The paleogeodesy and tsunami group employ both field-based methods (stratigraphic mapping, sediment descriptions, surveying) and laboratory-based methods (particle size, geochemical, and diatom analyses) to characterize coastal sedimentary sequences and identify evidence of sudden coseismic subsidence or uplift of the coastline and/or anomalous sand beds that may represent past tsunami inundation. Earthquake and tsunami chronologies are developed through radiocarbon, 137Cs, and OSL dating.
The lab group is one of the only academic labs to specialize in diatom-based subduction zone paleogeodesy, an approach that is particularly valuable for quantifying coseismic land-level change across sharp stratigraphic contacts and identifying anomalous sand beds deposited by tsunamis over centennial and millennial timescales.
The lab group is one of the only academic labs to specialize in diatom-based subduction zone paleogeodesy, an approach that is particularly valuable for quantifying coseismic land-level change across sharp stratigraphic contacts and identifying anomalous sand beds deposited by tsunamis over centennial and millennial timescales.
