Thunderbird and Whale: BC's Next Big Earthquake and Tsunami

Course description

On the evening of Jan. 26, 1700, the west coast of North America was rumbling and shaking, and very large ocean waves washed far inland. Several First Nations remember this as the battle between a thunderbird and a whale, and if modern geologists understood these stories earlier, it would not have taken until the late 1980s to realize that the greatest earthquakes and coupled tsunamis on earth are actually happening right off our coast. This is a lecture on ghost forests, strange marine deposits, and our modern understanding of how the next big one will unfold. Are we prepared?

Instructors: Dr. Martin Scherwath is a staff scientist at Ocean Networks Canada supporting research projects on gas hydrates and ocean floor fluid dynamics, and assisting with support of seismology and tectonics-related research.

Dr. Tania Insua is the Ocean Analytics Manager at Ocean Networks Canada supporting a research project on near-field tsunami detection for the BC coast.

Dr. Martin Heesemann is a marine geophysicist who is supporting projects at Ocean Networks Canada related to seismology, tectonics, tsunamis and scientific seafloor drilling.