Tsunamigenic Potential of an Incipient Submarine Landslide in the Tiran Straits

Sam J. Purkis; Steven N. Ward; Hannah Shernisky; Giovanni Chimienti; Arash Sharifi; Fabio Marchese; Francesca Benzoni; Mattie Rodrigue; Maureen E. Raymo; Ameer Abdulla

doi:10.1029/2021GL097493

Tsunamigenic Potential of an Incipient Submarine Landslide in the Tiran Straits

Sam J. Purkis^*, Steven N. Ward, Hannah Shernisky, Giovanni Chimienti, Arash Sharifi, Fabio Marchese, Francesca Benzoni, Mattie Rodrigue, Maureen E. Raymo, Ameer Abdulla

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Red Sea is a maritime rift. Tsunamigenic submarine landslides are common in these deep, steep-sided, and seismically active basins. Because the rift is narrow, tsunami formed on one margin dissipate little before impacting the opposite side. Red Sea slope failures are therefore especially hazardous. We examine the tsunamigenic potential of an incipient landslide in the Tiran Straits that started, but then stopped after a short distance. Radiometric and biotic analyses fix the age of this landslide to within the last 500 years. Tsunami modeling of the incipient slide predicts ∼10 m wave heights on the Egyptian coastline. Of present concern is that the slope will eventually slide to completion with even more hazardous results. Tsunami simulated for this future event are twice as large as that generated by the incipient slide, so the threat posed by a future slide is consequential. Sharm El Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town now lies in its path, as does “The Line,” a vast Saudi infrastructure project. This study warns of credible tsunami risk in the rapidly urbanizing Tiran Straits.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	e2021GL097493
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	49
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097493
State	Published - Feb 28 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors owe a debt of gratitude to our Saudi Arabian partners, Neom, and to Paul Marshall, in particular, for facilitating the Deep Blue expedition. They are similarly indebted to the OceanXplorer crew, through the generosity of Mark Dalio, for their inexhaustible help in the field. Special thanks go to Colleen Peters for her commitment to acquiring excellent multibeam, to Andrew Craig and his crew for seamless ROV ops, and to Buck Taylor and his exceptional team of submersible pilots who safely collected samples despite high seas, strong currents, and demanding scientists. The authors are grateful to Simon Day for his advice on bracketing the timing of the slide and to two anonymous reviewers for their insightful critique. G. Chimienti was supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (PON 2014–2020, Grant AIM 1807508‐1, Linea 1).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022. The Authors.

Keywords

geohazard
Gulf of Aqaba
submarine landslide
Tiran Straits
tsunami

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geophysics
General Earth and Planetary Sciences

Access to Document

10.1029/2021GL097493

Cite this

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title = "Tsunamigenic Potential of an Incipient Submarine Landslide in the Tiran Straits",

abstract = "The Red Sea is a maritime rift. Tsunamigenic submarine landslides are common in these deep, steep-sided, and seismically active basins. Because the rift is narrow, tsunami formed on one margin dissipate little before impacting the opposite side. Red Sea slope failures are therefore especially hazardous. We examine the tsunamigenic potential of an incipient landslide in the Tiran Straits that started, but then stopped after a short distance. Radiometric and biotic analyses fix the age of this landslide to within the last 500 years. Tsunami modeling of the incipient slide predicts ∼10 m wave heights on the Egyptian coastline. Of present concern is that the slope will eventually slide to completion with even more hazardous results. Tsunami simulated for this future event are twice as large as that generated by the incipient slide, so the threat posed by a future slide is consequential. Sharm El Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town now lies in its path, as does “The Line,” a vast Saudi infrastructure project. This study warns of credible tsunami risk in the rapidly urbanizing Tiran Straits.",

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author = "Purkis, {Sam J.} and Ward, {Steven N.} and Hannah Shernisky and Giovanni Chimienti and Arash Sharifi and Fabio Marchese and Francesca Benzoni and Mattie Rodrigue and Raymo, {Maureen E.} and Ameer Abdulla",

note = "Funding Information: The authors owe a debt of gratitude to our Saudi Arabian partners, Neom, and to Paul Marshall, in particular, for facilitating the Deep Blue expedition. They are similarly indebted to the OceanXplorer crew, through the generosity of Mark Dalio, for their inexhaustible help in the field. Special thanks go to Colleen Peters for her commitment to acquiring excellent multibeam, to Andrew Craig and his crew for seamless ROV ops, and to Buck Taylor and his exceptional team of submersible pilots who safely collected samples despite high seas, strong currents, and demanding scientists. The authors are grateful to Simon Day for his advice on bracketing the timing of the slide and to two anonymous reviewers for their insightful critique. G. Chimienti was supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (PON 2014–2020, Grant AIM 1807508‐1, Linea 1). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022. The Authors.",

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AU - Chimienti, Giovanni

AU - Sharifi, Arash

AU - Marchese, Fabio

AU - Benzoni, Francesca

AU - Rodrigue, Mattie

AU - Raymo, Maureen E.

AU - Abdulla, Ameer

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N2 - The Red Sea is a maritime rift. Tsunamigenic submarine landslides are common in these deep, steep-sided, and seismically active basins. Because the rift is narrow, tsunami formed on one margin dissipate little before impacting the opposite side. Red Sea slope failures are therefore especially hazardous. We examine the tsunamigenic potential of an incipient landslide in the Tiran Straits that started, but then stopped after a short distance. Radiometric and biotic analyses fix the age of this landslide to within the last 500 years. Tsunami modeling of the incipient slide predicts ∼10 m wave heights on the Egyptian coastline. Of present concern is that the slope will eventually slide to completion with even more hazardous results. Tsunami simulated for this future event are twice as large as that generated by the incipient slide, so the threat posed by a future slide is consequential. Sharm El Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town now lies in its path, as does “The Line,” a vast Saudi infrastructure project. This study warns of credible tsunami risk in the rapidly urbanizing Tiran Straits.

AB - The Red Sea is a maritime rift. Tsunamigenic submarine landslides are common in these deep, steep-sided, and seismically active basins. Because the rift is narrow, tsunami formed on one margin dissipate little before impacting the opposite side. Red Sea slope failures are therefore especially hazardous. We examine the tsunamigenic potential of an incipient landslide in the Tiran Straits that started, but then stopped after a short distance. Radiometric and biotic analyses fix the age of this landslide to within the last 500 years. Tsunami modeling of the incipient slide predicts ∼10 m wave heights on the Egyptian coastline. Of present concern is that the slope will eventually slide to completion with even more hazardous results. Tsunami simulated for this future event are twice as large as that generated by the incipient slide, so the threat posed by a future slide is consequential. Sharm El Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town now lies in its path, as does “The Line,” a vast Saudi infrastructure project. This study warns of credible tsunami risk in the rapidly urbanizing Tiran Straits.

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Tsunamigenic Potential of an Incipient Submarine Landslide in the Tiran Straits

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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