Version 1
: Received: 27 December 2023 / Approved: 28 December 2023 / Online: 28 December 2023 (10:20:24 CET)
How to cite:
Ferrer, M.; González-de-Vallejo, L.I. Global Historical Megatsunamis Catalog (GHMCat). Preprints2023, 2023122161. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.2161.v1
Ferrer, M.; González-de-Vallejo, L.I. Global Historical Megatsunamis Catalog (GHMCat). Preprints 2023, 2023122161. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.2161.v1
Ferrer, M.; González-de-Vallejo, L.I. Global Historical Megatsunamis Catalog (GHMCat). Preprints2023, 2023122161. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.2161.v1
APA Style
Ferrer, M., & González-de-Vallejo, L.I. (2023). Global Historical Megatsunamis Catalog (GHMCat). Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.2161.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Ferrer, M. and Luis I. González-de-Vallejo. 2023 "Global Historical Megatsunamis Catalog (GHMCat)" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.2161.v1
Abstract
A Global Historical Megatsunami Catalog (GHMCat) is presented, including all the events documented to date. The oldest event is from 1674 the Santorini event, ~3600 BP, is considered a particular case, and the most recent is from 2020. Although there is no formal definition of the term megatsunami, it is usually associated to the maximum height or runup reached by the waves when hitting the coast. Here we adopt this criterion and define a megatsunami when the wave reaches a height of 40 m or more. The catalog is initially based on tsunamis that meet this condition from the two existing Global Historical Tsunami Databases (GHTDs). Then, each of the events have been researched for its available references including earliest in order to verify the data, mainly on the maximum height of the waves and their causes. After a comprehensive review of published or on-line literature on historical tsunamis, including regional and local catalogs, papers, books, studies, reports and other available references, some of the oldest events have been ruled out. On the other hand, the literature review has also led to include in the catalog some new megatsunamis not included in the GHTDs. The global catalog contains 37 events from 1674 to 2023, 11 of which are either not included in the GHTDs or included with (erroneous) wave heights <40 m. All of them are described and characterized as far as can be gathered within the limitations of the scope of a global catalog and the available information on each historical case. The analysis of recorded historical megatsunamis shows that virtually all have been originated by large landslides, most of them subaerial landslides, with an unusual frequency of events in certain glaciated areas of Alaska and Norway, mainly in the first decades of the 20th century. In contrast, it is worth noting the small number of megatsunamis caused by submarine landslides or associated with volcanic explosions.
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Geology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
