Thermoluminescence evidence for the deposition of coastal sediments by tsunami wave action

Changes in our coastline take on various forms and are the product of differing wave and aeolian processes. Of all these processes tsunami action surely represents the most rapid and violent agent wreaking devastation not only along the immediate shoreline but also extending many kilometres inland. Until now the main line of evidence supporting the deposition of sediments by this means has lain in the careful examination of the sedimentological record. This process is painstaking, costly and time consuming and then not necessarily conclusive. Thermoluminescence may offer an alternative line of evidence which may be taken as either confirmatory or, on occasions, as an independent method of establishing the depositional means of a sedimentary deposit.