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Geology; March 2008; v. 36; no. 3; p. 199-202; DOI: 10.1130/G24554A.1
© 2008 Geological Society of America
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Identifying tsunami deposits using bivalve shell taphonomy

S.V. Donato1, E.G. Reinhardt1, J.I. Boyce1, R. Rothaus2 and T. Vosmer3

1 School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
2 Saint Cloud State University, 720 Fourth Avenue South, Saint Cloud, Minnesota 56301, USA
3 Office of the Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan for Cultural Affairs, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman


   ABSTRACT
TOP
 ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
 STUDY AREA: SUR LAGOON,...
 TSUNAMI OF 1945
 METHODS
 TAPHONOMIC RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES CITED
 
On 28 November 1945, in the Makran trench off Pakistan, a large earthquake (8.1 Mw) produced a tsunami that struck the coast of Oman and left a taphonomically distinct shell bed in Sur Lagoon. The shell bed was thick (5–25 cm) and laterally extensive, covering a >1 km2 area. The shell assemblage from the deposit contained a mean of 59% for articulated bivalves of allochthonous offshore and subtidal species (e.g., Tellina palatam) as well as a mean of 20% for lagoonal species, indicating large-scale erosion and transport. Taphonomic traits (e.g., articulation, rounding, fragment angularity) of all bivalve material >5.6 mm were quantified for eight sample horizons, and compared with a tsunamite from Caesarea, Israel. Some of the taphonomic characteristics between the shell beds from these two different depositional settings were similar, and three tsunamigenic specific traits were identified: (1) thickness and lateral extent of the shell deposit, (2) presence of allochthonous articulated bivalves out of life position, and (3) extensive angular fragmentation. These results show that tsunamis form shell accumulations and cannot be ignored when assessing shell bed origin for the geological record. When these three traits are collectively found, a tsunamigenic origin should be considered for the shell bed.

Key Words: tsunami • bivalve taphonomy • Oman • Sur Lagoon • Makran trench


   INTRODUCTION
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
STUDY AREA: SUR LAGOON,...
 TSUNAMI OF 1945
 METHODS
 TAPHONOMIC RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES CITED
 
Tsunamites are commonly recognized by the presence of allochthonous sediments such as marine sand sheets in coastal plains, lagoons, and in tidal marshes or by the presence of allochthonous microfossils in shallow coastal settings (i.e., open marine species in lagoons and bays; Dawson and Smith, 2000; Goff et al., 2001; Scheffers and Kelletat, 2003; Tuttle et al., 2004). High-energy tsunami waves have long wavelengths (kilometers) and the potential to scour deeper and travel further inland than storms, as the storms have variable energy and wind-generated waves with shorter wavelengths (meters). Sedimentary characteristics such as tsunamite thickness, sorting, and inland extent have been used to distinguish them from tempestites and other storm-generated deposits (Goff et al., 2004; Nanayama et al., 2000; Tuttle et al., 2004). Less is known, however, about the taphonomic characteristics of shells within tsunami layers (i.e., Kidwell, 1986; Morton et al., 2007), particularly those found in non-contrasting environments (e.g., shallow shelf; Pratt and Bordonaro, 2007; Reinhardt et al., 2006), which are difficult to distinguish from storm deposits based on sedimentary characteristics alone. While there is an abundance of paleontological and taphonomic data on shelly lag deposits in the ancient rock record, these have been attributed largely to storm events and paleoecological processes because there is no shell taphonomic information on tsunamis to take into consideration (e.g., Tsujita, 2001; Mandic et al., 2004).

Here we examine the taphonomic characteristics of a thick shell bed deposited in Sur Lagoon (Khawr Al Batah) in the Sultanate of Oman (Fig. 1) by a destructive tsunami event on 28 November 1945. Our data show that the shell taphonomy of this layer is clearly distinctive from modern shell accumulations on the coast and is strikingly similar to an ancient shell-rich tsunamite identified in the eastern Mediterranean (Reinhardt et al., 2006). These results provide useful taphonomic criteria for recognizing shell-rich tsunami layers and can be applied broadly to identifying these events in the geological record.


Figure 01
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  		Figure 1. Geographic location of study area relative to the Makran subduction zone and 28 November 1945 earthquake epicenter.

 

   STUDY AREA: SUR LAGOON, OMAN
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 STUDY AREA: SUR LAGOON,...
TSUNAMI OF 1945
 METHODS
 TAPHONOMIC RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES CITED
 
Sur Lagoon is a shallow, well-protected microtidal lagoon located on the east coast of Oman (Fig. 1). The lagoon covers ~12 km2 and is connected to the Gulf of Oman via a single sandy entrance channel (~6 m deep; Fig. 2). Most of the lagoon is intertidal, with only the area nearest to the lagoon entrance being largely subtidal. It is bound by Paleocene–Eocene highlands, and several wadis flow into the lagoon from the south. The lagoon entrance is at the eastern edge of a low-lying sand spit that has built out from elevated bedrock to the west. The southeastern arm of the lagoon features a wide delta that is building at the mouth of Wadi Shamah. Lagoon sediment is dominated by very fine to fine-grained sand, and mangroves fringe the lagoon margins. The offshore area is characterized by a narrow sandy shelf that drops off to >25 m ~1 km offshore. Sur is not on the dominant cyclone or typhoon track and has not experienced large-scale storms during the past 120 yr prior to sampling (Takahashi and Arakawa, 1981; India Meteorological Department, 1964).


Figure 02
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  		Figure 2. Digital elevation model of Sur Lagoon created using Geosoft OasisTM software. Data points collected during walking survey of the lagoon (using Trimble R3 survey device) on transect lines spaced 100 m apart. Offshore bathymetric data were collected by echo sounder and adjusted to fit lagoon topographic data. Depth and elevation are shown as meters relative to mean sea level (m.s.l.). Spot elevations in meters above sea level and land contour lines shown for 10 and 20 m. Core and beach collection localities indicated by triangles. Sand spit is stippled section west of lagoon entrance.

 

   TSUNAMI OF 1945
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 STUDY AREA: SUR LAGOON,...
 TSUNAMI OF 1945
METHODS
 TAPHONOMIC RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES CITED
 
On 28 November 1945, a large thrust earthquake (8.1 Mw) triggered a tsunami off the coast of what is now Pakistan (Fig. 1). The epicenter occurred on the seismically active eastern portion of the ~1000-km-long Makran subduction zone, where the Arabian plate is subducting under the Eurasian plate (Byrne et al., 1992). The earthquake and tsunami caused more than 4000 deaths and extensive damage along the coastlines of Pakistan, Iran, western India, and Oman; a run-up height of 13 m was recorded in Pakistan (Pararas-Carayannis, 2006). Tsunami damage and casualties were reported in Muscat ~200 km north of Sur. Eyewitness accounts describing this event in Sur are unavailable, but the oldest part of the city is situated on the low-lying sand spit and the 1945 town would have been strongly affected by the tsunami.


   METHODS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 STUDY AREA: SUR LAGOON,...
 TSUNAMI OF 1945
 METHODS
TAPHONOMIC RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES CITED
 
In 2006, several thick shell layers were identified in shallow test pits and cores (7.5 cm diameter) from Sur Lagoon; the stratigraphy consisted of structureless sands in sharp contact with shell-rich beds 5–25 cm in thickness (Figs. 2 and 3). A detailed taphonomic analysis of bivalve shells was conducted on eight bulk samples (~1600 cm3) obtained from these deposits (Figs. 2 and 3; GSA Data Repository Tables DR1–DR51). Two samples were also collected from small-scale storm wrack lines on the beach outside Sur Lagoon (~50 m west of the lagoon entrance) using 15 x15 cm surface grids, which also provided ~1600 cm3 of shell material. Articulated specimens were separated from bulk samples in the field, with all bivalve shells grouped into three ecotopes (Bosch et al., 1995): (1) mudflat-intertidal, (2) intertidal–lower shore, and (3) lower shore–offshore (Table DR3). Most bivalves identified in the lagoon were infaunal species. Epifaunal and cementing species were recovered in the beach samples. Focusing on bivalves is advantageous, because live transport (articulated specimens) can be recognized versus, for example, gastropods and foraminifera.


Figure 03
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  		Figure 3. Core lithology plotted north to south with the tsunami horizon correlated between cores with dashed lines. Elevations of core tops are relative to mean sea level. Thin upper shell beds in cores 1 and 7 represent recent burial events (<15 yr).

 
Shell fragments were sieved into size classes, and shells >5.6 mm were sorted based on the following taphonomic characteristics: size, articulation, disarticulated whole valve (Zuschin et al., 2003), fragmented valve, angular break, (edge) rounding, color, encrustation, boring, and dissolution (Tables DR4 and DR5; Staff et al., 2002). For comparative purposes the same taphonomic parameters were used for the reanalysis of seven samples of a shell-rich tsunamite from Caesarea, Israel (Reinhardt et al., 2006; Fig. 4). A T-test was used to calculate statistical significance of samples with p < 0.05 considered significant (Table DR1).


Figure 04
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  		Figure 4. Mean taphonomic values with 1{sigma} standard deviation.

 
The attempted 210Pb dating of the sediment above the shell layer on core 8 was problematic due to a paucity of clay-sized particles and pore-water diffusion through the sandy sediments. Only one sample (6 cm depth) showed a significant excess of 210Pb above background, which indicates that the sections of the core above this are recent sediment (<50 yr old). An aluminum can and a plastic Pepsi label from ~5–10 yr ago were found in the upper 10–18 cm of cores 7 and 1, respectively.


   TAPHONOMIC RESULTS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 STUDY AREA: SUR LAGOON,...
 TSUNAMI OF 1945
 METHODS
 TAPHONOMIC RESULTS
DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES CITED
 
The tsunamite shell unit was laterally extensive, covering >1 km2 and having a maximum thickness of 25 cm in the lagoon stratigraphy (Fig. 3). Overall, the unit was highly fragmented (58%) and articulated bivalves were common (7%). Angular fragmentation (54%) and a lower incidence of edge rounding (9%), encrustation (5%), and dissolution (2%; Fig. 4) were significant as the two populations (tsunamite versus storm) display significantly different values (T-test, Table DR1) for these traits. The storm samples displayed 0% articulation, more whole valves (59%), rounding (57%), encrustation (11%), dissolution (69%), fewer fragments (46%), and angular fragments (14%). Taphonomic trends in the tsunamite are generally consistent between all localities, while the storm deposits have greater interlocality variability (Tables DR1 and DR2).

The distribution of articulated bivalves (Fig. 5A), and whole valve bivalves (Fig. 5B) showed large-scale transport of shell from outside the lagoon. The presence of articulated lower shore–offshore bivalves within the inner confines of the lagoon indicates transport of live specimens over a large distance (~1–5 km) following their exhumation offshore [e.g., Tellina (Quidnipagus) palatam, Anadara uropigimelana, and Protapes sinuosa are infaunal species inhabiting lower shore–offshore sands and attain a shell diameter of ~50–80 mm and thickness of ~2–3 mm; Bosch et al. (1995)]. Core sites 3, 4, 5, and 7 are all composed of >25% articulated bivalves from the lower shore–offshore, representing a significant amount of the overall live transport of bivalves. The total bivalve distribution map (Fig. 5B) showed an even greater percentage of lower shore–offshore species within the lagoon, particularly at cores 2 and 4, where they make up 40% and 54%, respectively, of the overall deposit.


Figure 05
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  		Figure 5. A: Percentage of articulated specimens recovered at each sample site based on their habitat (as described in Bosch et al., 1995). No articulated specimens were recovered from sites 6 (lower and upper), 8, and B2 and B3. B: Percentage of identifiable bivalves (disarticulated valves and articulated specimens) recovered from core and beach sites. Ecotope designations after Bosch et al. (1995).

 
Several of the taphonomic characteristics of the Omani shell data are nearly identical to those of Caesarea, and three key tsunami taphonomic trends were found: (1) thickness and lateral extent of the shell deposits, (2) presence of allochthonous articulated bivalves, and (3) high fragmentation (58% and 60%) with high angular fragmentation values (54% and 51%) and abundant bifurcating stress fractures in the shells. It is the collection of these characters, however, that is diagnostic of a tsunami deposit rather than any one of these variables alone.


   DISCUSSION
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 STUDY AREA: SUR LAGOON,...
 TSUNAMI OF 1945
 METHODS
 TAPHONOMIC RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES CITED
 
Shell Bed Thickness and Extent
The shell bed is close to the modern lagoon surface (0–25 cm; Fig. 6), indicating recent deposition; the 1945 tsunami is the only significant event in recent past. The shelf at Sur drops to >3000 m deep within 10 km from the coast (Szuman et al., 2006), resulting in high run-up potential close to shore for the 1945 tsunami. This likely caused extensive scour of the sand platform in front of the lagoon, and the transport of infaunal bivalve species found in the shell unit (Figs. 1 and 6). The scour offshore and within the lagoon (~50 cm deep) eroded the offshore sand platform and the lagoon basin, depositing shells across the lagoon that were subsequently buried by post-tsunami sedimentation. Similarly, with the Caesarea example the shell unit was laterally extensive and thick (to 0.5 m), and a similar interpretation was used to explain the formation of the shell unit.


Figure 06
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  		Figure 6. Scenario for stratigraphic development of the tsunami horizon within Sur Lagoon.

 
The thickest shell beds are located in the northern portion of the lagoon at core sites 3 and 6, and thin farther west and south into the lagoon. Core sites 3 and 6 are located adjacent to the main channel in the lagoon where the tsunami surge was likely concentrated, although the wave would have overtopped the channel systems and eroded the interchannel areas as well (Figs. 1 and 6). Subsequent reworking of the upper surface of the shell unit occurred at least in some locations (i.e., upper part of core 6 based on the taphonomic characters in Table DR1) as post-tsunami sediment filled in the scoured bottom of the lagoon. Dating evidence indicates the upper surface at least in some locations (10–18 cm) is undergoing some reworking, as demonstrated by the burial of modern aluminum cans and labels (Fig. 3).

Allochthonous Articulated Bivalves
The presence of many articulated offshore bivalve species out of life position indicates a rapid catastrophic event (tsunami) rather than a more prolonged storm, which would not cause transport of shells over several kilometers (Kortekaas and Dawson, 2007). Observations of modern storm mass transport of articulated bivalves seem to be rare events; there are not many reported in the literature. Boyajian and Thayer (1995) reported an estimated 1 x 106 intertidal surf clams exhumed, transported, and beached above the high-water mark near Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1992 due to a strong "Nor'easter" (powerful extratropical cyclones affecting the northeastern United States and Canada). However, the bivalves were proximal to their original habitat, remained mostly unburied by the storm, contained few fragments, and were not transported landward for any distance. Best and Kidwell (2000) examined recent taphonomic trends in a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate setting and found articulated bivalves in patch reefs; however, these had low fragmentation proportions and most species were cemented or firmly lodged in reef rubble. This is in contrast with the Sur deposit, where extensive transport and mixing of articulated bivalves with abundant angular fragmentation occurred. Storm deposits do not appear to produce this characteristic signature, and the presence of allochthonous bivalves, with the lateral extent and thickness of the shell bed, supports the interpretation of tsunami erosion on the shelf, transport and deposition of shell, followed by burial with minimal reworking. It is difficult to attribute the mass and extent of the shell unit (thickness) to a storm that exhumes live offshore bivalves and transports them through the narrow channel and possibly over the top of a 500–800-m-wide spit into the lagoon. A storm surge would create localized patterns of erosion and deposition mostly in the entrance channel rather than a lagoon-wide phenomenon as recorded (Davies et al., 1989; Nott, 2004).

Extensive Angular Fragmentation
Both tsunami horizons from Sur and Caesarea share nearly identical values for angular fragments and exhibited abundant stress fractures in many of the shells. The presence of such a high number of angular fragments in the Caesarea and Sur cases and the abundant bifurcating stress fractures indicate rapid and widespread shell fragmentation by turbulent flow, shell to shell contact, and impacts on structures (i.e., homes, coastal structures), and seems to be a dominant characteristic of a tsunami when coupled with the presence of articulated specimens. This dominance of angular fragmentation is atypical of storm deposits and, as Davies et al. (1989) indicated, strong storms (hurricanes) seem to do little more to shell deposits than winnow existing ones, and transport and concentrate shell material without altering existing taphonomic character. In contrast, the tsunami produces intense scour of the seabed that places the deposit below the storm erosion level, preserving the angular fragments from rounding and transport.


   CONCLUSIONS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 STUDY AREA: SUR LAGOON,...
 TSUNAMI OF 1945
 METHODS
 TAPHONOMIC RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES CITED
 
Results show that the following collective taphonomic characteristics are useful indicators of tsunamigenic shell deposits: (1) large vertical and lateral extent, (2) allochthonous mixing of articulated bivalve species (e.g., lagoonal and offshore) out of life position, and (3) high amount of fragmented valves, with angular breaks and stress fractures. The advantage of using bivalve taphonomy is the ability to distinguish between live (articulated) and dead shell (single valve) transport, which can show large-scale exhumation and transport, an important characteristic.

Further research is required to investigate the taphonomic uniqueness of tsunami deposits, but the results from this study demonstrate that tsunamis can produce thick shell accumulations and should be considered in taphonomic interpretations of the geological record. The lack of tsunami taphonomic data has led to perhaps erroneous interpretations of shell accumulations in the geological record, because storm origin models are thought to be more probable because storms are more frequent (e.g., Mandic et al., 2004). However, the preference for storm models is an overly narrow view, and if the taphonomic characters presented here are found, at the very least, a tsunamigenic origin should be considered.


   ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 
We thank G. Oliver for his assistance verifying the bivalve identifications. Comments from B. Pratt, M. Tuttle, and three anonymous reviewers greatly improved this manuscript. This project was funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery grant to Reinhardt.


   FOOTNOTES
 
GSA Data Repository item 2008052, Figure DR1 (four bivalves displaying bifurcating stress fractures and angular breaks), Table DR1 (summary statistics for taphonomic analysis), Table DR2 (bivalve distribution in Sur Lagoon, Oman), Table DR3 (relative bivalve abundance by core), Table DR4 (bivalve taphonomy for tsunami horizon samples collected in Sur Lagoon, Oman), and Table DR5, (bivalve taphonomy for beach and reworked samples collected in Sur Lagoon, Oman), is available online at www.geosociety.org/pubs/ft2008.htm, or on request from editing{at}geosociety.org or Documents Secretary, GSA, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301, USA. Back


   REFERENCES CITED
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 STUDY AREA: SUR LAGOON,...
 TSUNAMI OF 1945
 METHODS
 TAPHONOMIC RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES CITED
 

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Received for publication 21 August 2007

Revised manuscript received 28 October 2007

Manuscript accepted 5 November 2007





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