QRC members lead and participate in a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research projects from the study of past earth climates and glaciations to shifts in the geographic distributions and evolution of vegetation and faunal communities, to the evolution and dispersals of the genus Homo and the increasing scales of human modification of earth environments through the Holocene. QRC provides a venue for meeting and collaborating with scholars across Quaternary disciplines. We are also fortunate to be able to provide seed funding and small grants for member research projects. We are especially happy to support grad student and junior scholar research activities, much of which leads to larger, external funding from agencies like the National Science Foundation.
The Risk of Tsunamis to Coastal Groundwater Resources in Northern Cascadia: Reconstructing the Extent of the 1964 Alaska Tsunami Using Geologic Evidence to Determine the Potential Threat of Future Marine Inundation to Groundwater Resources in Western Vancouver Island, Canada
Abstract: The effects of tsunamis are not isolated to the destructive force of the wave alone. This is apparent in the interactions between the saline seawater of a tsunami and freshwater stored in groundwater-bearing geologic formations known as aquifers. Research suggests that tsunami-related salinization may yield groundwater undrinkable for 4 to 15 years following a tsunami. Key variables of uncertainty are tsunami inundation height, rainfall recharge rate, and the speed at which water can pass through site-specific geologic material. Thus, studying this problem is interdisciplinary and requires methodologies from both the coastal hazards and hydrogeological disciplines. In North America, the area with the highest tsunami risk is the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) – an area of tectonism from northern California to southern British Columbia. The most recent tsunami and subsequent tsunami deposit in the CSZ (a thin < 5 cm layer of sand contained within marsh sediments) is from the 1964 Alaska earthquake/tsunami which caused damage to the coastal communities of Port Alberni, Ucluelet, and Tofino, BC. I will develop a methodology seeking to answer two questions: (1) can grain size distributions of the 1964 tsunami deposit be used to reconstruct the 1964 tsunami wave height and from this data, can a map of the geographic extent of the tsunami be generated? 2. Based on (1) and considering variations in precipitation and aquifer materials, what is the vulnerability of regional groundwater to future tsunamis? I will generate a groundwater vulnerability map for the region. This will be the first map of its kind created in Canada and provide not only vital information for communities in the region seeking to protect their water supply but also act as a blueprint for future studies.
Abstract: The effects of tsunamis are not isolated to the destructive force of the wave alone. This is apparent in the interactions between the saline seawater of a tsunami and freshwater stored in groundwater-bearing geologic formations known as aquifers. Research suggests that tsunami-related salinization may yield groundwater undrinkable for 4 to 15 years following a tsunami. Key variables of uncertainty are tsunami inundation height, rainfall recharge rate, and the speed at which water can pass through site-specific geologic material. Thus, studying this problem is interdisciplinary and requires methodologies from both the coastal hazards and hydrogeological disciplines. In North America, the area with the highest tsunami risk is the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) – an area of tectonism from northern California to southern British Columbia. The most recent tsunami and subsequent tsunami deposit in the CSZ (a thin < 5 cm layer of sand contained within marsh sediments) is from the 1964 Alaska earthquake/tsunami which caused damage to the coastal communities of Port Alberni, Ucluelet, and Tofino, BC. I will develop a methodology seeking to answer two questions: (1) can grain size distributions of the 1964 tsunami deposit be used to reconstruct the 1964 tsunami wave height and from this data, can a map of the geographic extent of the tsunami be generated? 2. Based on (1) and considering variations in precipitation and aquifer materials, what is the vulnerability of regional groundwater to future tsunamis? I will generate a groundwater vulnerability map for the region. This will be the first map of its kind created in Canada and provide not only vital information for communities in the region seeking to protect their water supply but also act as a blueprint for future studies.