High tsunami frequency as a result of combined strike-slip faulting and coastal landslides
Nature Geoscience
By: Matthew J. Hornbach, Nicole Braudy, Richard W. Briggs, Marie-Helene Cormier, Marcy B. Davis, John B. Diebold, Nicole Dieudonne, Roby Douilly, Cliff Frohlich, Sean P.S. Gulick, Harold E. Johnson III, Paul Mann, Cecilia McHugh, Katherine Ryan-Mishkin, Carol S. Prentice, Leonardo Seeber, Christopher C. Sorlien, Michael S. Steckler, Steeve Julien Symithe, Frederick W. Taylor, and John Templeton
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Abstract
Earthquakes on strike-slip faults can produce devastating natural hazards. However, because they consist predominantly of lateral motion, these faults are rarely associated with significant uplift or tsunami generation. And although submarine slides can generate tsunami, only a few per cent of all tsunami are believed to be triggered in this way. The 12 January Mw 7.0 Haiti earthquake exhibited primarily strike-slip motion but nevertheless generated a tsunami. Here we present data from a comprehensive field survey that covered the onshore and offshore area around the epicentre to document that modest uplift together with slope failure caused tsunamigenesis. Submarine landslides caused the most severe tsunami locally. Our analysis suggests that slide-generated tsunami occur an order-of-magnitude more frequently along the Gonave microplate than global estimates predict. Uplift was generated because of the earthquake's location, where the Caribbean and Gonave microplates collide obliquely. The earthquake also caused liquefaction at several river deltas that prograde rapidly and are prone to failure. We conclude that coastal strike-slip fault systems such as the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault produce relief conducive to rapid sedimentation, erosion and slope failure, so that even modest predominantly strike-slip earthquakes can cause potentially catastrophic slide-generated tsunami - a risk that is underestimated at present.
Suggested Citation
Hornbach, M.J., Braudy, N., Briggs, R., Cormier, M., Davis, M.B., Diebold, J.B., Dieudonne, N., Douilly, R., Frohlich, C., Gulick, S.P., Johnson, H.E., Mann, P., McHugh, C., Ryan-Mishkin, K., Prentice, C.S., Seeber, L., Sorlien, C., Steckler, M.S., Symithe, S.J., Taylor, F.W., Templeton, J., 2010, High tsunami frequency as a result of combined strike-slip faulting and coastal landslides: Nature Geoscience, v. 3, p. 783-788.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | High tsunami frequency as a result of combined strike-slip faulting and coastal landslides |
| Series title | Nature Geoscience |
| Volume | 3 |
| Year Published | 2010 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| Publisher location | New York, NY |
| Contributing office(s) | Geologic Hazards Science Center |
| Description | 6 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Nature Geoscience |
| First page | 783 |
| Last page | 788 |