A Note on Foraminifera, Grain Size and Clay Mineralogy of Tsunami Sediments from Karaikal-Nagore-Nagapattinam Beaches, Southeast Coast of India

Analysis of tsunami sediments collected along Karaikal to Nagapattinam beaches revealed that all the sediments are of silty/Clay lithology consisting of predominantly montomorillonite, chlorite with rare presence of glauconite. Well preserved foraminiferal tests including long spines of Asterorotalia trispinosa and Ammonia dentata indicate no grain to grain abrasion during transportation of sediments. The fine grained lithology and foraminiferal assemblage data strongly point that there was only transfer of energy through tidal waves and there was no reworking of oceanic sediments.