Imprints of the 1755 tsunami in the Tróia Peninsula shoreline, Portugal

A large earthquake shook the offshore region of Portugal in Nov 1, 1755 with an estimated magnitude of 8.5 plus or minus 0.3 in the Richter scale. It lead to the massive destruction of the city of Lisbon, which was followed by intense fires. In order to understand the consequences of such a wave on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of coastal research 2013-01, Vol.1 (65), p.814-814
Main Authors: Rebelo, Luis, Costas, Susana, Brito, Pedro, Ferraz, Marco, Prudencio, M Isabel, Burbidge, Christopher
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerial photography
Barriers
Earthquakes
Estuaries
Inlets
Peninsulas
Seismic activity
Seismic phenomena
Shorelines
Tsunamis
Water flow
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Summary:A large earthquake shook the offshore region of Portugal in Nov 1, 1755 with an estimated magnitude of 8.5 plus or minus 0.3 in the Richter scale. It lead to the massive destruction of the city of Lisbon, which was followed by intense fires. In order to understand the consequences of such a wave on the sandy shores of the region, the authors explore the inlet shoreline and seaward exposed region of the estuary, the Troia peninsula. To do so, they integrate multiple types of data and information: dune ridge position were extracted from aerial photographs, shorelines from the historical maps, shoreline progradation rates, Ground Penetrating Radar profiles and optically stimulated dating of barrier sediments. This information allows them to reconstruct the shoreline following the tsunami, documenting a greater impact towards the inlet where the water flow concentrate as it entered the estuary. The impact of the tsunami in Troia peninsula translates on the erosion of about 1,000 years of barrier deposits within the spit end.
ISSN:0749-0208
1551-5036
DOI:10.2112/SI65-138