ORI GIN AL PA PER

Trimlines as evidence for palaeo-tsunamis

Anja Scheffers • Sander Scheffers • Peter Squire

Received: 11 December 2009 / Accepted: 11 December 2010 / Published online: 28 December 2010� Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010

Abstract As seen in many of the satellite images from the tsunami in the Indian Ocean

which struck in 2004, there is a distinctive limit between an area with sand coverage,

vegetation destruction, and soil erosion on the one hand, and the unaffected natural veg-

etation on the other. This distinction provides a good landmark to map the inundation

width, delimited on the landward side by a trimline. In this study, older trimlines, dating

back about 300 years, from tsunamis that occurred throughout the world were documented.

We discuss the origin and chronology of trimline modification and extinction, both of

which depend on local topography, rock type, and climate.

Keywords Tsunamis � Inundation � Run-up � Trimlines

1 Introduction

In tsunami- and palaeo-tsunami research, along with the physics of wave sources and wave

propagation, the subject that arouses the greatest interest is tsunami deposits, in particular

the fine tsunami-dislocated sediments onshore (Borrero 2005a, b; Cho et al. 2009;

Choowong et al. 2007; Dawson 1996; Dawson and Shi 2000; Hori et al. 2007; Satake 2006;

Shiki et al. 2008; Tappin 2007, and others). As documented by Shiki et al. (2008), there is

no undisputable signature of fine sediments that allows discrimination between storm and

tsunami deposition. This knowledge gap has given rise to a growing number of papers

examining the source and nature of coarse deposits, and even boulders (Frohlich et al.

2009; Goto et al. 2007; Kelletat 2007; Kelletat et al. 2005a, b, 2007; Mastronuzzi et al.

2006; Paris et al. 2009; Scheffers 2006, 2008; Scheffers and Kelletat 2003, 2005; Whelan

and Kelletat 2002, and others). Large boulders are most probably the best tsunami relics in

A. Scheffers (&) � P. SquireSouthern Cross GeoScience, Southern Cross University, P.O. Box 157, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australiae-mail: anja.scheffers@scu.edu.au

S. ScheffersMarine Ecology Research Center, Southern Cross University, P.O. Box 157, Lismore,NSW 2480, Australia

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the geological record, especially after thousands of years. Although the question of boulder

transport (by extreme storm waves or tsunamis) is under vivid debate, physical models to

determine the threshold for both scenarios have been developed during the last 3 years and

allow to distinguish between event types (compare in particular Imamura et al. 2008;

Scheffers et al. 2009; Pignatelli et al. 2010; Benner et al. 2010). Dating of boulder dis-

location has been successfully demonstrated (amongst others) by Kelletat and Schellmann

(2002), Kelletat et al. (2005a, b), Mastronuzzi et al. (2006), Scheffers (2008), or Maouche

et al. (2009).

Immediately after a strong tsunami, its inland extension (=inundation), run-up height,

and remarkably significant trimline are best seen in satellite images or aerial photographs,

but these feature can also be recognized in fields located in flat coastal environments

(compare e.g., Borrero 2005a; Chandrasekar et al. 2007; Cho et al. 2008; Choowong et al.

2009; Jayakumar et al. 2005; Kumar et al. 2008; Narayan et al. 2005; Peterson et al. 2008;

Singh 2007, or Wijetunge 2006). Still, it is not clear how long these distinctive landscape

marks will survive, and the factors that determine their survival are poorly understood. The

following cases offer a few examples in an attempt to address these questions.

2 Trimline phenomena

2.1 The modern example of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004

Trimlines are well known from task-force publications documenting recent tsunami

detection efforts, especially regarding the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4)

but also the tsunami of Sissano Lagoon (1999), Flores (2002), Peru (2001), Java (2006),

and others. The most significant feature of all these events is the sharp line between bare

rock or bare surfaces without vegetation (and mostly without soil), and the dense and

unaffected original vegetation. This is particularly true for humid climates, but of course

does not apply to the affected arid regions in Peru and Chile. Continuous observations by

satellites (e.g., with Google Earth imagery) have allowed landscape-transforming pro-

cesses to be monitored. For the Indian Ocean tsunami, both evidence of the inundation area

and the trimlines have disappeared after only a few monsoonal periods (Fig. 5). This is

largely due to the fact that many of the older and stronger trees survived the tsunami waves

(e.g., in Thailand and Sumatra), whereas within a few years, younger trees have gained

heights of 10 m and more, and the lower vegetation has again become very dense. While

people familiar with the pre-tsunami landscape will still be able to recognize the post-

tsunami differences for several years to come, for those unfamiliar with these landscapes

any distinction will soon be impossible. This is generally the case for regions hit by

tsunamis, albeit with some exceptions, e.g., in the southern Andaman islands, where (as at

Tinkat) wide mangrove forests nearly became extinct and need many years of recovery

before they once again consisted of dense stands. In regions where the force of the tsunami

waves was very weak (or very slow, as in western Thailand), mangroves survived because

the water flow passing the tree stands was not strong enough to destroy the inland vege-

tation; instead, the small amount of vegetation debris that remained only slight affected the

trees’ growth conditions. It is also true that the extent of tree destruction depends on the

tree species, as reported by Lavigne et al. (2006) and supported by our own observations,

which showed that dense mangroves survived along shallow water coasts with diminished

tsunami flow, as in western Thailand. Likewise, coconut trees were able to withstand even

strong water flow and to bend towards the earth, while old coastal trees, like Casuarinae,

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can lose even their strongest branches but remain upright as long as they are not uprooted

by water turbulence along the shoreline. Another effect of vegetation extinction is

topography: in coastal plains, the inundation effect is often better evidenced by a sediment

cover of light sand than by erosion; alternatively, the soil may be preserved and support

new plant growth after the event. At steeper slopes, however, even old trees may not be

rooted strongly enough and are thus washed away, along with all of the associated soil, to

expose bare rock (Figs. 3, 4). Regeneration is more difficult at those sites, whereas seeds

and creepers are able to quickly occupy the vacated space.

An open question is the nature of the sharp limit that distinguishes soil and vegetation

erosion from unaffected areas: while this is clearly visible on hillsides, where the tsunami

flow may have rapidly passed through up to a certain level (flow depth), it can be difficult

to identify where the inundation and run-up ended on the landward side. At these latter

Fig. 1 Pula Pneunasu Island off Banda Aceh (5�35049.7600N/95�07050.3500E), southern trimline from theIndian Ocean tsunami, 2004, reaches ca. 250 m inland and C ?40 m above sea level. Photo credit:GoogleEarth 2009

Fig. 2 West coast of northern Sumatra after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, Dec. 26, 2004 (5�23025.4300

N/95�15045.4900E). The satellite imagery was taken on Jan. 28, 2005. The inland extent of the inundationwas up to 1.4 km with a wave run-up of B27 m. Photo credit: GoogleEarth 2009

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sites, the abrupt transition from the full destructive force to zero energy is difficult to

understand by flow physics alone. In plains, fine particles may be washed landward, mixing

with the vegetation beyond the trimline, but on the slopes, this effect can be nearly

impossible to detect.

Fig. 3 Trimline in Sumatra, Dec. 26, 2004. Photo retrieved from http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/sumatra05/Lho_Nga/0830.html, USGS

Fig. 4 Trimline in Sumatra,Dec. 26, 2004. Photo retrievedfrom http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/sumatra05/Lho_Nga/0813.html, USGS

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2.2 The example of Lituya Bay, Alaska

In western Alaska at about 58�N, the fjord-like Lituya Bay extends from west to east for

about 11 km, ending inland at the N- to S-trending Fairweather Fault, which has exhibited

high seismic activity over the last few centuries. The fjord of Lituya Bay is only about

220 m deep and is nearly closed to the open ocean by two spits, which leave a 700-m-wide

entrance with a sill of about 10 m depth (Fig. 6a). The region shows tidal glaciers in the

background of the Bay, and the slopes are normally covered up to about 1,000 m by a

dense and old forest of spruce trees, some with diameters [3 m.

Lituya Bay is famous for giant tsunami events arising from earthquakes of the Fair-

weather Fault, and for the rockfalls and icefalls triggered by these quakes. In addition to

reports derived from old Indian legends, photographs from 1894 and from 1929 as well as

Fig. 5 Landscape in west Thailand which has been covered by a sand layer in 2004. In 2008, fourmonsoonal periods after the 2004 tsunami, dense vegetation is covering the affected areas and no surfaceevidence of an earlier extreme event is visible in the landscape

Fig. 6 a Aerial photo of Lituya Bay taken after July 9, 1958 event (U.S.G.S. photo). b Width of the trimlinesouth of Cenotaph Island, ca. 450 m and up to ?42 m, from the 1958 rockfall tsunami of 1958.(Photographs retrieved from the web page http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami1958LituyaB.html, 20 Oct.2010, with friendly permission of Dr. Pararas-Carayanis)

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eyewitness accounts have documented these occurrences. Scientific publications, in par-

ticular Miller (1960), Mader (1999), Pararas-Carayannis (1999), and Fritz et al. (2001,

2008), summarize what is currently known. Miller (1960) observed sharp lines in the slope

forests that distinguished the higher old and tall trees from the lower younger ones before

1958. Similarly, earlier observations were made by sailors and documented in their log-

books. Based on this material, it seems that in 1853 or 1854, when the maximum run-up

was 120 m, and in 1874, 1899, and 1936, when the maximum run-up was 149 m, the slope

forests were destroyed or even driven to extinction in the lower-lying areas due to the

impact of giant waves.

In the evening of July 9, 1958, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake along the Fairweather Fault,

resulting in a vertical dislocation of 1.05 m and a horizontal one of about 6.3 m, shook the

area. As a result, at the landward end of Lituya Bay, a rockfall of about 30.6 Mio m3

descended into the water from an initial altitude of up to 914 m asl. As a consequence, the

tidal tongue of the Lituya glacier may have been uplifted and the water of the fjord pushed

to the west. The process was heard and observed by local fishermen. Immediately opposite

the rockfall, a run-up with a maximum of 524 m ripped out all of the trees as well as the

soil down to bare rock, with similar forest destruction taking place along the entire fjord up

to a trimline of about ?30 to ?200 m (Fig. 6b), destroying millions of trees. Hitherto, this

was the highest-reaching tsunami in Lituya Bay, all evidence of older trimlines and tsu-

nami was obliterated. Today, in this humid temperate region, which provides optimal

growth conditions for coniferous trees, the trimline that resulted from the 1958 event can

be seen as a remarkable limit of old and dark-green woodlands in the upper part of the

slopes versus younger forest cover in the lower areas down to the sea. Indeed, there is no

tree older than 50 years in the affected region (Miller 1960; Fritz et al. 2001). This sharp

contrast in the maximum ages of the trees will continue to provide evidence of the 1958

event even after centuries, when the heights and diameters of the trees no longer differ.

2.3 Western Portugal: Trimline from the Lisbon event of 1755

The tsunami of Nov. 1, 1755 was triggered by an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or more at

the Gorringe Bank of southwest Portugal. What came to be known as the Great Lisbon

Tsunami was one of the most catastrophic tsunamis to occur in Europe with respect to the

destruction and number of fatalities, and it has been intensely investigated (Baptista et al.

1999; Hindson and Andrade 1999; Whelan and Kelletat 2003, 2005; Gracia et al. 2006;

Mhammdi et al. 2008). Field evidence extended from the central coastline of Morocco to

the shorelines of the Gulf of Cadiz, along the Portuguese coast and even north to the Scilly

Islands of south-western England. The run-up heights along hundreds of kilometres of

coastline were extreme, often[10 m and even[20 m, based on field deposit records such

as those at Cabo de Trafalgar, and on reports of eyewitnesses such as from the city of Cadiz

(Whelan and Kelletat 2003, 2005).

Although the west coast of Portugal has been less well investigated than the Gulf of

Cadiz, there is preserved evidence for a tsunami of strong and destructive impact, with a

trimline directly west of Lisbon and north of Cascais (Fig. 7, see also Scheffers and

Kelletat 2005). While after more than 250 years, the trimline is no longer sharply delin-

eated, the difference between a bare belt with a seaward direction and the dense vegetation

upslope is still clearly visible in field and in satellite images. As the tsunami wave(s) came

from the SSW (Gorringe Bank), the run-up reached about 24 m in the southern part (right

side of Fig. 8), rising to about ?50 m against the promontory of Cabo Roca to the north

(left side in Fig. 8). In addition to the trimline, shells (mostly limpets with a central hollow)

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and well-rounded pebbles continue to provide proof of this event. Numerical date from this

site corresponding to the 1755 event is lacking; however, according to the literature cited

and our own dating (Scheffers and Kelletat 2005), there have been no younger tsunami

waves of this size but probably older ones, dating to antiquity (about 2100 BP) and to the

Mid-Holocene (about 6000 BP). As it is highly unlikely that the currently visible trimline

remnants derive from these very old events, 1755 AD is the most probable date for these

landscape signatures.

2.4 Trimlines on Cyprus, eastern Mediterranean

During field work carried out within the last 3 years, trimlines were found in several places

on the Ionian Islands and the west coast of the Peloponnesus (Greece). Investigations

aimed at uncovering further evidence of tsunamigenic impacts at these sites are currently

underway. Although Cyprus is not known for strong earthquakes and there is no record of

either ancient or historical tsunamis, we found abundant good evidence along the western

part of the island and in the southeast, at Capo Greco (compare Kelletat and Schellmann

2001, 2002; Whelan and Kelletat 2002), in particular large boulders, boulder imbrications,

bay fillings with bimodal deposits (sands and large cobbles and boulders), and dislocated

boulders weighing [30 tons, located at ?10 and 100 m distance from the cliff-top; ver-

metid and algal accretions; boring bivalves; and trimlines.

The Cyprus trimlines are mostly found along the west coast of the Greek part of Cyprus,

north of the harbour town of Paphos. They reach ?15–16 m asl and appear as clear

vegetation limits situated inland of boulder ridges deposited by tsunamis (Figs. 8, 9). At

several places, initial and pioneer vegetation can be found seaward of the trimlines, but old

shrubs of Juniperus and Mastix species are lacking at these sites. As shown in Fig. 9, bare

areas are indicative of strong wave erosion. There are only a few remnants of a caliche,

representative of an old CCa-horizon of a soil. The tsunami waves were, evidently,

influenced by the area’s topography, as is clearly the case at the valley mouth of the

Vrysis creek (Fig. 8), where soil and vegetation were eliminated up to 800 m inland and

?50 m asl.

Fig. 7 Western Portugal (38�44030.4000N/9�28020.9200W): Trimline of the Lisbon tsunami at 1755 AD, theheight reaches up to ?50 m (left) or ?24 m (right), and 145 m inland. Shells and well-rounded pebbles aredeposited along the trimline extent. Photo credit: GoogleEarth 2009

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From wood and charcoal, bimodal deposits, algal and vermetid accretions, and boring

bivalves on and in dislocated large boulders, material was obtained for numerical dating of

the wave event. Some of the vermetid data go back [2,500 years, but it is difficult to

conclude the occurrence of an event from this material alone. Vermetid accretions are

mostly the result of a long phase of organic attachments as well as their bio-erosion or

destruction by waves; therefore, they represent a longer and mostly complicated history of

multiple processes. In direct observations in the sublittoral environment, living and dead

vermetids were found at the same sites, indicating that vermetid data should be regarded as

indicative of maximal ages. The youngest samples obtained from this material, calibrated

to calendar years, were around 300 years. Support for a strong tsunami event about

Fig. 8 West coast of Cyprus, Eastern Mediterranean (35�03014.1100N/32�16042.0300W), with an inundationup to 800 and ?50 m inland in the Vrysis valley. The usual position of the trimline is ?15 to 16 m asl and150 m inland; age around 300 years BP. Photo credit: GoogleEarth 2009

Fig. 9 Trimline about 300-year-old in western Cyprus. The white patches are caliche, remnants of a formersoil cover

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250–300 years ago also came from the wood and charcoal data and from the type of

weathering of dislocated boulders (tafoning and limestone solution). However, this or a

similar event is not mentioned in any catalogue of earthquakes or tsunamis for this part of

the eastern Mediterranean.

2.5 Trimlines on Ibiza Island, Mediterranean Spain

On Ibiza, in the western Mediterranean, the coastal slopes are marked by two totally bare

areas sharply delimited from higher and older vegetation. These areas, at altitudes from

about ?10 to ?20 m, are similar to those where large boulders outside of the surf reach

occur. The latter regions are located near Portinatx, at the north coast, in particular the

headland below Torre de Portinatx (Fig. 10), and include the headlands at the south-

western entrance of Sant Antoni Bay, exposed to the north and NNW (Figs. 11, 12). The

dark belt of cyanophyceae and the rock pools at the base of the slopes indicate the modern

normal reach of splash and spray, but evidently, even the strongest storms have not been

able to transport debris onto these slopes. Their bareness of soil, debris, and vegetation may

reflect erosion by waves or tsunami flow as well as the fact that, after this (or these)

event(s), stronger storm waves either did not reach this altitude or they washed back any

fragments into the sea. Near Portinatx, very few well-rounded limestone pebbles (with

rough surfaces slightly transformed by micro-solution) are found at the eastern section and

upper limit of the bare slope at around ?15–16 m asl and between 100 and 170 m from the

Fig. 10 a Northern Ibiza, Spain, headland of Torre de Portinatx, up to 180 m wide and ?21 m; age of thetrimline around 300 years. b Seen from the east

Fig. 11 a Bare coastal headland with trimline, west coast of Ibiza (west of Sant Antoni de Portmany), max.120 m wide and ?16–20 m asl; age of the trimline around 300 years. b Trimline up to ?20 m asl

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coastline. The trimlines usually come down close to sea level, to less-exposed sections, into

neighbouring bays of the headlands.

As in Portugal or on Cyprus, on Ibiza, in addition to the bare headlands and trimlines,

there is further evidence for extreme events, i.e., in the form of large dislocated boulders in

ridges, clusters or with good imbrication. In the case of the quarry (Fig. 13), the nature of

the curvings on the quarry floor indicates that the rock (Younger Pleistocene eolianite) was

used to construct the large watch towers of the sixteenth century (Fig. 12). The large

Fig. 12 Headland of Punta de sa Torre, west of San Antoni de Portmany, west coast of Ibiza, Spain. Thetower and trimline are at about ?13 to 14 m asl

Fig. 13 A 70-ton boulder at about ?10 m on top of a quarry from the sixteenth century, transported in theviewing direction before the quarry was opened. View is from the north

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boulder in Fig. 13 is more weathered than the walls of the quarry indicating a longer

exposure than the quarry walls and, according to the view line, was most likely transported

to its current place before the quarry was in use, i.e., C500 years ago. At boulders west of

Sant Antoni (Figs. 14, 15), bore holes from Lithophaga are numerous and, based on

vermetid accretions, their calibrated age dates to around 1700 AD. Near Torre de Portinatx,

in northern Ibiza, dead old shrubs are still present along the trimline at about ?12 m asl

and more than 130 m from the sea. A tiny branch of this dead wood dated to between 1700

and 1750 AD. Therefore, it can be concluded that the trimlines, as seen today, point to a

Fig. 14 20-ton limestone boulder at ?6 and 80 m from the sea, behind a natural arch, with some weathered(old) rock pools

Fig. 15 Imbricated large boulders from the trimline area west of Sant Antoni de Portmany, Ibiza

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tsunami event about 250–300 years ago; however, the occurrence of older events that also

left bare headlands, trimlines, and dislocated large boulders onshore cannot be ruled out.

The few numerical data from boring bivalves in or vermetid accretions upon large

dislocated boulders indicated event ages of around B460 BP as well as about 1400 BP for

Mallorca (Bartel and Kelletat 2003; Kelletat 2005; Kelletat et al. 2005a, b), and between

400 and 600 AD (1400–1600 BP) and 1700 AD for Algeria (Maouche et al. 2009), i.e.,

1,000 years or so apart. However, it cannot be excluded that the source and timing of two

ancient tsunamis are the same for Mallorca, Ibiza, and Algeria because radiocarbon dating

of vermetids (in particular rather young ones) may have errors on the order of

100–200 years.

3 Trimlines; their ages and potential for preservation

The field data discussed above provide abundant evidence for modern trimlines from all of

the recent tsunamis, including the Indian Oceanevent of 2004 and the Lituya Bay rockfall

tsunami of 1958. There is also evidence of older events, dating back to 1853/1854. Along

the west coast of Portugal, the trimlines of the Lisbon event of 1755 AD are less well-

preserved but nonetheless still visible after more than 250 years, whereas on Cyprus and

Ibiza, very clear trimlines separating bare headlands from dense vegetated higher slopes

are at least 250–300-year-old, perhaps with older forerunners. As this is only a small group

of examples, the length of the preservation time that is possible for trimlines after strong

tsunami impacts cannot be definitively concluded. Obviously, it depends on the magnitude

of the tsunami, the topography of the affected region (soil and vegetation development and

potential for regeneration), the type of rock (more or less resistant or suitable for the

development of vegetation) and, especially, on the climatic conditions, which determine

soil and vegetation development and regeneration. As seen in the humid tropics (constantly

perhumid, or with long monsoonal rain periods and precipitation of *3,000 mm/year or

more, as in Sumatra or western Thailand), trimlines may disappear in a flat landscape

within several years and even after a decade. Since old trees in the seaward belt of these

affected regions have survived because of the rather slow tsunami flow, it is essentially

impossible to detect an old inundation area in which there was strong erosion-based solely

on the age (in generations) of the trees. By contrast, this is a good instrument to date older

trimlines in coniferous forests of the very humid climate in western Alaska (Lituya Bay,

more than 2,000 mm/year of precipitation in a cool-temperate environment). Preservation

is different in Mediterranean climates, where there is a longer dry season (semi-humid as in

western Portugal, or semi-arid as in Ibiza and Cyprus in particular). However, in this case,

it is difficult to find the reason for the difference in the preservation of the trimlines;

perhaps the relatively poor preservation in western Portugal (with an event of similar age

as those involving Ibiza and Cyprus) is the consequence of a more humid climate, or the

fact that the rock is of a crystalline and old volcanic nature, whereas in Cyprus, less

resistant Tertiary limestone is found, and in Ibiza, resistant Mesozoic limestones mostly

form the coastal relief. In these latter cases, together with the dry season, regeneration of

the vegetation is slower if the soil was totally stripped off. A more intensive discussion of

trimline ages and preservations should consider the influence of saltwater spray; depending

on storm conditions and other marine effects, as well as anthropogenic impacts, such as

grazing by animals and use of the bare areas by tourists. Nonetheless, it may carefully be

concluded that in arid climates tsunami-induced trimlines can be preserved over long time

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spans, although these environments lack one of the main aspects of trimlines—the more or

less dense vegetation cover of inland habitats.

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