Tsunamigenic landscapes in the Maltese Islands: The comino channel coasts

Abstract

Extreme waves, including tsunami, have left striking imprints on the Maltese coastline. Their geomorphic legacy inshore and onshore is here illustrated via key landscapes along the Comino Channels coasts. Geomorphic signatures, both erosional and depositional, are interpreted to reveal coherent patterns of overwashing of local landscapes by powerful incoming flows, significantly greater than those reported in Maltese historic tsunami records. The field evidence confirms that such an event (or events) has occurred in the past, and hence will likely recur in the future. It is essential that effective procedures for tsunami detection, warning and mitigation are developed in order to safeguard coastal property and public activity.