Grain size, 14C age, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of sediments indicate possible tsunami deposits on the southern coast of Java near Pangandaran and Adipala. Previous studies that have described known recent and paleotsunami deposits were used for comparison. Fining-upward grain size trends, interbedded sand and mud, sediment composition, and trends in heavy mineral abundances are among the characteristics used for tsunami deposit identification. At Batu Kalde, an archaeological site south of Pangandaran, a layer of aragonitic sand with marine fossils was found atop a layer of archaeological fragments at an elevation of ~2-5 m. It is likely this layer was deposited by a tsunami, potentially generated by a mega-thrust earthquake. Archaeological material remains suggest that the tsunami occurred ~1300 years ago. A bivalve with an age of 5584-5456 cal YBP was buried within the deposit, perhaps long after its death. At Goa Panggung, a cave east of Batu Kalde, fining-upward grain size trends, composition of sediments, and radiocarbon ages suggest the presence of at least one tsunami deposit. A 5040-4864 cal YBP piece of charcoal overlying modern organic matter suggest that the tsunami first scoured the cave floor, reworking existing material and making interpretation difficult. At Adipala, in western Central Java, fining-upward grain size, upward decrease in heavy mineral abundances, and lateral continuity of sand layers revealed the existence of two possible tsunami deposits buried within the sediments in a swale ~1.6 km from the ocean. Age of the deposits is undetermined.

A key goal of tsunami research is to quantitatively reconstruct flow parameters from paleotsunami deposits in order to better understand the geohazards of coastal areas. These reconstructions rely on grain-size and thickness measurements of tsunami deposits, combined with simple models that allow an inversion from deposit characteristics to wave characteristics. I conducted flume experiments to produce a data set that can be used to evaluate inversion models for tsunami deposition under controlled boundary conditions. Key variables in the flume experiments are sediment grain-size distribution, flow velocity and depth, and depth of water ponded in the flume before the tsunami bore was released. Physical experiments were run in a 32 m-long outdoor flume at The University of Texas at Austin. The flume has a head box with a specialized mechanical lift gate that allows instantaneous release of water to create a bore. Various sediment mixtures (silt to very coarse sand) are introduced to the upstream end of the channel as a low dune positioned just below the lift gate. The bore entrained the sediment mixture, producing an unambiguous suspension-dominated deposit in the downstream half of the channel. Deposits were sampled for grain-size and thickness trends. The experimental results capture characteristics of many recent and paleotsunami deposits, including consistent fining in the transport direction. In addition to overall fining, trends in deposit sorting and coarse (D95) and fine (D10) fractions reveal the importance of sediment-source grain-size distribution on tsunami deposit attributes. / text

Sismotectonique, paléotsunami et le tsunami scénarios sont examinés sur la côte du Nord de l'Égypte dans le cadre du tsunami européen ASTARTE projet et le projet IMHOTEP français-égyptiens. La géologie, la géomorphologie, séismicité, des mécanismes focaux, l'inversion de stress calculée et des données GPS utilisée pour identifier le régime de stress de jour présent des zones actives et les zones de tsunamigène. Tranchées et carottes ont été creusées à deux sites. Le balayage de radiographie, la sensibilité magnétique, l'analyse de taille de grain, l'échantillonnage, macrofossile détections, total des matériaux organiques et inorganiques et la datation au carbone est effectuée pour identifier les signatures tsunami. La couche sablonneuse blanche de haute énergie riche en fossiles retravaillés est corrélée avec le 21 juillet 365 dans le Kefr Saber. Les quatre couches sédimentaires de haute énergie à l'El Alamein sont corrélées les tsunamis historiques de 1600 avant J.C., le 21 juillet 365, 8 août 1303, le 24 juin 1870. / Seismotectonic, paleotsunami deposits and tsunami scenarios are investigated along the north coast of Egypt in the framework of the tsunami ASTARTE European and the French-Egyptian IMHOTEP projects. The geology, geomorphology, seismicity, focal mechanisms, calculated stress inversion, and GPS data were used to identify the present day stress regime of the main active zones and the tsunamigenic zones. Trenches and cores were dug in Kefr Saber and EL Alamein sites. X-ray scanning, magnetic susceptibility, grain size analysis, sampling, macrofossil detections, XRD analysis, total organic and inorganic matter measurements and carbon dating are carried out to identify the paleotsunami signatures. The high-energy white sandy layer rich in reworked fossils at Kefr Saber are correlated with 21 July 365, while the four characteristic high-energy sedimentary layers at the El Alamein site are correlated with the historical tsunami events of 1600 BC, 21 July 365, 8 August 1303, and 24 June 1870.