HR: 09:15h
AN: T31C-06    [Abstracts]
TI: Historic Tsunami in the Indian Ocean
AU: Dominey-Howes, D
EM: ddominey@els.mq.edu.au
AF: Dept. Phyisical Geography, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109 Austria
AU: * Cummins, P R
EM: phil.cummins@ga.gov.au
AF: Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601 Austria
AU: Burbidge, D
EM: david.burbidge@ga.gov.au
AF: Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601 Austria
AB: The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami dramatically highlighted the need for a better understanding of the tsunami hazard in the Indian Ocean. One of the most important foundations on which to base such an assessment is knowledge of tsunami that have affected the region in the historical past. We present a summary of the previously published catalog of Indian Ocean tsunami and the results of a preliminary search of archival material held at the India Records Office at the British Library in London. We demonstrate that in some cases, normal tidal movements and floods associated with tropical cyclones have been erroneously listed as tsunami. We summarise interesting archival material for tsunami that occurred in 1945, 1941, 1881, 1819, 1762 and a tsunami in 1843 not previously identified or reported. We also note the recent discovery, by a Canadian team during a post-tsunami survey following the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, of archival evidence that the Great Sumatra Earthquake of 1833 generated a teletsunami. Open ocean wave heights are calculated for some of the historical tsunami and compared with those of the Boxing Day Tsunami.
DE: 0468 Natural hazards
DE: 4564 Tsunamis and storm surges
DE: 7230 Seismicity and tectonics (1207, 1217, 1240, 1242)
DE: 8170 Subduction zone processes (1031, 3060, 3613, 8413)
SC: Tectonophysics [T]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005