Database of Recent Tsunami Deposits

ABSTRACT

This report describes a database of sedimentary characteristics of tsunami deposits derived from published accounts of tsunami deposit investigations conducted shortly after the occurrence of a tsunami. The database contains 228 entries, each entry containing data from up to 71 categories. It includes data from 51 publications covering 15 tsunamis distributed between 16 countries. The database encompasses a wide range of depositional settings including tropical islands, beaches, coastal plains, river banks, agricultural fields, and urban environments. It includes data from both local tsunamis and teletsunamis. The data are valuable for interpreting prehistorical, historical, and modern tsunami deposits, and for the development of criteria to identify tsunami deposits in the geologic record.

First posted September 28, 2010