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The Holocene Paleo-Tsunami History Of West Australia, S. R. Scheffers, A. Scheffers, D. Kelletat, Edward A. Bryant
The Holocene Paleo-Tsunami History Of West Australia, S. R. Scheffers, A. Scheffers, D. Kelletat, Edward A. Bryant
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
West Australian coastlines experienced several tsunamis in mid-Holocene times. To expand our knowledge about Holocene tsunami events in West Australia, the authors extended the previously studied spatial scale to include the central- and south-western coastlines. Several of the discovered events were mid- and young Holocene (≤1000 yr BP) tsunami impacts on the outer coast of the Cape Range Peninsula. Five hundred kilometres to the south between Cape Cuvier and Point Quobba, additional tsunami evidence exists on top of steep cliffs over a coastal stretch of 30 km. The sedimentary signature of two tsunamis is documented in this area by wide …
Reconnaissance Of Historic (Post-Ad 1000) High-Energy Deposits Along The Atlantic Coasts Of Southwest Britain, Ireland And Brittany, France, S. K. Haslett, Edward A. Bryant
Reconnaissance Of Historic (Post-Ad 1000) High-Energy Deposits Along The Atlantic Coasts Of Southwest Britain, Ireland And Brittany, France, S. K. Haslett, Edward A. Bryant
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Sand and gravel deposits from the Atlantic coasts of southwest Britain, Brittany and western Ireland are identified as potential indicators of historic (post-AD 1000) ocean-sourced high-energy events, such as storm surges and tsunami. This is an important historic period as it includes the climatic perturbations of the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, and also seismogenic events, such as the Lisbon tsunami of 1755. Ten new sites are identified from various coastal settings and dated using eight new radiocarbon dates alongside previously published data. Generally, sites do not appear to record multiple high-energy events, suggesting that either only …
Catastrophic Wave Erosion, Bristol Channel, United Kingdom: Impact Of Tsunami?, E. A. Bryant, S. Haslett
Catastrophic Wave Erosion, Bristol Channel, United Kingdom: Impact Of Tsunami?, E. A. Bryant, S. Haslett
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
On January 30, 1607, a massive wave from the ocean surged up Bristol Channel in the United Kingdom, flooding more than 500 km2 of lowland along 570 km of coast. It killed 2000 people and is considered Britain’s worst natural disaster on land. The wave occurred on a fine day and surprised inhabitants. Contemporary descriptions of the event have many of the characteristics of accounts of recent catastrophic tsunamis. Geomorphic evidence for tsunamis in the channel can be found in the form of transported and imbricated boulders, bedrock sculpturing on coastal platforms and ramps, and, at isolated locations, wholesale erosion …
Cosmogenic Mega-Tsunami In The Australia Region: Are They Supported By Aboriginal And Maori Legends?, Edward A. Bryant, G. Walsh, D. Abbott
Cosmogenic Mega-Tsunami In The Australia Region: Are They Supported By Aboriginal And Maori Legends?, Edward A. Bryant, G. Walsh, D. Abbott
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Mega-tsunami have affected much of the coastline of Australia over the past millennium. Such catastrophic waves have left an imprint consisting predominently of bedrock sculpturing of the rocky coastline and deposition of marine sediments to elevations reaching 130 mabove sea level. One of the largest of these events occurred in eastern Australia in the fifteenth century. This event may be related to the Mahuika impact crater found at 48.38 S, 166.48 E on the continental shelf 250 km south of New Zealand. A comet at least 500 m in diameter formed the crater. Maori and Aboriginal legends allude to significant …
Evidence For Historic Coastal High-Energy Wave Impact (Tsunami?) In North Wales, United Kingdom, S. Haslett, Edward A. Bryant
Evidence For Historic Coastal High-Energy Wave Impact (Tsunami?) In North Wales, United Kingdom, S. Haslett, Edward A. Bryant
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Understanding the contribution of high-energy events (e.g. storms, tsunami) to coastal evolution is currently much debated. Field investigations in North Wales on Anglesey and the Lleyn Peninsula have identified four sites where imbricated boulder trains occur that are discriminators of wave characteristics. Clast analysis indicates that storm wave heights (ca. 20 m), in excess of known extremes (5 to < 9 m), are required to transport them. A plausible explanation is the historic impact of tsunami (≥ 5 m high) that may have been caused either by a) a submarine slide situated offshore on the edge of the continental shelf or Rockall Trough, b) through seismic activity, as the region is one of the most seismically active regions of the British Isles, or c) impact of comet debris in the North Atlantic, with a candidate event around AD 1014. Field evidence suggests that such a high wave-energy event has not recurred along this coast within the last 400 years.
The Ad 1607 Coastal Flood In The Bristol Channel And Severn Estuary: Historical Records From Devon And Cornwall (Uk), S. K. Haslett, Edward A. Bryant
The Ad 1607 Coastal Flood In The Bristol Channel And Severn Estuary: Historical Records From Devon And Cornwall (Uk), S. K. Haslett, Edward A. Bryant
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
The 1607 coastal flood was a high magnitude event that may have been the result of either a storm surge or a tsunami wave(s). Contemporary accounts describe the impacts of the surge/wave at Appledore and Barnstaple in North Devon, and a 19'x' century comment exists for Hayle in. Cornwall. An examination restricted to these local accounts reveals that the surge altitude or tsunami run-up at Appledore, at the estuary mouth, exceeded 8.5 in OD (a surge/wave height in excess of 3.28 in, possibly lip to c. 7-8 in), and at Barnstaple, about 12 km up-estuary it reached 7.53 in OD …
Extreme Marine Inundations (Tsunamis?) Of Coastal Western Australia, J. Nott, Edward A. Bryant
Extreme Marine Inundations (Tsunamis?) Of Coastal Western Australia, J. Nott, Edward A. Bryant
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Along 2500 km of the Western Australian coast, prehistoric ephemeral marine inundations (storm surges or tsunamis) were much larger than those that occurred since European settlement. The evidence is in the form of shell and coral deposits atop 30-m-high headlands, sand deposits containing large boulders, shell and coral several kilometers inland, and fields of large imbricated boulders across shore platforms. The size of transported boulders and the altitude of these deposits suggest that tsunamis were responsible, not large storm waves. The orientation of boulders reveals paleowave directions. Radiocarbon dating of the deposits suggest three very large tsunamis along this coast …
Was The Ad 1607 Coastal Flooding Event In The Severn Estuary And Bristol Channel (Uk) Due To A Tsunami?, Edward A. Bryant, S. K. Haslett
Was The Ad 1607 Coastal Flooding Event In The Severn Estuary And Bristol Channel (Uk) Due To A Tsunami?, Edward A. Bryant, S. K. Haslett
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Extensive coastal lowlands known as Levels border the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel in southwest Britain. The Levels are the result of many years of salt marsh reclamation, apparently initiated during the Roman Period, through a programme of sea bank construction. The altitude of the Levels is typically between 5-6 m Ordnance Datum (OD), an altitude that is below the current Mean High Water Springs level in the Severn Estuary. Therefore, the Levels are vulnerable to flooding, not only from river sources, but also from the sea at times when sea banks are overtopped and/or breached. A number of significant …
Thermoluminescence Evidence For The Deposition Of Coastal Sediments By Tsunami Wave Action, D. M. Price, Edward A. Bryant, R. W. Young
Thermoluminescence Evidence For The Deposition Of Coastal Sediments By Tsunami Wave Action, D. M. Price, Edward A. Bryant, R. W. Young
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Changes in our coastline take on various forms and are the product of differing wave and aeolian processes. Of all these processes tsunami action surely represents the most rapid and violent agent wreaking devastation not only along the immediate shoreline but also extending many kilometres inland. Until now the main line of evidence supporting the deposition of sediments by this means has lain in the careful examination of the sedimentological record. This process is painstaking, costly and time consuming and then not necessarily conclusive. Thermoluminescence may offer an alternative line of evidence which may be taken as either confirmatory or, …
Morphology And Process On The Lateritic Coastline Near Darwin, Northern Australia, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant
Morphology And Process On The Lateritic Coastline Near Darwin, Northern Australia, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Coastal morphology near Darwin is controlled mainly by the gentle warping of a lateritic profile. In synclines the lateritic cuirasse forms extensive shore platforms, but on the anticlines the pallid zone of the weathering profile is eroded by waves, causing the undercut cuirasse to collapse. The dominant modern process on the shore platforms is solutional attack on the laterite, resulting in large depressions. Many of the platforms are covered by relict layers of cemented laterite cobbles transported by waves of high energy. C14 ages on carbonate cement between the cobbles show that one sheet was deposited at about 3700 BP …
Chronology Of Holocene Tsunamis On The Southeastern Coast Of Australia, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant, David M. Price, S. Y. Dilek, D. J. Wheeler
Chronology Of Holocene Tsunamis On The Southeastern Coast Of Australia, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant, David M. Price, S. Y. Dilek, D. J. Wheeler
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Recent research has revealed much geomorphological evidence for major tsunamis on the southeastern coast of Australia prior to British settlement in 1788. This discovery is important because this tectonically very stable coast was believed to be safe from the hazard of tsunamis because no major tsunami has occurred here in the last 200 years. But high level marine deposits of Holocene age along the coast south of Sydney show that tsunamis ran up to heights of >30 m, and at one site to heights probably >100 m. Developing a chronology for these catastrophic events is of great importance to the …
The Impact Of Tsunami On The Coastline Of Jervis Bay, Southeastern Australia, Edward A. Bryant, R. W. Young, D. M. Price, D. J. Wheeler, M. I. Pease
The Impact Of Tsunami On The Coastline Of Jervis Bay, Southeastern Australia, Edward A. Bryant, R. W. Young, D. M. Price, D. J. Wheeler, M. I. Pease
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
The Jervis Bay area offers а diversity of landforms that do not fit within con¬temporary views of coastal evolution. Field evidence indicates that catastrophic tsunami have had а significant impact on the coast and its hinterland both within and outside the embayment. Runup has overtopped cliffs 80 m above sea level and deposited chevron-shaped ridges to elevations of 130 m on the southern headland. Boulders, up to 6 m in diameter, have been deposited in an imbricated fashion against cliffs, on clifftops, and along shoreline ramps. Bedform features and the size of transported material indicate flow depths up tо 10 …
Late Pleistocene Marine Chronology Of The Gippsland Lakes Region, Australia, Edward A. Bryant, D. M. Price
Late Pleistocene Marine Chronology Of The Gippsland Lakes Region, Australia, Edward A. Bryant, D. M. Price
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Thermoluminescence dating is used to define the chronology of the coastal barriers of the Gippsland Lakes region, Australia. The area evidences а long history of marine deposition extending back со the Middle Pleistocene. However, the majority of Pleistocene barriers have formed since the Last Interglacial during two phases at 59 to 72 ka and 40 to 48 ka corresponding to interstadials. А third phase, with dates around the Last Glacial, appears со represent rapid shoreward movement of Late Pleistocene sediment from the shelf during the Holocene. Barriers have developed in an en echelon fashion seaward as the region has been …
Bedrock-Sculpturing By Tsunami, South Coast New South Wales, Australia, Edward A. Bryant, R. W. Young
Bedrock-Sculpturing By Tsunami, South Coast New South Wales, Australia, Edward A. Bryant, R. W. Young
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Bedrock-sculpturing resulting in s-forms is associated with catastrophic flooding in near- and subglacial environments produced by flow velocities approximating 10 m s-1. These velocities can also be produced by extreme tsunami generated by submarine landslides or comet impacts with oceans. Repetitive tsunami events during the late Holocene have overwashed headlands along the New South Wales south coast and produced two suites of bedrock-sculptured terrain. At the smaller scale, s-forms similar to muschelbrüche, v-shaped grooves and sichelwannen have developed on upslopes while broad potholes, flutes and transverse troughs have formed on headland crests. Cavitation features consisting of sinuous grooves, impact marks, …
Catastrophic Wave (Tsunami?) Transport Of Boulders In Southern New South Wales, Australia, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant, D. M. Price
Catastrophic Wave (Tsunami?) Transport Of Boulders In Southern New South Wales, Australia, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant, D. M. Price
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Deposits of large boulders above modern limits of storm waves along the coast of southern New South Wales record catastrophic wave action. The largest boulders that were moved weigh 80-90 tonnes, and the maximum height of wave action was 32 m. Hydraulic reconstruction indicates flow depths of 3.4 and perhaps > 4 m and velocities of 5.5 m/s to 10.3 m/s. Cavitation features on some rock surfaces support the estimates of maximum velocities. A remarkably limited range in the orientation of imbricated boulders along 150 km indicates that the deposits record a single event that approached from the SE. to SSE. …
The Imprint Of Tsunami In Quaternary Coastal Sediments Of Southeastern Australia, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant, David M. Price, E. Spassov
The Imprint Of Tsunami In Quaternary Coastal Sediments Of Southeastern Australia, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant, David M. Price, E. Spassov
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
TL and 14C dating has revealed anomalous chronostratigraphies at two sites on the coast of southern New South Wales, Australia, where Pleistocene sands have been driven onshore over Holocene estuarine deposits. Lack of solar bleaching of the TL component which occurs in normal swash zones, an identical TL age obtained from pumice incorporated in the Pleistocene deposit, and boulders scattered through the sand are indicative of tsunami impact. These observations prompt reassessment of the strictly uniformitarian models of barrier emplacement during the Holocene transgression both in eastern Australia and elsewhere in the world where tsunami are a possibility.
Catastrophic Wave Erosion On The Southeastern Coast Of Australia: Impact Of The Lanai Tsunamis Ca. 105 Ka?: Reply, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant
Catastrophic Wave Erosion On The Southeastern Coast Of Australia: Impact Of The Lanai Tsunamis Ca. 105 Ka?: Reply, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
No abstract provided.
Catastrophic Wave Erosion On The Southeastern Coast Of Australia: Impact Of The Lanai Tsunamis Ca. 105 Ka?, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant
Catastrophic Wave Erosion On The Southeastern Coast Of Australia: Impact Of The Lanai Tsunamis Ca. 105 Ka?, R. W. Young, Edward A. Bryant
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Sand barriers along the coast of southern New South Wales, dating from the last interglacial, have been almost completely destroyed, most probably by a catastrophic tsunami. Evidence for catastrophic wave erosion can also be traced to heights of at least 15 m above present sea level on coastal abrasion ramps. These erosional features lie above the range of effective erosion by contemporary storm waves, and cannot be attributed to either eustatic fluctuations or local uplift. Chronological evidence for the timing of the destruction of the last interglacial barriers suggests that tsunami generated by the submarine slide off Lanai in the …
Evidence Of Tsunami Sedimentation On The Southeastern Coast Of Australia, Edward A. Bryant, R. W. Young, David M. Price
Evidence Of Tsunami Sedimentation On The Southeastern Coast Of Australia, Edward A. Bryant, R. W. Young, David M. Price
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
In the coastal region, the highest magnitude storms cannot always be invoked to account for large-scale, anomalous sediment features. Any coastline in the Pacific Ocean region can be affected by tsunamis, including Australia which historically lacks evidence of such events. Geologically, tsunamis along the New South Wales coast have deposited a suite of Holocene features that consist of anomalous boulder masses, either chaotically tossed onto rock platforms and backshores or jammed into crevices; highly bimodal mixtures of sand and boulders; and dump deposits consisting of well sorted coarse debris. In addition many coastal aboriginal middens were disturbed by such events. …