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

摘要

The Tohoku tsunami of 11 March 2011 manifested in the region of the South Kuril Islands, although, as a rule, the runup heights in this region did not exceed 3 m. In closed bays that were covered with ice before the tsunami, the eroding capacity of tsunami waves was aggravated by the ice fragments they carried. Here, mud sheets formed, reaching up to 106 m inland. The 2012 studies have shown well-preserved tsunami deposits, evident 1.5 years after the event. A comparative analysis of tsunami deposits from the periphery and from the near-field area close to the tsunami source was performed; this was important for understanding the deposition mechanism during the event, as it had different strengths on different shores. The difference in run-up heights determined the considerable differences in erosion, sedimentation, distribution of tsunami deposits, the formation of sedimentary structures, grain-size composition, and diatom and foraminifera assemblages. The sources of the material also varied significantly from each other: the material came from offshore in closed bays located in the tsunami source periphery, while in the near-field region close to the epicenter, the most active erosion occurred in the inundation area. In the latter area, the main sources of sand were beaches and dunes, while soil erosion was the source of mud. Studies of the Tohoku tsunami on the coasts of the Lesser Kuril Islands demonstrated that mud layers in the sections of coastal lowlands in closed bays could contain preserved detailed geological records of paleotsunamis, even those with a small-height run-up. In the sections of coastal peatlands of closed bays on Shikotan Island, up to 7-9 layers of mud and silty sands were found, these can easily be traced for more than 500 m inland. The grain-size composition of the mud is similar to the deposits of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami. The marine origin of these deposits is confirmed by the diatom analysis data.