Extreme wave events in the southeastern Iberia coast: Blocks and megablocks as an indicator of tsunamis or extreme storms

Lario, Javier; Bardaji, T; Spencer, Chris; Marchante, y A.

Abstract

Whilst the SW coast of the Iberian Peninsula has a significant record of extreme wave events (EWE), mostly associated with tsunamis, the Mediterranean coast offers a smaller record of these events, although some historical tsunamis with limited impact have been cited on the coast. In general, these studies have been based on the geological record of detrital sequences of sands and silts. In this case, we have focused on the study of coastal deposits of blocks and megablocks in Cope, Murcia (SE of Iberian Peninsula). Here, blocks greater than 1 m and located up to 4 masl were generated by an EWE associated to either a tsunamis or great storm. An unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) has been utilized to perform aerial photogrammetry, which complemented terrestrial photogrammetry of higher resolution.
This has been processed to develop a 3D model of the terrain and obtain the dimensional and spatial parameters of these blocks. Different models have been used to calculate potential tsunami wave heights and scale of storms capable of generating such deposits (Nott, 2003; Engel and May, 2012). The results confirm the process of generating force required to generate the block ridges at this site.

Citation

Lario, J., Bardaji, T., Spencer, C., & Marchante, Y. A. (2017). Extreme wave events in the southeastern Iberia coast: Blocks and megablocks as an indicator of tsunamis or extreme storms

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Conference Name: Geo-Temas
• Start Date: Sep 13, 2017
• End Date: Sep 15, 2017
• Acceptance Date: Aug 1, 2017
• Publication Date: Sep 13, 2017
• Journal: Geo-Temas
• Print ISSN: 1576-5172
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 227-230
• Keywords: extreme waves, tsunami, storm, drone
• Publisher URL: http://www.sociedadgeologica.es
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Geo-Temas