Lake

tsunamis in
Switzerland
563 AD : The
Tauredunum event

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 Structure of the presentation

Part I : Part III :

Part II :
Introduction and Risk Assessment Conclusion
Mecanisms
context and prevention
• What happened ? • Sub-lakeous landslides • Hazard assessment • Take home messages
• Where ? mecanisms • Consequences • Questions
• Triggering event

Cover image : Documentary « Un tsunami sur le lac Léman » from Laurent Graenicher 2
 Brief introduction to Switzerland
1. Introduction and context

Lemanic region

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 Lausanne

Lake Geneva
Rhone delta
1. Introduction and context

Geneva
Rhone river

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 Lausanne
1. Introduction and context

Geneva

In 563AD, We know from archeological and historical sources :

What is the • a massive landslide occured near the Rhone delta
Tauredunum • a tsunami wave devasted the roman colony on the shores of
event ? the lake geneva
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Map: « Un tsunami sur le lac Léman » from Laurent Graenicher
 Seismic reflexion profile of Lake Geneva

> 563 AD
2. Mechanism – tsunami

563 AD Tauredunum

30 BC

235 BC

700 BC

1730BC

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Fig : «Kremer, K., Simpson, G. & Girardclos, S. Giant Lake Geneva tsunami in AD 563. Nature Geosci 5, 756–757 (2012).
 What happened ?
Triggering event
2. Mechanism – tsunami

~50 mio m3 estimated ~250 mio m3 estimated

Or 166x San Leo Or 833x San Leo

... But what can lead to such a massive delta collapse ?

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Fig : «Kremer, K., Simpson, G. & Girardclos, S. Giant Lake Geneva tsunami in AD 563. Nature Geosci 5, 756–757 (2012).
 Switzerland during Glacial age
2. Mechanism – tsunami

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Map: https://map.geo.admin.ch/,
 Formation of fjord-type lake I – Glacial Age
2. Mechanism – tsunami

Thin layer deposited on the slopes

Michael Strasser, Sylvia Stegmann, Felix Bussmann, Flavio S. Anselmetti, Beat Rick, Achim Kopf, Quantifying subaqueous slope stability during 9
seismic shaking: Lake Lucerne as model for ocean margins, Marine Geology, Volume 240, Issues 1–4, 2007,
 Formation of fjord-type lake II – Post-glacial
age
2. Mechanism – tsunami

Accumulation of non-
Consolidation of the thin layer consolidated sediments
on the slopes
Michael Strasser, Sylvia Stegmann, Felix Bussmann, Flavio S. Anselmetti, Beat Rick, Achim Kopf, Quantifying subaqueous slope stability during 10
seismic shaking: Lake Lucerne as model for ocean margins, Marine Geology, Volume 240, Issues 1–4, 2007,
 Mecanism of landslide

Failure
happens here
2. Mechanism – tsunami

Translational slide

Michael Strasser, Sylvia Stegmann, Felix Bussmann, Flavio S. Anselmetti, Beat Rick, Achim Kopf, Quantifying subaqueous slope stability during 11
seismic shaking: Lake Lucerne as model for ocean margins, Marine Geology, Volume 240, Issues 1–4, 2007,
 Sediment properties
2. Mechanism – tsunami

Late Glacial Glacial

Unconsolidated Consolidated
Michael Strasser, Sylvia Stegmann, Felix Bussmann, Flavio S. Anselmetti, Beat Rick, Achim Kopf, Quantifying subaqueous slope stability during
seismic shaking: Lake Lucerne as model for ocean margins, Marine Geology, Volume 240, Issues 1–4, 2007, 12
 Origin of the rockfall – Geomorphology I
2. Mechanism – tsunami

L’écroulement du Tauredunum en 563 apr. J.-C.: une énigme historique, toponymique et géologique, Philippe SCHOENEICH, Marc WEIDMANN, 13
Carole BLOMJOUS – Cahiers de Vallesia, 29,
 Origin of the rockfall – Geomorphology II
Angulous block
Layers of sorted gravel and sand « chunks » of silt-sand of limestone
2. Mechanism – tsunami

L’écroulement du Tauredunum en 563 apr. J.-C.: une énigme historique, toponymique et géologique, Philippe SCHOENEICH, Marc WEIDMANN, 14
Carole BLOMJOUS – Cahiers de Vallesia, 29,
 Origin of the rockfall – Lithostratigraphy
2. Mechanism – tsunami

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Atlas géologique de la Suisse, 1:25000, feuille Monthey, par Héli Badoux pour la Commission Géologique Suisse, 1960
 Hazard - slope stability assessment
3. Risks and prevention

Michael Strasser, Sylvia Stegmann, Felix Bussmann, Flavio S. Anselmetti, Beat Rick, Achim Kopf, Quantifying subaqueous slope stability during 16
seismic shaking: Lake Lucerne as model for ocean margins, Marine Geology, Volume 240, Issues 1–4, 2007,
 Hazard - triggering event
Spontaneous NON - spontaneous
Static loading
3. Risks and prevention

Earthquake Landslide/rockfall

Monitored Monitored
• Measure sedimendation rate at regional level
at national level
• Estimate time before collapse

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 Hazard -maps
3. Risks and prevention

Expected max acceleration [g] with a

probability of 10% within 50years
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Earthquake map : www.seismo.ethz.ch, Valais geological hazard map : https://sitonline.vs.ch/dangers/dangers_geologiques
 Risk assessment – Geneva today
3. Risks and prevention

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 Risk assessment – Danger map
3. Risks and prevention

Geneva

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 Conclusions and take home message
Lake Tsunami …

• Have happened in the past and can still happen

• They can have dramatic consequences
4. Conclusion

• Are generally caused by a chain of events

…Which make them complicated to predict !

“[…] historical examples show how different the causes of lake tsunamis can be
and suggest that the possibility of future flash floods in Swiss lakes cannot be
ruled out. However, there is no way of predicting where or when these
phenomena may occur or what form they might take”

Swiss Seismological Service

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