How a tsunami deposit sample is taken

A series of images showing how a tsunami deposit sample is taken.

Left: Jody Bourgeois pushes a clear tube down through a thick layer of sand that has been left behind by the 2006/2007 tsunamis at Ainu Bay, Matua.

Center: After the tube has been pushed about 0.5-1 cm into the soil beneath the tsunami deposit, is twisted slightly and gently pulled up and out. The soil is more compact than the sand and helps to hold the sand inside the tube so that it can be measured and collected.

Right: Jody checks the “soil seal” on the bottom of the tube to be sure that all of the tsunami deposit was collected. This particular sample was also preserved by cutting down the tube and capping both ends so that the stratigraphy of the deposit could be studied later as well. Ainu Bay, Matua, Kuril Islands, Russia.

Credit to read: Photo by Misty Nikula (PolarTREC 2007), Courtesy of ARCUS