Possible Holocene tsunamites in the Adriatic sea

Abstract

Dio obale Paškog zaljeva na otoku Pagu, sjeverno od Crnike, prekriven je izdankom visine i do 5 m, u kojem je terenskom analizom utvrđena izmjena slojeva gline, pijeska i šljunka očigledno bogatih fosilnim sadržajem te je na dva mjesta izrađen sedimentološki stup s označenim slojevima i dubinama uzorkovanja. Terenskom i laboratorijskom analizom utvrđeno je da se marinski i terigeni organizmi javljaju u istim slojevima, što upućuje na promjenu okolišnih uvjeta te da veliki udio fosilnog sadržaja primarno obuhvaća marinske organizme, od kojih je mikrofauna pretaložena iz okolnih starijih naslaga, dok podrijetlo recentne makrofaune ostaje nerazjašnjeno. Prema nalazima keramike i stakla, koji upućuju na rimsko doba te blizini nekadašnjeg rimskog grada Cisse, današnje Caske, neobjašnjivog nestanka, moguća poveznica anomalnih slojeva s marinskom i terigenom faunom te nestanka grada je nagli i kratkotrajni događaj – oluja ili tsunami. S obzirom na nedostatak povijesnih zapisa i podataka, katastrofalnu štetu bez ikakvih tragova prijašnjih konstrukcija te veličinu i način života nekih od marinskih recentnih organizama, vjerodostojniji je scenarij tsunamija, iako ostaju nejasni uzrok, mjesto žarišta te putanja i način ulaska u Paški zaljev.Coastal part of the Gulf of Pag at the Pag island, north of Crnika, is covered with outcrop in height up to 5 m made of alternation of layers of clay, sand and gravel, evidently rich in fossils as determined by the field analysis, where two sedimentological columns with marked layers and sampling depth have been made. Fieldwork and laboratory analysis found that the marine and land organisms are appearing in the same strata layers which indicates a change of environment, and also that the majority of the fossil record are of marine origin, with microfauna redeposited from the surrounding older strata while the origin of recent macrofauna remains unexplained. The discovery of Roman era glass and ceramics probably from the nearby Roman settlement Cissa, today known as Caska, which mysteriously dissapeared, together with the anomalic marine and terigenic fossils could indicate that the area was hit by a sudden and abrupt event like a storm or a tsunami. Considering the absence of historic record as well as no traces of previous constructions and the size of the recent marine organisms, the more probable cause is a tsunami, although the cause and the source of a tsunami remains unexplained, as well as its entry path in the Gulf of Pag