Glossary
- Mesolithic:
-
Refers to the middle period in the Stone Age. “Meso” means middle and “lithic” means stone or rock. The Mesolithic began with the Holocene warming, around 11,500 years Before Present (BP) and ended when farming was introduced in Scandinavia around 6000 years BP. The Storegga Slide happened in the Late Mesolithic when humans subsisted on fishing and hunting and the population had become more sedentary. Numerous excavations in Norway and Scotland have found Late Mesolithic settlements on or close to the former shores; these may have been affected by the Storegga tsunami.
- Radiocarbon ages:
-
A radiocarbon year varies in length relative to a calendar year because the amount of radioactive carbon, 14C, in the atmosphere varies over time. Best age estimate of the Storegga tsunami is 7320 ± 20 radiocarbon years BP. By counting back tree rings year by year that have been systematically radiocarbon dated, this age would correspond to the tree rings that grew in the time...
Bibliography
Aksdal S (1986) Holocene vegetasjonsutvikling og havnivåendringer i Florø, Sogn og Fjordane. Bergen, Bergen, 105pp
Bang-Andersen S (1996) Coast inland relations in the Mesolithic of southern Norway. World Archaeol 27(3):427–443
Befring S (1984) Submarine massebevegelser nordvest av Storegga utenfor Møre og Romsdal: En genetisk klassifisering av og en regional oversikt over de øvre deler av sedimentene i rasområdet. Bergen, Bergen, 95pp
Berg K, Solheim A, Bryn P (2005) The Pleistocene to recent geological development of the Ormen Lange area. Mar Pet Geol 22(1–2):45–56
Bjerck HB (2008) Norwegian Mesolithic trends. In: Bailey GN, Spikins P (eds) Mesolithic Europe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 60–106
Bjerck HB (2013) Looking with both eyes. Nor Archaeol Rev 46(1):83–87
Bondevik S (2003a) Records of paleo-tsunamis around the Norwegian Seas. University of Tromsø, Tromsø
Bondevik S (2003b) Storegga tsunami sand in peat below the Tapes beach ridge at Haroy, western Norway, and its possible relation to an early Stone Age settlement. Boreas 32(3):476–483
Bondevik S, Svendsen JI, Johnsen G, Mangerud J, Kaland PE (1997a) The Storegga tsunami along the Norwegian coast, its age and runup. Boreas 26(1):29–53
Bondevik S, Svendsen JI, Mangerud J (1997b) Tsunami sedimentary facies deposited by the Storegga tsunami in shallow marine basins and coastal lakes, western Norway. Sedimentology 44(6):1115–1131
Bondevik S, Mangerud J, Dawson S, Dawson A, Lohne Ø (2003) Record-breaking height for 8000-year-old tsunami in the North Atlantic. Eos, Trans Am Geophys Union 84(31):289
Bondevik S, Løvholt F, Harbitz C, Mangerud J, Dawson A, Inge Svendsen J (2005a) The Storegga Slide tsunami—comparing field observations with numerical simulations. Mar Pet Geol 22(1/2):195–208
Bondevik S, Mangerud J, Dawson S, Dawson A, Lohne Ø (2005b) Evidence for three North Sea tsunamis at the Shetland Islands between 8000 and 1500 years ago. Quat Sci Rev 24(14–15):1757–1775
Bondevik S, Stormo SK, Skjerdal G (2012) Green mosses date the Storegga tsunami to the chilliest decades of the 8.2 ka cold event. Quat Sci Rev 45:1–6
Boomer I, Waddington C, Stevenson T, Hamilton D (2007) Holocene coastal change and geoarchaeology at Howick, Northumberland, UK. Holocene 17(1):89–104
Bryn P, Berg K, Forsberg CF, Solheim A, Kvalstad TJ (2005a) Explaining the Storegga Slide. Mar Pet Geol 22(1–2):11–19
Bryn P, Berg K, Stoker MS, Haflidason H, Solheim A (2005b) Contourites and their relevance for mass wasting along the Mid-Norwegian Margin. Mar Pet Geol 22(1–2):85–96
Bryn P, Jasinski ME, Søreide F (2007) Ormen Lange – pipelines and shipwrecks. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 174pp
Bugge T (1983) Submarine slides on the Norwegian continental margin, with special emphasis on the Storegga area, vol 110. Continental Shelf Institute Publication, Trondheim, p 152
Bugge T, Lien R, Rokoengen K (1978) Kartlegging av løsmassene på kontinentalsokkelen utenfor Møre og Trøndelag: lettseismisk profilering (Quaternary deposits off Møre and Trøndelag, Norway: seismic profiling). Continental Shelf Institute Publication, 99:1–55
Bugge T, Befring S, Belderson RH, Eidvin T, Jansen E, Kenyon NH, Holtedahl H, Sejrup HP (1987) A giant three-stage submarine slide off Norway. Geo-Mar Lett 7(4):191–198
Coles BJ (1998) Doggerland: a speculative survey. Proc Prehist Soc 64:45–81
Corner G, Haugane E (1993) Marine-lacustrine stratigraphy of raised coastal basins and postglacial sea-level changes at Lyngen and Vanna, Troms, northern Norway. Nor J Geol 73:175–197
Dawson S, Smith DE (1997) Holocene relative sea-level changes on the margin of a glacio-isostatically uplifted area: An example from northern Caithness, Scotland. Holocene 7(1):59–77
Dawson S, Smith DE (2000) The sedimentology of Middle Holocene tsunami facies in northern Sutherland, Scotland, UK. Mar Geol 170(1–2):69–79
Dawson AG, Long D, Smith DE (1988) The Storegga Slides: evidence from eastern Scotland for a possible tsunami. Mar Geol 82(3–4):271–276
Dawson AG, Smith DE, Long D (1990) Evidence for a tsunami from a mesolithic site in Inverness, Scotland. J Archaeol Sci 17(5):509–512
Dawson AG, Foster IDL, Shi S, Smith DE, Long D (1991) The identification of tsunami deposits in coastal sediment sequences. Sci Tsunami Haz 9:73–82
De Blasio FV, Elverhøi A, Issler D, Harbitz CB, Bryn P, Lien R (2005) On the dynamics of subaqueous clay rich gravity mass flows—the giant Storegga slide, Norway. Mar Pet Geol 22(1–2):179–186
Edvin T (1984) Stratigrafiske undersøkelser av kjerneprøver fra rasområdet utenfor Storegga. Bergen, Bergen, 122pp
Fægri K (1944) Studies on the Pleistocene of western Norway. III. Bømlo. Bergen Museums Årbok. Naturvit. rk. 1943
Fruergaard M, Piasecki S, Johannessen PN, Noe-Nygaard N, Andersen TJ, Pejrup M, Nielsen LH (2015) Tsunami propagation over a wide, shallow continental shelf caused by the Storegga slide, southeastern North Sea, Denmark. Geology 43(12):1047–1050
Grauert M, Björck S, Bondevik S (2001) Storegga tsunami deposits in a coastal lake on Suouroy, the Faroe Islands. Boreas 30(4):263–271
Haflidason H, Sejrup HP, Nygård A, Mienert J, Bryn P, Lien R, Forsberg CF, Berg K, Masson D (2004) The Storegga Slide: architecture, geometry and slide development. Mar Geol 213(1–4):201–234
Haflidason H, Lien R, Sejrup HP, Forsberg CF, Bryn P (2005) The dating and morphometry of the Storegga Slide. Mar Pet Geol 22(1–2):123–136
Harbitz CB (1992) Model simulations of tsunamis generated by the Storegga Slides. Mar Geol 105(1–4):1–21
Harbitz CB, Lovholt F, Pedersen G, Masson DG (2006) Mechanisms of tsunami generation by submarine landslides: a short review. Nor J Geol 86(3):255–264
Heezen B, Ewing M (1952) Turbidity currents and submarine slumps, and the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake. Am J Sci 250:849–873
Hill J, Collins GS, Avdis A, Kramer SC, Piggott MD (2014) How does multiscale modelling and inclusion of realistic palaeobathymetry affect numerical simulation of the Storegga Slide tsunami? Ocean Model 83:11–25
Hoppe G (1965) Submarine peat in the Shetland Islands. Geogr Ann 47A:195–203
Indrelid S (1973) En mesolitisk boplass i Dysvikja på. Fjørtoft. Arkeo 1:7–11
Indrelid S (1974) C-14 datering av boplassen i. Dysvikja på Fjørtoft. Arkeo 1:10
Jankaew K, Atwater BF, Sawai Y, Choowong M, Charoentitirat T, Martin ME, Prendergast A (2008) Medieval forewarning of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Thailand. Nature 455(7217):1228–1231
Jansen E, Befring S, Bugge T, Eidvin T, Holtedahl H, Sejrup HP (1987) Large submarine slides on the Norwegian continental margin: sediments, transport and timing. Mar Geol 78(1–2):77–107
Kaland PE (1984) Holocene shore displacement and shorelines in Hordaland, Western Norway. Boreas 13:203–242
Kvalstad TJ, Andresen L, Forsberg CF, Berg K, Bryn P, Wangen M (2005) The Storegga slide: evaluation of triggering sources and slide mechanics. Mar Pet Geol 22(1–2):245–256
Laberg JS, Vorren TO (2000) The Trænadjupet Slide, offshore Norway—morphology, evacuation and triggering mechanisms. Mar Geol 171(1–4):95–114
Long D, Dawson AG, Smith DE (1989a) Tsunami risk in northwestern Europe: a Holocene example. Terra Nova 1(6):532–537
Long D, Smith DE, Dawson AG (1989b) A Holocene tsunami deposit in eastern Scotland. J Quat Sci 4(1):61–66
Long AJ, Barlow NLM, Dawson S, Hill J, Innes JB, Kelham C, Milne FD, Dawson A (2016) Lateglacial and Holocene relative sea-level changes and first evidence for the Storegga tsunami in Sutherland, Scotland. J Quat Sci 31(3):239–255
Løvholt F, Harbitz CB, Haugen KB (2005) A parametric study of tsunamis generated by submarine slides in the Ormen Lange/Storegga area off western Norway. Mar Pet Geol 22(1–2):219–231
Løvholt F, Bondevik S, Laberg JS, Kim J, Boylan N (2017) Some giant submarine landslides do not produce large tsunamis. Geophys Res Lett 44(16):8463–8472
Micallef A, Masson DG, Berndt C, Stow DAV (2007) Morphology and mechanics of submarine spreading: a case study from the Storegga Slide. J Geophys Res Earth Surf 112 F03023. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000739
Rasmussen H, Bondevik S, Corner GD (2018) Holocene relative sea level history and Storegga tsunami run-up in Lyngen, northern Norway. J Quat Sci 33(4):393–408
Rødal E (1996) Bønder og fiskere i Bud prestegjeld ca. 1600–1800, Romsdal Sogelag Årsskrift 1996. Romsdal Sogelag, Molde, pp 155–188
Romundset A, Bondevik S (2011) Propagation of the Storegga tsunami into ice-free lakes along the southern shores of the Barents Sea. J Quat Sci 26(5):457–462
Rydgren K, Bondevik S (2015) Moss growth patterns and timing of human exposure to a Mesolithic tsunami in the North Atlantic. Geology 43(2):111–114
Shennan I, Horton B, Innes J, Gehrels R, Lloyd J, McArthur J, Rutherford M (2000) Late Quaternary sea-level changes, crustal movements and coastal evolution in Northumberland, WK. J Quat Sci 15(3):215–237
Shi S (1995) Observational and theoretical aspects of tsunami sedimentation. Coventry University, Coventry
Sissons JB, Smith DE (1965) Peat bogs in a post-glacial sea and a buried raised beach in the western part of the Carse of Stirling. Scott J Geol 1:247–255
Smith DE, Cullingford RA, Haggart BA (1985) A major coastal flood during the Holocene in eastern Scotland. Eiszeitalter und Gegenwart 35:109–118
Smith DE, Firth CR, Turbayne SC, Brooks CL (1992) Holocene relative sea-level changes and shoreline displacement in the Dornoch Firth area, Scotland. Proc Geol Assoc 103(Part 3):237–257
Smith DE, Shi S, Cullingford RA, Dawson AG, Dawson S, Firth CR, Foster IDL, Fretwell PT, Haggart BA, Holloway LK, Long D (2004) The Holocene Storegga Slide tsunami in the United Kingdom. Quat Sci Rev 23(23–24):2291–2321
Smith DE, Foster IDL, Long D, Shi S (2007) Reconstructing the pattern and depth of flow onshore in a palaeotsunami from associated deposits. Sediment Geol 200(3–4):362–371
Solheim A, Berg K, Forsberg CF, Bryn P (2005a) The Storegga Slide complex: repetitive large scale sliding with similar cause and development. Mar Pet Geol 22(1–2):97–107
Solheim A, Bryn P, Sejrup HP, Mienert J, Berg K (2005b) Ormen Lange—an integrated study for the safe development of a deep-water gas field within the Storegga Slide Complex, NE Atlantic continental margin; executive summary. Mar Pet Geol 22(1–2):1–9
Svendsen J (1985) Strandforskyvning på Sunnmøre. Bio- og litostratigrafiske undersøkelser på Gurskøy, Leinøy og Bergsøy. Bergen, Bergen, 142pp
Svendsen JI, Mangerud J (1987) Late Weichselian and holocene sea-level history for a cross-section of western Norway. J Quat Sci 2(2):113–132
Svendsen JI, Mangerud J (1990) Sea-level changes and pollen stratigraphy on the outer coast of Sunnmøre, western Norway. Nor J Geol 70:111–134
Tjemsland A (1983) Vegetasjonshistoriske og paleolimnologiske undersøkelser av Rekkingedalstjørna og Sengsvatnet, Fedje, Hordaland. Bergen, Bergen, 213pp
Vasskog K, Waldmann N, Bondevik S, Nesje A, Chapron E, Ariztegui D (2013) Evidence for Storegga tsunami run-up at the head of Nordfjord, western Norway. J Quat Sci 28(4):391–402
Waddington C, Wicks K (2017) Resilience or wipe out? Evaluating the convergent impacts of the 8.2ka event and Storegga tsunami on the Mesolithic of northeast Britain. J Archaeol Sci Rep 14:692–714
Wagner B, Bennike O, Klug M, Cremer H (2007) First indication of Storegga tsunami deposits from East Greenland. J Quat Sci 22(4):321–325
Weninger B, Schulting R, Bradtmoller M, Clare L, Collard M, Edinborough K, Hilpert J, Joris O, Niekus M, Rohling EJ, Wagner B (2008) The catastrophic final flooding of Doggerland by the Storegga Slide tsunami. Documenta Praehistorica 35:1–24
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to the MAREANO project at Norwegian Geological Survey (NGU) and the Norwegian Hydrographic Service that allowed me to use their detailed bathymetry for Figs. 4 and 5, which were nicely put together by Terje Thorsnes at NGU. Finn Løvholt and Jon Hill answered questions about the numerical simulations and also commented on the relevant text in that chapter; David Smith answered detailed questions about run-up measurements in Scotland, provided the photo from Maryton in Fig. 15, and suggested changes that improved the paper. Alastair Dawson and John Inge Svendsen gave valuable comments to the entry “How the Storegga Tsunami Was Discovered”? Robert I. Tilling reviewed the paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Science+Business Media LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Bondevik, S. (2019). Tsunami from the Storegga Landslide. In: Meyers, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27737-5_644-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27737-5_644-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27737-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27737-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics