Paleotsunami Study in Indonesia: trigger, problem and methods
Aswan, Yahdi Zaim, Yan Rizal, Nurcahyo Indro Basuki, Mika Rizki Puspaningrum, Nur Rochim
Geology Department, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Jl. Ganesha 10 Bandung, Indonesia (40132); email: aswan_gl[at]gc.itb.ac.id, +62-85314001580
Abstract
Several major tsunami events in Indonesia, such as in Aceh, Pangandaran, Palu and Banten areas, have raised our awareness of the importance of paleotsunami deposits study, especially in relation to the determination of their occurrence time intervals. The Palu and Banten tsunami events have given new perception to the community that tsunami waves can be caused not only by earthquakes but also by landslides (or underwater landslides). One of the problems faced in paleotsunami deposits study is that their sediment show some similarities to those of storm deposits. Another problem is to determine whether the deposits are related to earthquake-induced or landslide-induced tsunamis; hence, it is important to study their characteristics, respectively. Age of tsunami-derived material sedimentation is critical for estimation of tsunami event time intervals in a particular region. Several alternative age determination methods will be discussed in this study, taking into account the estimated age of the tsunami deposits.
Keywords: paleotsunami, deposit, storm, landslides, age
Topic: Coastal Degradation and Coastal Hazard