IDENTIFICATION OF ABRUPT COASTAL EVENTS: EARTHQUAKES, TSUNAMIS AND HURRICANES

The instrumental and historic records of earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes are too short to fully capture the spatial range and temporal occurrence of these rare but extremely destructive events. Obtaining detailed pre-historic records and the geomorphic and ecological impacts of these events is one means to assess future risk and potentially reduce socio-economic impacts. We employ a multi-proxy approach involving extensive use of micropaleontology to determine recurrence intervals and periodicity, and infer characteristics such as earthquake magnitude, tsunami/hurricane run-up, sediment provenance and wave form. We will use examples of earthquakes and tsunamis from the 2004 Indian Ocean event in Sumatra, Malaysia and Thailand, the July 17^th 2006 event in Java and the AD 1700 event in Oregon. We will also discuss the modern hurricanes of Katrina, Rita and Ike as well as prehistoric records from New England to examine the variability of deposits characteristics.