Conference program and abstracts - Coastal-Change.Org

Tsunami history along the coastline of Oman (Arabian
Peninsula)
Gösta Hoffmann 1,2 , Klaus Reicherter 2 , Christoph Grützner 2 , Magdalena
Rupprechter 1
1
German University of Technology, Department of Applied Geosciences,
PO Box 1816, PC 130, Muscat, Oman (goesta.hoffmann@gutech.edu.om)
2
Institute of Neotectonics and Natural Hazards, RWTH Aachen University,
Lochnerstr. 4-20, 52056 Aachen, Germany
ABSTRACT
The Sultanate of Oman is situated in the north-eastern part of the Arabian
Peninsula. The Arabian Plate is characterized by a northward movement
forming a continent-continent collision zone in the west and the Makran
Subduction Zone (MSZ) in the east. The MSZ is known to have produced
tsunamigenic earthquakes in the past. The last event occurred in 1945.
We aim at reconstructing paleo-tsunami in order to constrain recurrence
intervals. We use historical, geological and archaeological data to
achieve this goal.
We reconstruct the tsunami event of 28 th November, 1945 by utilizing
historical information. Furthermore, we carried out interviews with
eyewitnesses. This information allows us to reconstruct the impact of the
tsunami waves around the shores of the northern Indian Ocean. The
coastlines of Pakistan and India were severely affected; the impact along
the Omani coastline was minor.
Geological evidence for paleo-tsunami is mainly seen in block and
boulder deposits along the coast. The largest of these blocks exceed 100
tons in mass and indicate that the tsunami experienced in 1945 was by far
not the worst-case scenario.
We analyzed a bronze-age coastal settlement in Ras al Hadd (HD-6).
Archaeological evidence proves 2 settlement phases. The archaeological
site is located directly on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
Geomorphological, sedimentological and dating evidence is presented
that support the hypothesis that the settlement was inundated by an
extreme wave event around 2800 BC during the first settlement phase.
Whether or not this was a tsunami is currently under research.
The Fourth IGCP 588: PREPARING FOR COASTAL CHANGE 5