The influence of tsunamis on the submarine environment was virtually unknown before the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which hit the coastlines of many countries around the Indian Ocean, and the 2011 Tōhoku Tsunami, which mainly hit coastlines of Japan. When triggered by a tsunami, sediment can be redeposited over wide areas onshore, but especially offshore. Recent advances in seafloor mapping considerably improved the identification of offshore areas that were influenced by a tsunami and helped to find suitable locations for sampling and investigating recent and ancient subaquatic tsunami deposits. Tsunami-influenced deposits are observed from shallow marine environments to water depths below 1000m. The application of a range of proxy methods to analyze sediment-surface samples and sediment cores in different case studies worldwide showed that tsunami deposits can be identified and distinguished from storm-generated and flash flood deposits in subaquatic sediment cores. One particular conclusion from this research is, that the preservation potential of tsunami deposits increases with water depth.
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