Combining inland and offshore paleotsunamis evidence: the Augusta Bay (eastern Sicily, Italy) case study

Offshore and inland geological evidence for
multiple tsunami inundations was found in the Augusta Bay
area: (1) the main local historical tsunamis (1908, 1693,
1169), (2) two far-generated tsunamis (i.e. Crete 365AD
and Santorini, 3600 BP), and (3) seven unknown tsunamis).
Average tsunami recurrence intervals from inland and
offshore investigations of about 550 and 320 yr, respectively
were obtained for the past 4 ka. The history of paleotsunamis
from the marine record appears to be as complete as
the historical one for the past millennium, yielding an
average tsunami recurrence interval of 250 yr for the Augusta
Bay. Geological data allow also estimating a minimum
tsunami inundation distance of 530m and a minimum
run-up of 5 m. The marine record contains evidence for
more paleotsunamis with respect to the inland one because
of continuous sedimentation and better preservation of
stratigraphy in the offshore with respect to coastal areas,
which are commonly affected by intermittent-erosion and
sedimentation and anthropic activities.
This work shows that the integration of geological and
historical data can provide critical information regarding
the extent and age of tsunamis of the past (e.g. inundation
distance, age, and frequency), which is of immediate
relevance for tsunami hazard assessment.

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