Geoscientists studying the island nation of Tonga have correlated a large line of house-size boulders as evidence of what could be the most powerful volcano-triggered tsunami found to date. The line of seven boulders on the western shore of Tonga are 30 feet high, weigh up to 3.5 million pounds, and are found up to 1,300 feet from the coast. Satellite images further the hypothesis that the boulder movement was caused by a large tsunami by revealing a large break in the coral reef opposite the location of the boulders.
The study of these large erratic boulders as evidence of geohazards is a growing area of research. Analysis is ongoing in other Pacific islands where similar large boulders have been found.
The research by Matthew Hornbach of the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics will be presented at the joint meeting between The Geological Society of America (GSA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), American Society of Agronomy (ASA) and Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) in Houston in early October. This joint meeting marks the International Year of Planet Earth, a worldwide celebration to educate the public about the benefits of earth science for society.
