Project Details
Projekt
Tsunami deposits in near-shore- and coastal waters of Thailand (TUNWAT)
Applicant
Dr. Klaus Schwarzer
Subject Area
Palaeontology
Term
from 2007 to 2012
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 50069540
As with all deposits not having a direct physical link to their causative sources, marine tsunami deposits must be distinguished from other deposits through regional correlation, dating and criteria for recognition within the deposits themselves. This project aims to identify the spatial extension of the impact of the December 26th, 2004 tsunami on shelf deposits in the Andaman Sea. Approaching tsunami waves are expected to erode shelf deposits while across-shelf sediment-loaded backwash should result in deposition afterwards. High spatial and high spectral remote sensing information will be used to identify tsunami induced onoffshore conduits of the backwash. Based on these results high resolution hydroacoustic surface and subsurface mapping will be carried out on selected profiles to identify tsunami related geomorphological and sedimentological changes of the seafloor. Coring of the upper layers of tsunami affected deposits, sedimentological analyses, dating by different radio isotopes, identifying tracer minerals and the application of PAHs and aliphatics as proxy to distinguish between anthrophogenic and biogenic sources will allow assessing the spatial extension of the backwash and the impact on changes in seafloor sediment distribution patterns. If this tsunami can be identified clearly, core material will be used to search for more tsunami deposits in the shelf architecture of the Andaman Sea.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
International Connection
Monaco, Poland, Thailand
