Tsunami science

Summary

This research records the diatoms (microalgae) from sedimentary deposits found at Little Pigeon Bay, Banks Peninsula, following the 2016 Kaikōura tsunami. The higher abundances of marine and brackish-marine diatoms are attributed to direct in-washing and reworking of open ocean water with sandy marine sediments from the sub-tidal and inter-tidal zones. Fractured and damaged diatoms indicate reworking, abrasion and erosion during incoming and outgoing tsunami waves.

This research provides an example from Aotearoa New Zealand to assist the identification and interpretation of tsunami-transported diatoms in future palaeo-environmental studies.

Emergency management relevance

This research contributes to our understanding of how tsunamis behave around Banks Peninsula, and their impacts.

Additional information

Authors: Darren Ngaru Kinga, Margaret Ann Harper, Shirley Pledger

Date: 2020

Funders: NIWA Strategic Science Investment Fund – Coastal Hazards and Inundation

Format: Published - Marine Micropaleontology

Reference: King, D. N., Harper, M. A., & Pledger, S. (2020). Mixed diatom floras in sedimentary deposits from the 2016 Kaikōura tsunami at Little Pigeon Bay, Aotearoa-New Zealand. Marine Micropaleontology, 161 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2020.101920