Ghosts of Tsunamis Past Brian Atwater is one of those people
whose surname coincidentally fits his or her line of work. As a
geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, he studies earthquakes
and tsunamis of the past few thousand years. Doing this often
requires him to get wet along shorelines, tidal marshes, and
river deltas to investigate the residue of these catastrophes,
buried where land meets sea. For tsunami researchers, witnessing
an event as wide-reaching and destructive as last winter’s
Indian Ocean tsunami is exceedingly rare. This makes Atwater’s
soggy forays into geologic history quite valuable. By unearthing
sediment deposits tsunamis leave behind, scientists can study
the waves’ origins, extent, and frequency. Such work helps avert
surprises from locations that have the geological apparatus to
produce a tsunami, but haven’tin written history, at least.
History in Layers Science Bulletins met up with Atwater at the
Copalis River estuary on the Pacific coast of Washington State.
The estuary is one