Traces of ancient tsunamis in the coastal parts of the South China Sea

Abstract

The results of geological and geomorphological investigations have shown that the South China Sea and its close coastal margins are in danger because of the possibility of a tsunami arriving from seismically active zones in the Philippines and Taiwan to the west and northwest coastal zones of the South China Sea. The collected data on paleotsunamis make it possible to date at least three such ancient catastrophes that have occurred in the last 1000 years (about 350, 650, and 960 years ago). The height of splashes of these ancient tsunami waves can be estimated. It was more than 7 m and in some places exceeded 15 m. The length of the sea coast covered by the paleotsunamis is estimated at several hundred (up to a first thousand) kilometers, which gives the opportunity to distinguish them from the ancient typhoons that are also typical of the region.