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A 1,000-year sediment record of tsunami recurrence in northern Sumatra

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  • Katrin Monecke

    (Kent State University, McGilvrey Hall, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
    Present addresses: Department of Geology and Planetary Science, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, 450 Schoolhouse Road, Johnstown, Pennsylvania 15904, USA (K.M.); Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic, Waterways and Coastal Engineering, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Nienburger Strasse 4, 30167 Hannover, Germany (W.K.).)

  • Willi Finger

    (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA), Gerechtigkeitsgasse 20, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland)

  • David Klarer

    (Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve, 2514 Cleveland Road East, Huron, Ohio 44839, USA)

  • Widjo Kongko

    (Badan Pengkajan dan Penerapan Teknologi (BPPT), Jalan Grafika, Yogjakarta, 55281, Indonesia
    Present addresses: Department of Geology and Planetary Science, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, 450 Schoolhouse Road, Johnstown, Pennsylvania 15904, USA (K.M.); Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic, Waterways and Coastal Engineering, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Nienburger Strasse 4, 30167 Hannover, Germany (W.K.).)

  • Brian G. McAdoo

    (Vassar College, 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, New York 12604, USA)

  • Andrew L. Moore

    (Earlham College, 801 National Road West, Richmond, Indiana 47374, USA)

  • Sam U. Sudrajat

    (Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Jalan Nasional, Meulaboh, NAD, Indonesia)

Abstract

Sands of time: Traces of recurring tsunamis on Indian Ocean shores Nothing known from written history gave reason to expect the Indian Ocean tsunami that took nearly a quarter million lives on 26 December 2004. That tsunami entered geological history by laying down centimetres of sand on the coastal plains that it overran. Jankaew et al. have now found such sedimentary records of earlier tsunamis preserved in the dark soils of marshy swales at Phra Thong, a barrier island in western Thailand. The cover shows an example from a pit dug there in 2007: the topmost light-coloured layer represents the 2004 tsunami, while a similar layer below records a tsunami in the fourteenth or fifteenth century AD. The ruler divisions are 10 cm long. In a separate study in Aceh, Indonesia, Monecke et al. found the 2004 sand sheet preceded by the deposits of three tsunamis from the past 1,200 years. One of these earlier deposits may match the medieval one found in Thailand. The combined findings suggest that the 2004 tsunami is neither the first nor the last of its kind.

Suggested Citation

  • Katrin Monecke & Willi Finger & David Klarer & Widjo Kongko & Brian G. McAdoo & Andrew L. Moore & Sam U. Sudrajat, 2008. "A 1,000-year sediment record of tsunami recurrence in northern Sumatra," Nature, Nature, vol. 455(7217), pages 1232-1234, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:455:y:2008:i:7217:d:10.1038_nature07374
    DOI: 10.1038/nature07374
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    Cited by:

    1. Heger, Martin Philipp & Neumayer, Eric, 2019. "The impact of the Indian Ocean tsunami on Aceh’s long-term economic growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    2. TszMan L. Fisher & Ron A. Harris, 2016. "Reconstruction of 1852 Banda Arc megathrust earthquake and tsunami," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 83(1), pages 667-689, August.
    3. Nicholas Ingwersen & Elizabeth Frankenberg & Duncan Thomas, 2023. "Evolution of Risk Aversion over Five Years after a Major Natural Disaster," NBER Working Papers 31102, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Edris Alam & Dale Dominey-Howes, 2016. "A catalogue of earthquakes between 810BC and 2012 for the Bay of Bengal," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(3), pages 2031-2102, April.
    5. Ingwersen, Nicholas & Frankenberg, Elizabeth & Thomas, Duncan, 2023. "Evolution of risk aversion over five years after a major natural disaster," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    6. Elizabeth Frankenberg & Cecep Sumantri & Duncan Thomas, 2023. "Understanding the Impacts of a Natural Disaster: Evidence from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami," NBER Working Papers 31132, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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