Abstract

Muddy sediments provide an invaluable environmental archive within which to examine past changes in climate, ocean state etc. Recently deposited muddy sediments also provide an opportunity to examine recent environmental changes, through the Holocene and in to the putative Anthropocene. This presentation will examine the use of the recent sedimentary record in estuaries and along shorelines (and its integration with other tools such as geomorphology and forensic archaeology) to assess earthquake and tsunami risk along tectonically-active coasts, using Greece, Mexico and Chile as examples. The presentation will also examine the use of recent sedimentary archives in assessing historical response to geological hazards, and more widely anthropogenic changes and impacts, including current work fingerprinting the base of the Anthropocene using geochemical indicators such as residues from nuclear fallout.