Ancient Tsunami Devastated Eastern Seaboard
Long Island and New Jersey Inundated Long Ago
May 4, 2009
Tidal waves are rare in the Atlantic Ocean, but scientists say one likely hit New York and New Jersey about 2,300 years ago.
Core Samples Tell a Story
Dr. Steven L. Goodbred, Jr. of Vanderbilt University noticed some unusual layers of sediment while studying shellfish populations in Great South Bay, Long Island. He thought they might be the result of a catastrophic tidal wave in ancient times.
He and his team took core samples from more than 20 sites in New York and New Jersey in order to study 20 cm-deep layers of sand and gravel.
According to BBC News, “Their age matched that of wood deposits buried in the Hudson riverbed and marine fossils in a New Jersey debris flow in cores gathered by other researchers.” The samples date to about 300 BCE.
Huge Wave Thought to Have Tossed Debris
According to Dr. Goodbred, a high velocity of water would be needed to throw the fist-sized gravel to where he found it on Long Island. That would indicate waves of three or four metres in height; not as big as the Indian Ocean tsunami of Boxing Day 2006 but big enough to cause serious coastal damage. It’s possible the debris was left behind by a massive storm or hurricane, so more research is being carried out to determine the exact cause.
Grand Banks Tidal Wave of 1929
While unusual, Atlantic Ocean tidal waves are not unknown. On November 18, 1929 a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit about 250 km south of Newfoundland, along the southern edge of the Grand Banks. It was felt as far away as Montreal and New York City. Some chimneys fell off houses on Cape Breton Island and a few landslides blocked highways. The real damage was done by the tidal wave that followed.
About two-and-a-half hours after the quake a tsunami struck the southern tip of the Burin Peninsula. There were three main waves causing local sea levels to rise between two and seven metres.
Natural Resources Canada reports, “At the heads of several of the long narrow bays on the Burin Peninsula the momentum of the tsunami carried water as high as 13 metres. This giant sea wave claimed a total of 28 lives – 27 drowned on the Burin peninsula and a young girl never recovered from her injuries and died in 1933…
“More than 40 local villages in southern Newfoundland were affected, where numerous homes, ships, businesses, livestock, and fishing gear were destroyed…Total property losses were estimated at more than $1 million 1929 dollars (estimated as nearly $20 million 2004 dollars).”
So, the research of Dr. Steven L. Goodbred, Jr. and his colleagues and experience says that what happened before could happen again.
