EAPSI: Sedimentary Record of Typhoon Ketsana from Vietnam: Implications for Long-Term Tropical Cyclon

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A better understanding of tropical cyclone processes is imperative in order to predict and mitigate the effects of similar future storms on the environment and expanding coastal communities. Southeast Asia, in particular, is susceptible to frequent typhoons and severe damage, and rapidly expanding populations tend to settle on the coasts where there is concentrated economic activity, exacerbating the negative consequences of coastal hazards. The objective of this research is to analyze sediment deposits left by the storm surge associated with Typhoon Ketsana on the Vietnam coast near Da Nang in 2009. Microfossil data will be combined with physical sedimentological data to characterize the impacts of the tropical cyclone on Vietnam. This project will improve understanding of tropical cyclone inundation characteristics and impacts and contribute to more accurate risk assessment and coastal hazard planning for dense populations in coastal communities. Research will be conducted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and will be supervised by Assistant Professor Adam Switzer, who is an internationally recognized expert in tsunami and storm deposits. The Earth Observatory of Singapore is in an ideal location to study tropical cyclone events with state of the art facilities necessary to complete this research. Coastal sediments archive geologic evidence of tropical cyclones and these sedimentary deposits improve our understanding of landfalling storm processes. The documentation of the geological evidence of this catastrophic marine inundation will contribute to a better understanding of tropical cyclones and their associated processes. Microfossil (foraminifera) composition of the deposits and physical sedimentological data will be compared with samples collected from the beach face and offshore. A combination of foraminiferal taxonomy and taphonomy data for the samples collected will assist in the analysis of the marine inundation event of Typhoon Ketsana. The coastal stratigraphic record in Vietnam can be compared with other depositional records from tropical cyclones to help calibrate the characteristics of past storm events in sediment records. Characterization of tropical cyclone events is immensely important for advancing knowledge and understanding within geologic, oceanographic, and environmental fields. This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the National Research Foundation of Singapore.