Tsunami deposits associated with the 1983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake tsunami in coastal forests near Happo Town, Akita Prefecture, Japan

Abstract On 26 May 1983 the Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake occurred off the western coast of Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The tsunami associated with this earthquake caused widespread damage to the northeastern coastal region of the Sea of Japan, including Akita Prefecture, and left behind sand...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Takashi Chiba, Yuichi Nishimura
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2022-09-01
Series:Earth, Planets and Space
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-022-01687-2
_version_ 1798003058987237376
author Takashi Chiba
Yuichi Nishimura
author_facet Takashi Chiba
Yuichi Nishimura
author_sort Takashi Chiba
collection DOAJ
description Abstract On 26 May 1983 the Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake occurred off the western coast of Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The tsunami associated with this earthquake caused widespread damage to the northeastern coastal region of the Sea of Japan, including Akita Prefecture, and left behind sand and mud deposits. These deposits were first described in the 1990s, but have not been studied further. During December 2019 and January 2020, we conducted geological surveys to investigate post-1948 soil thinning in the pine-based coastal protective forests planted near Happo Town. A sand layer that thinned inland was observed in the soil at depths greater than 10 cm. Because the sand layer contained well-preserved fossil brackish–marine diatoms and exhibited a high bulk density, it is likely that the sand was transported inland from the coast. The sand layer was distributed from the coast to 150–270 m inland, but only within the coastal protective forest. By reference to historical records, we concluded that this sand layer was deposited by the 1983 tsunami, because this region could not have been reached by any event other than the tsunami produced by the Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake. We also observed another sand layer above the tsunami deposits, which may have been formed by Typhoon 9119 on 28 September 1991. Graphical Abstract
first_indexed 2024-04-11T12:02:00Z
format Article
id doaj.art-9b25416e2af2406fa167713bdfaba0e6
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1880-5981
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-11T12:02:00Z
publishDate 2022-09-01
publisher SpringerOpen
record_format Article
series Earth, Planets and Space
spelling doaj.art-9b25416e2af2406fa167713bdfaba0e62022-12-22T04:24:50ZengSpringerOpenEarth, Planets and Space1880-59812022-09-0174111310.1186/s40623-022-01687-2Tsunami deposits associated with the 1983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake tsunami in coastal forests near Happo Town, Akita Prefecture, JapanTakashi Chiba0Yuichi Nishimura1College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Sciences, Department of Environmental and Symbiotic Science, Rakuno Gakuen UniversityInstitute of Seismology and Volcanology (ISV), Faculty of Science, Hokkaido UniversityAbstract On 26 May 1983 the Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake occurred off the western coast of Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The tsunami associated with this earthquake caused widespread damage to the northeastern coastal region of the Sea of Japan, including Akita Prefecture, and left behind sand and mud deposits. These deposits were first described in the 1990s, but have not been studied further. During December 2019 and January 2020, we conducted geological surveys to investigate post-1948 soil thinning in the pine-based coastal protective forests planted near Happo Town. A sand layer that thinned inland was observed in the soil at depths greater than 10 cm. Because the sand layer contained well-preserved fossil brackish–marine diatoms and exhibited a high bulk density, it is likely that the sand was transported inland from the coast. The sand layer was distributed from the coast to 150–270 m inland, but only within the coastal protective forest. By reference to historical records, we concluded that this sand layer was deposited by the 1983 tsunami, because this region could not have been reached by any event other than the tsunami produced by the Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake. We also observed another sand layer above the tsunami deposits, which may have been formed by Typhoon 9119 on 28 September 1991. Graphical Abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-022-01687-21983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquakeTsunami depositTyphoon 9119Aeolian sandCoastal protective forestDiatom
spellingShingle Takashi Chiba
Yuichi Nishimura
Tsunami deposits associated with the 1983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake tsunami in coastal forests near Happo Town, Akita Prefecture, Japan
Earth, Planets and Space
1983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake
Tsunami deposit
Typhoon 9119
Aeolian sand
Coastal protective forest
Diatom
title Tsunami deposits associated with the 1983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake tsunami in coastal forests near Happo Town, Akita Prefecture, Japan
title_full Tsunami deposits associated with the 1983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake tsunami in coastal forests near Happo Town, Akita Prefecture, Japan
title_fullStr Tsunami deposits associated with the 1983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake tsunami in coastal forests near Happo Town, Akita Prefecture, Japan
title_full_unstemmed Tsunami deposits associated with the 1983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake tsunami in coastal forests near Happo Town, Akita Prefecture, Japan
title_short Tsunami deposits associated with the 1983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake tsunami in coastal forests near Happo Town, Akita Prefecture, Japan
title_sort tsunami deposits associated with the 1983 nihonkai chubu earthquake tsunami in coastal forests near happo town akita prefecture japan
topic 1983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake
Tsunami deposit
Typhoon 9119
Aeolian sand
Coastal protective forest
Diatom
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-022-01687-2
work_keys_str_mv AT takashichiba tsunamidepositsassociatedwiththe1983nihonkaichubuearthquaketsunamiincoastalforestsnearhappotownakitaprefecturejapan
AT yuichinishimura tsunamidepositsassociatedwiththe1983nihonkaichubuearthquaketsunamiincoastalforestsnearhappotownakitaprefecturejapan