batu Islands, and included 22 sites in Aceh province in Sumatra and on Simeulue Island, Nias Island, the Banyak Islands, and the Batu Islands. Tsunami runup, elevation, flow depth, inundation distance, sedimentary characteristics of deposits, near-shore bathymetry, and vertical land movement subsidence and uplift were studied. The maximum tsunami elevations were greater than 16 m, and the maximum tsunami flow depths were greater than 13 m at all sites studied along 135 km of coastline in northwestern Sumatra. Tsunami flow depths were as much as 10 m at 1,500 m inland. Extensive tsunami deposits, primarily composed of sand and typically 5–20 cm thick, were observed in northwestern Sumatra. DOI: 10.1193/1.220772

Geoarchaeological tsunami deposits at Palaikastro (Crete) and the Late Minoan IA eruption of Santorini

“…Both types of impact were recently reported in relation to the catastrophic Sumatra tsunami in December 2004 (Liu et al, 2005;Synolakis and Kong, 2006;Jaffe et al, 2006;Moore et al, 2006;Goff et al, 2006). The effects of tsunami wave action will be very much influenced by the geomorphology of the coast and the material available for deposition.…”

“…The effects of tsunami wave action will be very much influenced by the geomorphology of the coast and the material available for deposition. A mere layer of sand is often the only trace of tsunami deposition (Minoura et al, 2000;Gelfenbaum and Jaffe, 2003;Scheffers and Kelletat, 2003;Jaffe et al, 2006;Dominey-Howes et al, 2006), but large boulders can also be deposited, if such a source is available (Scheffers, 2004).…”

The 2004 Tsunami in Aceh and Southern Thailand: Coastal Ecosystem Services, Damages and Resilience

“…Most of the earthquake-related uplift and subsidence became evident after the first earthquake, which is the second strongest on record globally (M w ≈ 9.2; Lay et al 2005). The island of Simeulue to the southwest of the epicentre was mostly uplifted (some southwestern areas of Simeulue slightly subsided) with a maximum uplift of 2.4 m recorded at Salaut Island north of Simeulue (Jaffe et al 2006, Meltzner et al 2006. The coastal areas of Sumatra northeast to the epicentre subsided.…”

“…3b). At Jantang on the west coast between Banda Aceh and Calang Jaffe et al (2006) estimated minimum subsidence at 0.6 m based on vegetation marks; at a near location they recorded a maximum subsidence of 2 m, but this may also be related by some extent to local scour. Estimates by Meltzner et al (2006) based mostly on analyses of GIS data put minimum subsidence at the Banda Aceh coast and along the west coast at below 20 cm, emphasising however the uncertainty of these estimates which are based on a relatively weak database.…”

Inventory of uncertainties associated with the process of tsunami damage assessment on buildings (SCHEMA FP6 EC co-funded project)

“…by Jaffe et al, 2006), the spatial resolution and accuracy of the DTM employed for conversions. When these details are missing, it is impossible for a reader to discriminate between the different types of measurements and to know the level of confidence of the observations.…”