title: Unexpected biotic resilience on the Japanese seafloor caused by the 2011 Tōhoku-Oki tsunami.
abstract: On March 11(th), 2011 the Mw 9.0 2011 Tōhoku-Oki earthquake resulted in a tsunami which caused major devastation in coastal areas. Along the Japanese NE coast, tsunami waves reached maximum run-ups of 40 m, and travelled kilometers inland. Whereas devastation was clearly visible on land, underwater impact is much more difficult to assess. Here, we report unexpected results obtained during a research cruise targeting the seafloor off Shimokita (NE Japan), shortly (five months) after the disaster. The geography of the studied area is characterized by smooth coastline and a gradually descending shelf slope. Although high-energy tsunami waves caused major sediment reworking in shallow-water environments, investigated shelf ecosystems were characterized by surprisingly high benthic diversity and showed no evidence of mass mortality. Conversely, just beyond the shelf break, the benthic ecosystem was dominated by a low-diversity, opportunistic fauna indicating ongoing colonization of massive sand-bed deposits.
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toyofuku
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan.
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Duros
authors.affiliation: 1] CNRS UMR 6112 LPG-BIAF, Recent and Fossil Bio-Indicators, Université d'Angers, 2 Boulevard Lavoisier, 49045 Angers Cedex, France [2] Univ. of Bordeaux, CNRS, Environnements et Paléo-environnements Océaniques et Continentaux, UMR 5805, F33615 Pessac, France [3] Ifremer EDROME, Département Géosciences Marines, Laboratoire Environnements sédimentaires, Centre de Brest, Technopôle de Brest-Iroise, BP 70, F-29280 Plouzané, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fontanier
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan.
authors.forename: Briony
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mamo
authors.affiliation: Univ. of Bordeaux, CNRS, Environnements et Paléo-environnements Océaniques et Continentaux, UMR 5805, F33615 Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bichon
authors.affiliation: CNRS and Univ. Perpignan, CEntre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens, UMR 5110 CNRS, F-66860 Perpignan Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Roselyne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Buscail
authors.affiliation: Univ. of Bordeaux, CNRS, Environnements et Paléo-environnements Océaniques et Continentaux, UMR 5805, F33615 Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chabaud
authors.affiliation: Univ. of Bordeaux, CNRS, Environnements et Paléo-environnements Océaniques et Continentaux, UMR 5805, F33615 Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Deflandre
authors.affiliation: Univ. of Bordeaux, CNRS, Environnements et Paléo-environnements Océaniques et Continentaux, UMR 5805, F33615 Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goubet
authors.affiliation: Univ. of Bordeaux, CNRS, Environnements et Paléo-environnements Océaniques et Continentaux, UMR 5805, F33615 Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grémare
authors.affiliation: CNRS and Univ. Perpignan, CEntre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens, UMR 5110 CNRS, F-66860 Perpignan Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Menniti
authors.affiliation: Yamaguchi University, 1677-1, Yoshida, Yamaguchi, 753-8511, Japan.
authors.forename: Minami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.affiliation: Yamaguchi University, 1677-1, Yoshida, Yamaguchi, 753-8511, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Earth Sciences - Geochemistry, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.021, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands [2] Department of Environmental Sciences, P.O. Box 65 (Viikinkaari 1), 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Karoliina Annika
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Koho
authors.affiliation: Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, Central 7, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Noda
authors.affiliation: Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, Central 7, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Namegaya
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazumasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oguri
authors.affiliation: CEREGE, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS UMR 7330, 13545 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 4, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Radakovitch
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Marine Core Research, Kochi University, 200 Monobe Otsu, Nankoku, Kochi, 783-8502 Japan.
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.affiliation: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Landsdiep 4, 1797 SZ 't Horntje, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lennart Jan
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: de Nooijer
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan.
authors.forename: Atushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurasawa
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohkawara
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okutani
authors.affiliation: 1] Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan [2] Yamaguchi University, 1677-1, Yoshida, Yamaguchi, 753-8511, Japan.
authors.forename: Arito
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sakaguchi
authors.affiliation: CNRS UMR 6112 LPG-BIAF, Recent and Fossil Bio-Indicators, Université d'Angers, 2 Boulevard Lavoisier, 49045 Angers Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Frans
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jorissen
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Earth Sciences - Geochemistry, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.021, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands [2] Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Landsdiep 4, 1797 SZ 't Horntje, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gert-Jan
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Reichart
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kitazato
mesh_terms: D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D007564:Japan; D057192:Tsunamis