Paleotsunami investigation in sediments of Demre Lagoon (Eastern Mediterranean)

2022-6
Şen, Serap
There are historical tsunami records in the Eastern Mediterranean region, which is geodynamically active and has several tsunamigenic sources. This study aims to investigate the geological traces of these tsunamis in Demre Lagoon. In this context, ITRAX micro-XRF core scanning was performed on four cores taken from the lagoon, and their radiographic images and elemental variations were revealed. In addition, grain-size analysis was performed on 3 of the cores, and the percentage variation of the detrital sediment coarser than 125 μm along the core was found. Foraminifera abundance along the same 3 cores was also determined. According to these approaches, 9 instantaneously deposited sedimentary events were detected. These events have been stratigraphically correlated throughout the cores. Radiocarbon dating was used to date the events, and the dates of the events were determined according to the age-depth model. Accordingly, 6 of the events match the historical tsunamis of 1870 CE, 1303 CE, 1033/1068 CE, 551 CE, 365 CE, and 148 or 115 CE. The other 3 events, approximately dated to the late 2nd, early 7th and early 10th centuries, were not correlated with any historical tsunami record. The tsunami deposits in Demre Lagoon are characterized by more homogeneous, denser, and finer-grained sediments, and depleted in Ti, Sr, Cl, and Br compared to the background sedimentation.

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Citation Formats
S. Şen, “Paleotsunami investigation in sediments of Demre Lagoon (Eastern Mediterranean),” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2022.