Aidan Wrethman has recently had his work published in a peer‑reviewed journal as part of his PhD project – a tremendous milestone that reflects both the depth of his work and its wider academic impact.
Aidan’s paper, titled “Exploring the Flow and Depositional Regime of the Storegga Submarine Landslide Tsunami at the Montrose Basin (Eastern Scotland),” offers fresh insights into a significant geological event in European prehistory. His investigation sheds light on how the Storegga tsunami event shaped the Montrose Basin, providing important contributions to our understanding of past coastal processes, sediment dynamics, and the long‑lasting environmental consequences of submarine landslides.
ABSTRACT
The 8.15 ka yr BP Storegga submarine landslide tsunami is one of the largest known Holocene tsunami events to impact the coasts of the North Atlantic and North Sea regions. The preservation of the sedimentary signature, particularly in Scotland, offers an opportunity to reconstruct the flow and sedimentary processes occurring during the event. However, the spatial variability in the deposit characteristics across low energy estuarine environments, such as the Montrose Basin, remains underexplored. This study aims to characterise the flow and depositional regime of the Storegga tsunami across the Montrose Basin, eastern Scotland, using sedimentological, geochemical and geomorphological evidence from six study sites. Both field and laboratory methodologies were employed. The field investigation consisted of geomorphological mapping, stratigraphic investigations and electrical resistivity tomography to characterise sub-aerial and -surface features. Laboratory analyses included loss on ignition, particle size analysis and micro-X-ray fluorescence to assess organic content, particle size distribution and elemental composition. Additionally, an annular flume experimental investigation provided the opportunity to reconstruct mechanisms which form soft-sediment deformation structures. Results show significant spatial variability in the deposit characteristics, controlled by palaeo-geomorphology and accommodation space. Sedimentary sequences range from stacked traction carpets with overlying grading or ungraded deposits to completely normal and ungraded deposits, with some sites preserving backwash sequences. Sites such as Puggieston and Fullerton Peat Moss showed evidence of reflection waves within gullies, influencing the structure of the deposit. The second inundation wave was identified as the most energetic across most sites, although the first wave may have had greater initial energy. Soft-sediment deformation structures, particularly asymmetric flame structures, provided further insight into the flow and depositional regime of the event at one study site, Montrose Basin Flames. This study demonstrates that tsunami sedimentation within a low energy estuarine environment is complex and varies spatially. It provides a transferable framework for interpreting palaeotsunami deposits through the integration of sedimentological, geochemical and geomorphological data. These findings contribute to improved geohazard assessment in coastal environments.
Aidan’s full article is available online for those who would like to explore his work in greater detail: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09596836251350227