North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission

Technical Report 17

Table of Contents

Legacies of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Impacting the Northern California Current in the Eastern North Pacific Ocean

Authors: 
Richard D. Brodeur, Jessica A. Miller, John W. Chapman, Gayle I. Hansen, and Delvan R. Neville

Abstract Excerpt:
On 11 March 2011, a devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Japan and a 38.38 m tsunami followed, inundating the west coast of Japan. In addition to the tragic toll on human life and devastating destruction of property and infrastructure, an estimated 1.5 million metric tonnes of natural and man-made debris were carried into the coastal ecosystem off Japan. Possibly 30% of this debris mass floated away into the North Pacific. Many items of this floating Japanese Tsunami Marine Debris (JTMD) crossed the North Pacific and landed on North American shores. The JTMD ranged in size from small particles to whole docks and carried substantial numbers of living marine organisms (invertebrates, algae, cyanobacteria, and fish) that had the potential for establishing on the North American coast. The fate of the debris and associated fauna and flora has been followed since 2011 and a summary of our findings is reported below.

*This is the first paragraph of an extended abstract. Download the full abstract below.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr17/192.195.

Citation

Brodeur, R.D., J.A. Miller, J.W. Chapman, G.I. Hansen, and D.R. Neville.  2021.  Legacies of the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami impacting the Northern California Current in the eastern North Pacific Ocean.  N. Pac. Anadr. Fish Comm. Tech. Rep. 17: 192–195.  https://doi.org/10.23849/npafctr17/192.195.