Identifying tsunami deposits using bivalve shell taphonomy

On 28 November 1945, in the Makran trench off Pakistan, a large earthquake (8.1 Mw) produced a tsunami that struck the coast of Oman and left a taphonomically distinct shell bed in Sur Lagoon. The shell bed was thick (5–25 cm) and laterally extensive, covering a >1 km2 area. The shell assemblage from the deposit contained a mean of 59% for articulated bivalves of allochthonous offshore and subtidal species (e.g., Tellina palatam) as well as a …