Looking for data on past tsunamis for a better understanding of the natural phenomenon, a team of researchers has come upon evidence which suggests that the Indian coast was hit by a sea surge some 1,000 years back, before the tsunami of 2004 which caused massive destruction in the country.
The team from the Centre for Earth Sciences (CEaS) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) made its finding while pursuing studies in tsunami geology. The team undertook search at different sites, including the Andaman group of islands and Kaveripattinam on the Indian east coast to collect evidence and study how the geomorphic settings of these locations make them useful archives for paleo-tsunami deposits. Coastal strips affected by regular sea surges and by anthropogenic, or human, activities are unlikely to preserve tsunami sands whereas inland lakes and streams have a greater potential of preserving these records. Due to their greater inland penetration, tsunami deposits tend to occupy higher elevations as compared to storm deposits. Researchers found that locally-extensive occurrence of deposits such as sand, gravel and boulders, and their typically upward and inland presence are the two important characteristics of tsunami deposits.
The research, was publish the Journal of Asian Earth Science .
