Prof.

Klaus Reicherter and Gösta Hoffmann

Geohazards: Coastal Disasters SpringerReference

Geohazards: Coastal Disasters

Definition
We define the term "hazard" as a potential source of harm, where "harm" is defined as the "injury or damage to the health
of people, or damage to property or the environment" following the definition as given by ISO/IEC (2014). The term "risk"
is defined as a "combination of the probability of occurrence of harm and the severity of that harm" (ISO/IEC, 2014).
Furthermore, the term risk may be expressed as a function of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. A geohazard is a
geological state that may lead to widespread damage presenting severe threats to humans, property, and the natural and
built environment. A coastal geohazard is a natural physical phenomenon usually associated with seacoasts but to a
limited extent also along lakeshores, where the initiating process of the disaster may originate at great distances from the
point of impact.

Introduction
There are numerous geohazards which affect coastal regions, including beach erosion, landslide/cliff collapse, wave
attack, flooding, and tsunamis. They are always related to the landward movement of water. These processes can be
either slow or fast and may be temporary or permanent in nature. Some hazards have meteorological causes (climatic
hazards, e.g., storms, Nicholls, 2004), whereas others may be driven by Earth's endogenous forces such as seismic
events (earthquakes and tsunamis, e.g., Atwater, 1987) and volcanic eruptions (e.g., Firth et al., 1996). Furthermore,
coastal hazards can be gravity induced (landslides/cliff collapse, e.g., Dawson et al., 2009; Del Río and Gracia, 2009).
Relative sea level changes may pose a hazard to many low-lying countries as do subsurface changes induced by
humans (e.g., due to groundwater extraction and associated settlement). As the coastal zone is a preferred area of
human settlement, there is always some exposure to coastal hazards. Coastal cities host many different kinds of
economically relevant infrastructure (e.g., harbors) and are often used for recreational purposes. Two percent of the
world's surface is defined as low elevation coastal zone (LECZ). McGranahan et al. (2007) defined the LECZ as a
contiguous area along the coast lower than 10 m above sea level that is inhabited by 10 % of the world's population.
Small and Nicholls (2003) estimate that around 1.2 billion people are living within 100 km of the coast throughout the
globe. In addition to urbanization, population growth within the coastal zone is expected to be more rapid than in other
areas in the near future. For example, Adger et al. (2005) calculate that more than 50 % of the world's population is likely
to live in coastal areas by 2030. The areas affected by coastal hazards directly depend on the topography; low-lying
countries such as the Netherlands or Bangladesh are particularly prone to the hazards caused by rising sea levels.
Cliff collapse and other types of mass movements are hazards when they occur close to settlements along cliff edges
(Dewez et al., 2013). Furthermore, beaches at the base of a cliffed coastline might be used for recreational activities
(Günther and Thiel, 2009). Mass movements occur if stability thresholds are crossed. Critical parameters are related to
meteorological conditions and to tide- and wave-controlled shoreface processes. Cliff collapse is a form of episodic
coastal retreat, and important parameters controlling the processes are mainly the lithology (including water content) and
structure. Frost action, in particular the number of freeze-thaw cycles, plays an important role in the weathering of
semi-consolidated rocks; the chalk cliffs of northern Europe is a good example of this (Duperret et al., 2002; Kuhn and
Prüfer, 2014). Bioerosion becomes an important agent, especially in the retreat of limestone-dominated coasts within the
tropics (Vita-Finzi and Cornelius, 1973; Taboroši and Kázmér, 2013).
Despite the immediate destruction by shock waves, earthquake-related coastal hazards are mainly attributed to coseismic
(crustal) uplift or subsidence as witnessed, e.g., during the 1964 Alaska earthquake (Plafker, 1969).
A further criterion to distinguish coastal hazards is the duration of time, which ranges from seconds for tsunami landfall to
thousands of years for relative sea level changes. Another important issue is to separate coastal hazards into local,
regional, and global hazards. All geohazards may cause significant loss of life and may have severe economic impacts. In
the following, extreme wave events caused by storm surges and tsunamis are discussed.

Extreme Wave Events

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Geohazards: Coastal Disasters SpringerReference

Extreme wave events can develop into a coastal hazard, and they primarily result from two fundamentally different
phenomena: storm surges and tsunamis. Whereas the intensity of such events is high, the frequency is usually low. The
major difference between these two natural phenomena lies in the energy source responsible for the piling up of water.
An earthquake-generated tsunami is the result of endogenous forces with the energy derived from the Earth's interior. A
storm surge, however, is fueled by exogenous forces; the energy that drives this process, which is ultimately derived from
the sun, is transmitted via the climate system onto the coast. In contrast to normal ocean waves, tsunami waves are
characterized by a longer wavelength (200-300 km) with periods from minutes to hours. The speed of a tsunami wave
within the deep sea reaches up to 800 km/h with a very low amplitude of less than 1 m. The amplitude increases in
shallow water (shoaling) as the wave gets compressed. A tsunami wave moves the entire water column which causes
refraction effects. Bryant (2005) notes 124 tsunami events as a result of 15,000 earthquakes for the period 1861-1948. In
general storm surges occur much more frequently than tsunami waves.

Storm Surges

Storm surges are long-wavelength, low-amplitude sea surface displacements resulting in super elevated water levels that
are over and above the regular astronomically forced highest water levels (high tides). Storm surges are climatically
driven phenomenon, accompanied with reduced atmospheric pressure. They are therefore surface gravity waves. The
low pressure results in the reduction of the vertical force on the sea surface and hence leads to a rise of the water level.
This phenomenon is also known as the "inverted barometer effect" (Wunsch and Stammer, 1997). A linear relationship
exists between atmospheric pressure and sea level. A sea level drop of 1 cm is observed with an increase of 1 mbar of
atmospheric pressure (Ross, 1854). Storm surges are short-term changes in water level. This is due to the presence of
wind which moves the low pressure system. The variations in sea level can be about ±15 cm.
The coastal hazards associated with storm surge impacts are coastal flooding, erosion, and salinization. The flooding of a
normally dry coastal zone occurs where there are large low-lying areas; hence flooding is especially severe in estuaries
and other coastal areas characterized by geologically young and unconsolidated sedimentary strata. The situation is
enhanced in cases of local land subsidence which may be induced by humans, e.g., due to excessive groundwater
extraction (Galloway and Burbey, 2011). Artificial drainage of swampy coastal areas, as practiced for centuries in the
Netherlands, leads to peat compaction and oxidization. As a consequence, the surface is lowered and the flooding
potential is amplified.
Wave impacts can result in significant erosion along the shore, a process which is sometimes amplified by additional
erosional agents such as floating debris (e.g., trees) and sea ice. In addition to the effects along the coastline, the water
level in rivers may rise. This is because severe weather conditions are often accompanied by extraordinary precipitation
events, which can cause a non-coastal flooding hazard. Coastal flooding in river mouths (especially in backwater areas)
may also occur without additional water from precipitation. This is because the base level changes during times of
storm-induced higher sea level. Coastal storms have an "event" character as they result in comparatively sudden coastal
changes and are the main reason for coastal retreat. This retreat is not a gradual and/or linear process, but the sum of
sporadic events and the intermittent movement of sediments. At least 70 % of sandy beaches around the world are
recessional (Bird, 1985; Schlacher et al., 2007).
Coastal storms are generated by low-pressure weather systems such as tropical cyclones (synonyms: hurricanes,
typhoons) as well as extratropical storms (low-pressure systems including blizzards). Extratropical cyclones form over
both land and sea, in contrast to tropical cyclones that only form over the sea. Cyclones rotate anticlockwise in the
Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere due to the Coriolis effect. A sea surface temperature
above 26 °C is one of the most important requirements for a tropical cyclone to form. Energy in the form of latent heat is
transferred from the ocean into the climate system by the condensation of water vapor. Frontal activity associated with the
interaction of warm and cold air masses is the main driving force in the formation of extratropical cyclones.
The severity of a storm surge is influenced by the wind conditions, the drag on the sea surface due to the wind fetch, the
timing of the tides, the wind speed, and also the duration of the event. Of equal importance is the orientation of the coast
relative to the storm path, as wind directed at a right angle causes the highest rise in water level. Furthermore, the storm
surge extent depends on the speed of movement of the pressure system, the topography, the shape of the coastline, and
the bathymetry.
The passing of an atmospheric pressure system and the associated storm surge activity may last from hours to days.
Extratropical cyclones are usually larger and longer lasting than tropical cyclones which are always non-frontal storms
(Gray, 1979). However, tropical cyclones are more severe as they contain more potential energy. The severity of the

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storm surge hazard increases if the situation persists over several tidal cycles, because the risk of flooding increases
significantly if high tide and storm surge coincide. Furthermore, the maximum height of the water level is controlled by
instantaneous water level changes caused by waves.

Tsunami

Tsunamis are the result of a large mass of water being displaced by different processes. Earthquake-induced tsunamis
have small wave heights offshore and very long wavelengths which can reach several hundred kilometers (line source
tsunamis). This is in contrast to tsunamis caused by mass movements (subaerial or underwater origin), volcanic eruptions
and explosions, glacier calvings, or meteorite impacts which have very high waves and very short wavelengths close to
the origin (point source tsunamis). More than 85 % of tsunamis have tectonic causes such as fault movements; 5 % are
caused by volcanic activity, 5 % by landslides, and 5 % by a combination of all other causes - impact tsunamis are very
rare (Rhodes et al., 2006). Eighty percent of all tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean, but other oceans and seas (like the
Mediterranean Sea) have also been affected by tsunamis. Tsunami evidence has also been documented on the
shorelines of large and deep lakes, such as Lake Geneva in Switzerland (Kremer et al., 2012). The speed of a tsunami
wave is calculated by the square root of the product of acceleration by gravity (9.8 m/s 2) and the water depth; in deep
water, the wavelength of the tsunami must also be taken into account. Extreme waves can also be induced by storms and
become tsunamis when approaching the coastline due to shoaling. These are then referred to as meteo-tsunamis
(Monserrat et al., 2006). Shoaling can result in the superposition of waves and a dramatic reduction in wave velocity. The
plural form is "tsunamis" or "tsunami."
A tsunami train is a series of waves, which are destructive when they make landfall. The first wave in the tsunami wave
train is often not the largest one and therefore leaves almost no deposits (or only in favorable setting) as the deposits are
usually reworked by following waves. The time interval between waves hitting the coastline varies (Fig. 1), but can be
around 10 min or more. Generally, three to four major wave landfalls can be documented in the sedimentary record. The
ecology and the geomorphology of coastlines are severely affected and modified during earthquake-induced tsunami
landfall.

Fig. 1
Tsunami wave train approaching the Japanese coastline after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake; note tsunami has already made landfall (
left; photo by Douglas Sprott is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0). Gauge data showing the wave train from the 1960 Chilean earthquake
tsunami along the Japanese coast (Onagawa) with tide data superimposed (right, modified from Atwater et al., 1999)

Reconstructing Paleo-storm and Tsunami Events

Coastal zone management and improved decision making in coastal planning and development depend on mitigation and
adaptation strategies. These should be applied to reduce the risks associated with geohazards because the hazards
themselves cannot be prevented (they are unavoidable by nature). The design of flood protection measures relies on
inundation statistics on frequency and duration of water levels above a specified elevation threshold (exceedance
probability statistics on extreme water levels). The risks can only be statistically assessed if recurrence intervals
(probability that harm will occur) are known and if the severity, as well as magnitude, of potential events can be quantified
(severity of harm). Knowledge of past extreme wave events is therefore essential for risk assessment, which also forms
the base of multi-hazard early warning systems. In the ideal case, statistical analyses rely on observed events and are
based on instrumental measurements. However, the period covered by instrumental data may not be statistically
significant, as extreme wave events typically have a low frequency (Wolman and Miller, 1960). Consequently, other
archives need to be made accessible and summarized in the form of catalogs and databases in order to extend the

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record into the past. Historical data are useful, especially if the flooding level can be correlated to a reference level such
as high water marks (Brázdil et al., 2006). Basic sources of documented data on floods might be found in written
description (e.g., Satake et al., 1996; Lau et al., 2010; Atwater et al., 2014). Uncertainties concerning the timing of the
event are usually low when using these descriptions; however, limitations arise because the maximum flooding level may
only be reconstructed if the landmarks that are described still exist and are identifiable. Hence, precision of dating and
magnitude commonly get more vague and uncertain with increasing event age in the pre-instrumental period. The
historical period is also often too short (Switzer et al., 2014). Therefore, for most areas, the archaeological and geological
records prove to be the only archives reaching back sufficiently long enough into the past to cover the worst-case
scenario which will have very long return periods. Event deposits can only be expected from the second half of the
Holocene as older deposits would likely have been eroded and reworked with fast sea level rise (Hoffmann and Lampe,
2007).

Paleo-storm Deposits

The sedimentary evidence left behind by a storm surge is referred to as "tempestite." Nott ( 2004) introduced the term
"paleotempestology" as the study of prehistoric storms. The identification of paleo-storm deposits along coastlines is
based on geomorphological and sedimentological work. There is the potential for both sedimentary and erosional
evidence. Paleo-storm deposits may form individual layers which differ from the coastal facies. Such sandy event
deposits are found as stratified, often shelly strata in back barrier lagoons and swamps where fine-grained sediments
usually accumulate (e.g., Switzer and Jones, 2008). The deposits are commonly tens of centimeters thick and usually
laminated due to individual wave pulse. Paleosoils are useful indicators in coastal profiles when overlain by a suspicious
deposit. This indicates a hiatus that covers at least the time of soil formation and underlines the event character of the
deposit. Geomorphological evidence of paleo-storms can be seen in coastal ridges and splays. Landward thinning sheets,
which appear as fan-shaped tongues in the coastal geomorphology, form as a consequence of the overtopping of dune
morphology and the breaching of barriers and berms along sandy coasts. Besides these fine-grained sandy deposits,
coarse-grained coastal deposits such as boulders have been described as built by tropical cyclones (e.g., Scheffers and
Scheffers, 2006). Cox et al. (2012) convincingly demonstrate extratropical storm activation of boulder deposits along the
west coast of Ireland. Another deposit associated with storm surges is wrack lines. These are composed of floatable
material. Although the preservation potential might be low, Hoffmann and Reicherter (2014) recently documented how
these deposits may be used to precisely date the flooding event. In general, reworking of older material along the shore is
common during storm surge impact, and this may hamper dating of the event deposits.

Paleotsunami

Tsunami action is mirrored in geological records and archives as phases of erosion, reworking, and redeposition leaving
unconformities and unusual sedimentary layers. Tsunamites or tsunami deposits are proof that past or prehistoric tsunami
events have occurred along coastlines or lakeshores. Several parameters obtained from recent or historical tsunamis are
used in paleotsunami research, the most important of which are the inundation distance and run-up height (Fig. 2). The
maximum run-up and inundation are delineated by the location of the wrack line or wrack line deposits (Fig. 3a). These
are then used as basic parameters for coastal evacuation and emergency planning. Local effects of coastal morphology
such as bays, fjords, and rias can amplify wave heights and inundations. Refraction of tsunami waves (bending) may
occur and mainly depends on the morphology and shape of the seabed in front of the coast. Wave reflection also occurs
which describes the wave bouncing back after striking the shoreline.

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Fig. 2
Tsunami parameters (top)

Fig. 3
(a) Tsunami landfall and deposits along sandy shores and various types of back wash deposits (middle). (b) Tsunami landfall at rocky
coasts (bottom)

Sedimentary evidence for paleotsunamis is found along the shorelines of marine and lacustrine environments. There are
clear sedimentological characteristics to identify such sediments as high-energy deposits. However, the distinction
between storm- and tsunami-related deposits is almost impossible (e.g., Goff et al., 2004; Switzer et al., 2005; Kortekaas
and Dawson, 2007; Morton et al., 2007; Bahlburg and Spiske, 2012; Shanmugam, 2012 and references therein) as the
sediments have numerous similarities and a substantial lack of unequivocal diagnostic criteria.
The shorelines of the Earth vary from place to place and can be simplified into two characteristic environments: flat sandy
coasts or marshes and cliffed rocky coasts (Fig. 3a and b). The formation of a coast with sediments at the seashore
depends on several parameters including the position of the sea level, the tidal influence, and the presence of river inlets
(e.g., sculpted into bays, cuspate forelands with mudflats, marshes, sandy beaches, or dunes). The geomorphology of a
coast plays a major role in preserving tsunamigenic deposits.
Many shorelines have developed relatively recently due to Holocene sea level rise. Other shorelines have been affected
by tectonic movements (uplift or subsidence). Due to the glacial sea level low stands, some tsunamis older than 5,000
years may not be preserved along the seashores as they are now drowned or have been reworked. However,
interglacial/interstadial tsunamigenic deposits (during a high stand, e.g., MIS 5) have the potential to be preserved.
Paleotsunami research focuses on suitable archives along affected coastlines. To have a suitable archive, the deposits

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Geohazards: Coastal Disasters SpringerReference

must firstly have had the potential to be preserved, which means subsidence and sedimentation should prevail and not
uplift and erosion; secondly, the deposits should be distinguishable from storm layers (tempestites); and thirdly, the
deposits should yield datable material. The distinction of storm and tsunami deposits proves to be particularly difficult.
Hence, many researchers (e.g., Lario et al., 2010) refer to extreme wave events (EWE). Lagoons or marshy flatlands
have been widely used as archives for investigating tsunami deposits (Fig. 3a). In these settings, tsunami landfall has a
huge effect on the local sedimentary environment and ecology. Freshwater, brackish, or hyper-saline lagoons will be
affected by short durations of marine ingressions containing characteristic marine flora and fauna. Furthermore,
coarse-grained deposits (sand sheets and wash-over fans) will be deposited in fine-grained lagoonal clays or evaporites.
After landfall, the lagoonal environment may then reestablish itself including sedimentation, and hence sand sheets can
be preserved (Fig. 3a).
Along steep rocky shores, the locations of huge blocks and the arrangement of smaller blocks are used to delineate
tsunami landfall. Tsunami boulders or "boulder trains" are chains of imbricated blocks interpreted as remnants of tsunami
action (Fig. 3b). These "boulder trains" have been found all around the world (Scheffers, 2008). However, Williams and
Hall (2004) and Cox et al. (2012) describe the same type of deposits and clearly attribute storm waves as depositional
agent.
Offshore records of paleotsunamis are rare and related deposits are ambiguous; therefore they cannot be reliably
associated with tsunami action. Backwash deposits into the sea/lake after tsunami landfall by the backflow of the water
mass are also hard to identify. For relatively recent tsunamis, backwash deposits can be identified mainly by the presence
of anthropogenic pollution as evidenced by some chemical proxies; however, older tsunamigenic deposits are complex
and hard to recognize as they may not yield these characteristic constituents.
Tsunami sedimentology has advanced considerably in the past 25 years since Brian Atwater in 1987 associated sand
layers on the Pacific Coast of Washington State with the occurrence of major tsunami producing subduction earthquakes
(Atwater, 1987). The 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunamis and their deposits significantly changed our
understanding of sedimentary features, sediment architecture, and the processes of tsunamigenic deposition,
preservation, and postdepositional changes. Prior to 2004, catastrophic events in the historical record were too infrequent
to be satisfactorily studied, and the identification of tsunami remains was ambiguous. Paleotsunami sedimentology is
complex, but more and more researchers have integrated sedimentological, geochemical, and paleontological analyses
from post-tsunami field surveys and laboratory analyses. This multidisciplinary approach allows a datum to be assigned to
the event layers using a combination of several dating methods. To some extent, a clear assignment of an event layer to
tsunami action will always remain equivocal, but large storms have different wavelengths, have a major peak of wave
action, and have no train of several major waves. Consequently, tsunami deposits should be different to those caused by
storms. Some authors also refer to the recurrence periods of, e.g., tropical storms, which is an order of magnitude higher
than that of major (paleo)tsunamis (e.g., Nanayama et al., 2003). The tsunami database has been expanded during the
last decades and, in combination with an improved understanding of tsunami depositional mechanisms (Shiki et al., 2008
), has helped to identify paleotsunami deposits in many parts of the world.
Recognizing and identifying paleotsunami deposits and assigning the magnitude and extent of (pre)historic tsunamis are
important parts of paleoseismological studies. An outstanding example of this is from Japan where tsunami deposits of a
historical event in AD 869 were identified on the Sendai plain by Minoura et al. ( 2001). The 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami
deposits now cover the AD 869 deposits in the same area. The presence of the older deposits was used to
determine/verify the occurrence of a previous large earthquake and tsunami event and proved that this area is susceptible
to large-scale tsunami inundation. The world then realized that this part of Japan had experienced magnitude 9
earthquakes with associated tsunamis in the past. Sedimentary, geochemical (inorganic, organic, isotopic) and
paleontological proxies are usually used for the identification of tsunamites.
Field surveys aim to map the three-dimensional distribution of a sand sheet and to find evidence for a regional continuity
of the layer. Wash-over fans, typically taper and fine landward, have a common height above mean sea level and contain
marine fossils. These observations can easily be achieved by shallow drillings and GPS control of the drilling locations for
large strips along a coast. Ground penetrating radar surveys as a shallow, nondestructive geophysical tool have been
proven to produce reliable images of the facies architecture of fine-grained tsunami sediments (Koster et al., 2014).
When dating event deposits, the same challenges are faced as for paleo-storm deposits. This is because reworking is a
common process during deposition. Any dates obtained from the event deposits thus give a maximum age, and the
youngest date would ideally give an indication of the timing.

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Geohazards: Coastal Disasters SpringerReference

Conclusion
Coastal hazards have the potential to cause havoc, especially where the coastline is densely populated. As the hazards
involved are the consequence of natural processes, they cannot be avoided. Hence, adaptation strategies have to be
implemented. A proper risk assessment should be based on knowledge of recurrence intervals as well as the definition of
the worst-case scenario. As the recurrence interval might be rather long and historical information may not be available,
this information can only be derived from deposits left behind by the impact of high-energy events. However, at the
moment, there is no clear sedimentological fingerprint to discriminate storm and tsunami deposits; for more information,
the reader is referred to the benchmark papers of Kortekaas and Dawson ( 2007), Morton et al. (2007), Switzer and Jones
(2008), and Chagué-Goff et al. (2011). Mapping of high-energy deposits along the world's coastal zones requires an
interdisciplinary (geo-archaeology) multiproxy and holistic approach. Transdisciplinary studies between geoscientists and
historians are necessary as catalogs of past extreme wave events should include instrumental, historical, and geological
data. Based on the results of these investigations, coastal engineers should design defense structures accordingly.

Cross-References
Beach Processes
Coastal Engineering
Coasts
Earthquake
Erosion-Hiatuses
Hurricanes/Typhoons
Integrated Coastal Zone Management
Lagoon
Oil Spill
Radiocarbon Dating
Sea-Level Dynamics
Submarine Slide
Tsunami
Waves

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Geohazards: Coastal Disasters

Prof. Klaus Institute of Neotectonics and Natural Hazards, Dept. of Geosciences and Geography,
Reicherter RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
Gösta 2 Institute of Neotectonics and Natural Hazards, Dept. of Geosciences and
Hoffmann GeographyLochnerstr. 4-20, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

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