Bruce Richmond’s contributions to tsunami sedimentology

Abstract:

Bruce Richmond made numerous influential contributions to tsunami sedimentology and was a collaborator, friend, and mentor to dozens of tsunami scientists. Although tsunami-specific studies came along relatively late in Bruce’s 42-year career at the USGS, he had long been involved in studies of the geologic impacts of catastrophic/extreme wave events. He published on numerous post-event surveys of typhoons and hurricanes including Hurricane Hugo, 1989, Typhoon Russ, 1990, Hurricane Iniki, 1992, Hurricane Georges, 1998, and Hurricane Sandy, 2012. Following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the US State Department tasked Bruce with working with the Sri Lankan government to perform post-tsunami surveys there as well as in the Maldives. Since then Bruce has led or been a key part of surveys following the 2009 South Pacific, 2010 Chile, and 2011 Japan tsunamis. Within the field of tsunami sedimentology, Bruce made major advances in determining the characteristics of coarse clast tsunami deposits through his work on deposits found in Hawaii and the Caribbean. This work also fed into studies on determining the storm vs tsunami origin of sandy and coarse clast deposits in coastal environments. More recently, Bruce led far-field paleotsunami studies in California, the Caribbean, and Hawaii that have advanced our understanding of the recurrence and magnitude of prehistoric tsunamis and earthquakes. Bruce valued learning from field observations and attended every International Tsunami Field Symposium since its inception. Just as important as his published work was his warmhearted approach to science which led to lifelong collaborations, friendships, and even family. A keen observationalist with an infectious and sometimes mischievous sense of humor made Bruce a wonderful partner in the field and a sought-after mentor who has helped foster the careers of many young scientists. These sentiments and a long list of contributions to coastal geology are echoed by the other scientific communities Bruce Richmond spent his time with. As our colleague Lori Dengler succinctly put it, “[Bruce was] a meticulous scientist and a friend who knew how to have fun. It was a life well-lived and he leaves behind a legacy of solid research and the respect and admiration of a multitude of colleagues and it's hard to do much better than that.”