Tsunami propagation over a wide, shallow continental shelf caused by the Storegga slide, southeastern North Sea, Denmark

Abstract

Research Article| December 01, 2015 Tsunami propagation over a wide, shallow continental shelf caused by the Storegga slide, southeastern North Sea, Denmark M. Fruergaard; M. Fruergaard * 1Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière, University of Caen Lower Normandy, UMR CNRS 6143, 2–4 rue des Tilleuls, FR-14000 Caen, France2Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark *E-mail: [e-mail] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar S. Piasecki; S. Piasecki 3Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark4Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5–7, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar P.N. Johannessen; P.N. Johannessen 3Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar N. Noe-Nygaard; N. Noe-Nygaard 2Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar T.J. Andersen; T.J. Andersen 2Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar M. Pejrup; M. Pejrup 2Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar L.H. Nielsen L.H. Nielsen 3Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information M. Fruergaard * 1Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière, University of Caen Lower Normandy, UMR CNRS 6143, 2–4 rue des Tilleuls, FR-14000 Caen, France2Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark S. Piasecki 3Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark4Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5–7, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark P.N. Johannessen 3Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark N. Noe-Nygaard 2Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark T.J. Andersen 2Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark M. Pejrup 2Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark L.H. Nielsen 3Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark *E-mail: [e-mail] Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 13 Jul 2015 Revision Received: 25 Sep 2015 Accepted: 27 Sep 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online Issn: 1943-2682 Print Issn: 0091-7613 © 2015 Geological Society of America Geology (2015) 43 (12): 1047–1050. https://doi.org/10.1130/G37151.1 Article history Received: 13 Jul 2015 Revision Received: 25 Sep 2015 Accepted: 27 Sep 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation M. Fruergaard, S. Piasecki, P.N. Johannessen, N. Noe-Nygaard, T.J. Andersen, M. Pejrup, L.H. Nielsen; Tsunami propagation over a wide, shallow continental shelf caused by the Storegga slide, southeastern North Sea, Denmark. Geology 2015;; 43 (12): 1047–1050. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G37151.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The large Storegga slide, which occurred on the Norwegian Atlantic shelf ∼8150 yr ago, triggered a tsunami that has been identified in sediment deposits along the coasts of Greenland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands, Scotland, and the northernmost coasts of England, but hitherto not along the southeastern shores of the North Sea. It has generally been assumed that the shallow continental shelf of the North Sea attenuated and dissipated the energy of the tsunami before it reached those coastlines. We used radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating as well as stratigraphic, lithologic, chemical, and palynological analyses of sediment cores to identify tsunami deposits on the barrier island of Rømø located on the southwestern North Sea coast of Denmark. We show that tsunami sediments were deposited in a freshwater paleolake that is located ∼16 m below present-day mean sea level. The tsunami sediment run-up was between 1.5 m and 5.5 m above the contemporaneous sea level. Our results demonstrate that the Storegga slide tsunami propagated across the wide (>500 km) and relatively shallow (depth <95 m) continental shelf of the North Sea and resulted in run-up along adjacent coastlines. In contradiction to earlier theoretical studies, the coastline of the southeastern North Sea cannot be regarded as being sheltered from impacts of North Atlantic tsunami incidents. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.