Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The problem of past megatsunami reconstructions on the southern Kurils

  • Published:
Russian Journal of Pacific Geology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tsunamis are reconstructed on the basis of distribution of tsunamigenic sediments in coastal lowland sections. Reflections of anomalous tsunamis are recorded in detail in the lacustrine–boggy sections of the Lesser Kuril Ridge, while only fragments of these sediments have been found on the islands of the Greater Kuril Ridge. The distribution and composition of the sediments left by recent large-scale tsunamis (locally documented 1994 and 1894 Shikotan tsunamis and transoceanic 2011 Tohoku tsunami) are analyzed for the purpose of understanding deposition features during large and megatsunamis. Interregional correlation of the events during the last ~2.5 kyr is carried out with estimation of their scales. It is established that large events took place in the 17th and 18th centuries and approximately at 1.0, 1.4–1.6, 1.7–1.8, and 2.0–2.1 ka ago. New data on large tsunami chronology since the Middle Holocene are presented. A unique natural peatland section with abundant tsunamigenic sand layers is studied on the Pacific side of Zelenyi Island (Rudnya Bay), where deposition continued through the entire Holocene. The largest tsunamis which happened on the South Kuril Islands during the last ~7.5 kyr and can be classed as megatsunamis are revealed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. R. V. Bulgakov, V. N. Ivanov, V. N. Khramushin, et al., “Study of paleotsunami traces in revealing tsunami zoning,” Fiz. Zemli, No. 2, 18–27 (1995).

    Google Scholar 

  2. L. A. Ganzei, N. G. Razzhigaeva, A. A. Kharlamov, and T. N. Ivel’skaya, “Extreme storms in 2006–2007 on Shikotan Island and their impact on the coastal relief and deposits,” Oceanology 50 (3), 425–434 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. L. A. Ganzey, N. G. Razzhigaeva, T. A. Grebennikova, and A. A. Kharlamov, “Traces of paleotsunami in the Holocene sections of Iturup Island (Kuril Islands),” in Geology of Seas and Oceans: Proceedings of 19th International Conference (School) on Marine Geology (GEOS, Moscow, 2011), Vol. 1, pp. 152–155 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  4. V. V. Ivanov, “Study of tsunami influence on the sedimentation on the basis of traces of October 4, 1994 tsunami,” in Manifestation of Definite Tsunami. 1993 and 1994 Tsunami on the Russia’s Coast (Geodynamics of Tectonosphere of the Pacific—Eurasia junction Zone) (IMGiG DVO RAN, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 1997), Vol. 8, pp. 119–128 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  5. E. D. Ivanova, Traces of the 2011 Japan Tsunami on the coast of the South Kuril Islands (results of microfaunal studies), in Geology of Seas and Oceans: Proceedings of 19th International Conference (School) on Marine Geology, Moscow, Russia, 2011 (GEOS, Moscow, 2011), Vol. 1, pp. 189–191 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  6. A. I. Ivashchenko, V. K. Gusyakov, V. A. Dzhumagaliev, et al., “The Shikotan Tsunami of October 5, 1994,” Dokl. Earth Sci. 348 (4), 693–699 (1996).

    Google Scholar 

  7. V. M. Kaistrenko, V. K. Gusyakov, V. A. Dzhumagaliev, et al., “Manifestation of October 4, 1994 tsunami on Shikotan,” in Manifestation of Definite Tsunami. 1993 and 1994 Tsunami on Russia’s Coast. (Geodynamics of Tectonosphere of the Pacific—Eurasian Junction Zone) (IMGiG DVO RAN, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 1997), Vol. 8, pp. 55–73 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  8. V. M. Kaistrenko, G. V. Shevchenko, and T. N. Ivel’-skaya, “Manifestation of 2011 Tohoku tsunami on the Russian Pacific coast,” Vopr. Inzh. Seismol. 38 (1), 41–64 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  9. A. M. Korotkii, T. A. Grebennikova, B. C. Pushkar’, et al., “Climatic Changes on Southern Far East in the Late Pleistocene–Holocene,” Vestn. Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, No. 3, 121–143 (1997).

    Google Scholar 

  10. B. V. Levin and M. A. Nosov, Physics of Tsunami and Related Phenomena in Ocean (Yanus-K, Moscow, 2005) [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  11. B. V. Levin, V. M. Kaistrenko, A. V. Rybin, et al., “Manifestations of the tsunami on November 15, 2006, on the Central Kuril Islands and results of the runup heights modeling,” Dokl. Earth Sci. 419 (1), 335–338 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. B. V. Levin, B. Fitzhugh, J. Bourgeois, et al., “Complex expedition on Middle Kuril Islands in 2007 (stage II),” Vestn. Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, No. 3, 111–121 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  13. T. K. Pinegina and N. G. Razzhigaeva, “Study of paleotsunami on the Far East coast of Russia,” in World Ocean. Volume 1. Geology and Tectonics of Ocean. Catastrophic Phenomena in Ocean (Nauch. mir, Moscow, 2013), pp. 488–498 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  14. N. G. Razzhigaeva, L. A. Ganzey, T. A. Grebennikova, and A. A. Kharlamov, “Holocene Manifestations of Paleotsunamis at the Lesser Kuril Arc (Zelenyi I.),” Vulkanol. Seismol., No. 4, 57–73 (2006).

    Google Scholar 

  15. N. G. Razzhigaeva, L. A. Ganzei, T. A. Grebennikova, et al., “Tsunami deposits of the Shikotan Earthquake of 1994,” Oceanology 47 (4), 579–587 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. N. G. Razzhigaeva, L. A. Ganzey, T. A. Grebennikova, et al., “The geological record of paleotsunamis striking Shikotan Island, in the Lesser Kurils, during Holocene time,” J. Volcanol. Seismol. 2 (4), 262–277 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. N. G. Razzhigaeva, L. A. Ganzey, T. A. Grebennikova, et al., “Manifestation of Holocene tsunamis on the Lesser Kuril Ridge,” Russ. J. Pac. Geol. 6 (6), 448–456 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. S. L. Solov’ev, and Ch. N. Go, Catalogue of Tsunamis on the Western Coast of the Pacific, (Nauka, Moscow, 1974).

    Google Scholar 

  19. S. L. Solov’ev, “Main data on tsunami on the USSR Pacific coast, 1937–1976,” in Study of Tsunami in Opean Ocean (Nauka, Moscow, 1978), pp. 61–136 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  20. O. N. Solov’eva, “Manifestation of Catastrophic Tsunami near the Russian Coasts,” in Natural Hazards in Russia. Volume 2. Seismic Hazards (KRUK, Moscow, 2000), pp. 231–234 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  21. L. B. Khershberg, E. V. Mikhailik, B. C. Pushkar’, and B. I. Vachaev, “Structure and composition of mudstone sequence of shelf of Southern Primorye and its development prospects,” Tikhookean. Geol. 32 (2), 90–99 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  22. B. F. Atwater, R. Furukawa, E. Hemphii-Haley, et al., “Seventeenth-century uplift in eastern Hokkaido, Japan,” The Holocene 14 (4), 487–501 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. J. Borrero, “Learning from earthquakes, the Great Sumatra Earthquake, and Indian Ocean tsunami, December 26, 2005,” Field Survey on Northern Sumatra, Special Earthquake Report, No. 1 (2005).

  24. E. Bryant, Tsunami: The Underrated Hazard (Springer Verlag, Heidelberg–New York, 2008).

    Google Scholar 

  25. A. G. Dawson and S. Shi, “Tsunami Deposits,” Pure Appl. Geophys. 157, 875–897 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. K. Goto, C. Chague-Goff, S. Fujino, et al., “New insights of tsunami hazard from the 2011 Tohoku–Oki Event,” Mar. Geol. 290, 46–50 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. A. Ya. Iliev, V. M. Kaistrenko, E. V. Gretskaya, et al., “Holocene tsunami traces on Kunashir Island, Kurile Subduction Zone,” in Tsunamis: Case Studies and Recent Developments (Springer Publ., New York, 2005), PP. 171–192.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  28. V. Kaistrenko, N. Razjigaeva, A. Kharlamov, and A. Shishkin, “Manifestation of the 2011 Great Tohoku Tsunami on the Coasts of the Kuril Islands: a tsunami with ice,” Pure Appl. Geophys. 170 (6–8), 1103–1114 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. A. M. Korotky, N. G. Razjigaeva, T. A. Grebennikova, et al., “Middle and Late–Holocene environments and vegetation history of Kunashir Island, Kurile Islands, Northwestern Pacific,” Holocene 10 (3), 311–331 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. B. T. Maclnnes, J. Bourgeois, and E. A. Kravchunovskaya, “Tsunami geomorphology: erosion and deposition from the 15 November 2006 Kurile Island Tsunami,” Geology 37, 995–998 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. N. Mori and H. Yanagisawa, “Survey of 2011 Tohoku earthquake tsunami inundation and runup,” Geophys. Res. Lett. 38, L00G14 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Y. Nakamura, Y. Nishimura, and P. S. Putra, “Local variation of inundation, sedimentary characteristics, and mineral assemblages of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki tsunami on the Misawa Coast, Aomori, Japan,” Sediment. Geol. 282, 216–227 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. F. Nanayama, A. Makino, K. Satake, R. Furukawa, Y. Yokoyama, and M. Nakagawa, “Twenty tsunami event deposits in the past 9000 years along the Kurile subduction zone identified in Lake Harutori-Ko, Kushiro City, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan,” Kojishinkenkyuho: koku, No. 1, 233–249 (2001).

    Google Scholar 

  34. F. Nanayama, K. Satake, R. Furukawa, et al., “Unusually large earthquakes inferred from tsunami deposits along the Kurile Trench,” Nature 424, 660–663 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. F. Nanayama, R. Furukawa, K. Shigeno, et al., “Nine unusually large tsunami deposits from the past 4000 years at Kiritappu Marsh along the southern Kurile Trench,” Sediment. Geol. 200, 275–294 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. F. Nanayama, K. Shigeno, Y. Shitaoka, and R. Furukawa, “Geological study of unusual tsunami deposits in the Kurile subduction zone for mitigation of tsunami disasters,” in The Tsunami Threat -Research and Technology, (InTech, Rijeka, 2011), pp. 283–298

    Google Scholar 

  37. Y. Nishimura, K. Hirakawa, Y. Nakamura, N. Miyaj, and M. Kamatsu, “Characteristics of historical tsunami events of Eastern Hokkaido, Japan, revealed by sedimentary faces of the tsunami deposits,” Abstr. IUGG, Sapporo, Japan, 2003 (Sapporo, 2003).

    Google Scholar 

  38. Y. Nishimura, Y. Nakamura, V. M. Kaistrenko, and A. Ya. Il’ev, “Tsunami deposits and tephra on Kunashir and Shikotan Islands, South Kunashir,” Chikyu Monthly 31 (6), 311–320 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  39. J. Bourgeois, “Historical and paleo-tsunami deposits on Kamchatka, Russia: long-term chronologies and long-distance correlations,” Natural Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. 1, 177–185 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. N. G. Razjigaeva, A. M. Korotky, T. A. Grebennikova, et al., “Holocene climatic changes and environmental history of Iturup Island, Kurile Islands, Northwestern Pacific,” Holocene 12 (4), 469–480 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. N. G. Razjigaeva, L. A. Ganzey, T. A. Grebennikova, et al., “Coastal sedimentation associated with the Tohoku Tsunami of 11 March 2011 in South Kuril Islands, NW Pacific Ocean,” Pure Appl. Geophys. 170 (6–8), 1081–1102 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. N. G. Razjigaeva, L. A. Ganzey, T. A. Grebennikova, et al., “The Tohoku Tsunami of 11 March 2011: the key event to understanding tsunami sedimentation on the coasts of closed bays of the Lesser Kuril Islands. Tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean: 2011–2012,” Pure Appl. Geophys. 171 (12), 3307–3328 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. N. G. Razzhigaeva, A. Matsumoto, and M. Nakagawa, “Age, source, and distribution of Holocene tephra in the southern Kurile Islands: evaluation of Holocene eruptive activities in the southern Kurile arc,” Quatern. Intern. 397, 63–78 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Y. Sakaguchi, “Warm and cold stages in the past 7600 years in Japan and their global correlation,” Bull. Dep. oGeogr. Univ. Univ. Tokyo, 15, 1–31 (1983).

    Google Scholar 

  45. K. Satake and B. F. Atwater, “Long-term perspectives on giant earthquakes and tsunamis at subduction zones,” Annual Rev. Earth Planet Sci. Lett. 35, 349–374 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. K. Satake, F. Nanayama, and S. Yamaki, “Fault models of unusual tsunami in the 17th century along the Kuril Trench,” Earth Planets Space 60, 925–935 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Y. Sawai, “Evidence for 17th-century tsunamis generated on the Kurile-Kamchatka subduction zone, Lake Tokotan, Hokkaido, Japan,” J. Asian Earth Sci. 20, 903–911 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Y. Sawai, H. Nasu, and Y. Yasuda, “Fluctuations in relative sea level during the past 3000 yr. in the Onnetoh estuary, Hokkaido, Northern Japan,” J. Quat. Sci. 17, 607–622 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Y. Takashimizu, A. Urabe, K. Suzuki, and Y. Sato, “Deposition by the 2011 Tohoku-Oki tsunami on coastal lowland controlled by beach ridges near Sendai, Japan,” Sediment. Geol. 282, 124–141 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. K. Tanigawa, Yu. Sawai, M. Shishikura, et al., “Geological evidence for an unusually large tsunami on the Pacific coast of Aomori, Northern Japan,” J. Quatern. Sci. 29 (2), 200–208 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Far East Institute of Geography, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Radio 7, Vladivostok, 690041, Russia

    N. G. Razzhigaeva, L. A. Ganzey & T. A. Grebennikova

  2. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nakhimovskii pr. 36, Moscow, 117997, Russia

    A. A. Kharlamov

  3. St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya nab. 7-9, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia

    Kh. A. Arslanov & A. Yu. Petrov

  4. Institute of Marine Geology and Geophysics, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Nauki 1B, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 693022, Russia

    V. M. Kaistrenko & A. O. Gorbunov

Authors
  1. N. G. Razzhigaeva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. L. A. Ganzey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. T. A. Grebennikova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A. A. Kharlamov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kh. A. Arslanov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. V. M. Kaistrenko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. A. O. Gorbunov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. A. Yu. Petrov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. G. Razzhigaeva.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © N.G. Razzhigaeva, L.A. Ganzey, T.A. Grebennikova, A.A. Kharlamov, Kh.A. Arslanov, V.M. Kaistrenko, A.O. Gorbunov, A.Yu. Petrov, 2017, published in Tikhookeanskaya Geologiya, 2017, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 37–49.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Razzhigaeva, N.G., Ganzey, L.A., Grebennikova, T.A. et al. The problem of past megatsunami reconstructions on the southern Kurils. Russ. J. of Pac. Geol. 11, 34–45 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1819714017010079

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1819714017010079

Keywords

Search

Navigation