Citation

Iyer NR, Srinivasan P, Nair RR. Int. J. Forensic Eng. 2013; 1(3/4): 290.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Inderscience Publishers)

DOI

10.1504/IJFE.2013.053575

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The coastal region experiences erosional, transportational and depositional events during mega events such as tsunami. The onshore deposits are significant in determining the past events of high-energy events in the coastal region. The Optically Simulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of the sediments by combining Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) records will reveal the past tsunami events. OSL dates obtained on the sediments, trenched manually will indicate the depositional events having a characteristic recurrence interval and also the presence of heavy mineral concentration (HMCs). These characteristic layers can be identified using the radar signatures. GPR is a high-resolution technique of imaging shallow soil and ground structures using electromagnetic waves in the frequency band of 100-400 MHz, with penetration depths of 30-40 m. This paper highlights the application of radar technique as a forensic tool combined with the analysis of soil samples for the study of tsunamis and sand dunes in India.

KEYWORDS: tsunami sand deposits; sand dunes; ground penetrating radar; OSL; optically stimulated luminescence; sedimentology; heavy mineral layer; forensics; coastal regions; sediment dating; India; past tsunamis.