2:30 PM - 2:45 PM
[MIS17-03] Reexamination of the "Tsunami in 1826" on Chichijima Island, the Bonin Islands
Keywords:Bonin Islands, Chichijima Island, historical earthquake, tsunami , volcano, historical documents
1. Introduction
The Bonin Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo and nobody resided permanently before 1830. Tsuji (2006) pointed out that no records of earthquakes or tsunamis before the 18th century have been left and found the 1826 tsunami on Chichijima Island as the oldest. This study investigates the historical documents on which this conclusion was based and reexamines the event.
2. Sources for Soloviev and Go (1974)
Tsuji (2006) understood that a tsunami caused by an earthquake in the water near the Bonin Islands in January 1826 struck Chichijima Island, raising the water six meters above the high tide level. This derives from an English translation of an article in Soloviev and Go (1974, in Russian), a tsunami catalog of the Pacific, which Tsuji regarded as a quotation from the original text. The article has a note (Beechy, 1831; Perrey, 1862c); Beechey (1831) is written by the captain of His Majesty’s Ship Blossom, about his voyage to the Pacific and Bering Strait in 1825-1828. It includes an account of the Bonin Islands in 1827. Perrey (1862, in French) is written by a French seismologist, about earthquakes and volcanic phenomena in Japan; the 1826 article on the Bonin Islands is annotated (Nouv. Ann. Des Voy. 2e liv., t. 20, p.81, avril 1831), reflecting Beechey (1831).
3. Descriptions in Beechey (1831)
Beechey wrote about his visit to Chichijima Island in June 1827 as follows: We learned from Wittrein, who had resided eight months upon the island, that in January of 1826 it had been visited by a tremendous storm, and an earthquake which shook the island so violently, and the water at the same time rose so high, that he and his companion, thinking the island about to be swallowed up by the sea, fled to the hills for safety. This gale, which resembled the typhoons in the China sea, began at north and went around the compass by the westward, blowing all the while with great violence, and tearing up trees by the roots : it destroyed the schooner which the crew of the William had began to build, and washed the cargo of the ship, which since her wreck had been floating about the bay, up into the country. By the appearance of some the casks, the water must have risen twelve feet above the usual level. [The seamen affirmed that it rose twenty.] (omitted) Shocks of earthquakes are frequently felt during the winter; and Wittrein and his companion repeatedly observed smoke issuing from the summits of the hills on the island to the northward.
4. Comparison of descriptions
Soloviev and Go (1974) does not mention the storm described in Beechey (1831), but only notes that there was a very strong earthquake accompanied by a tsunami. The rise of the water is described based on high tide level, which is not in Beechey (1831). Perrey (1862) has similar descriptions to Soloviev and Go (1974). These two works are catalogs of earthquakes and tsunamis, and the articles on the Bonin Islands omit or modify the descriptions in Beechey (1831).
According to the original text of Beechey (1831), it is natural to understand that the earthquake occurred in the midst of a storm. As storm surges may have occurred, the evaluation by Tsuji (2006) of 6-7 meters in net sea level rise due to the tsunami may be an overestimate. However, it is not clear whether the descriptions suggesting volcanic activity are true, which island it is, or whether it is related to earthquakes.
If Beechey's statement that Wittrein had resided eight months on the island is correct, he was not there in January 1826. George Peard, who accompanied Beechey on the voyage, noted in his journal that the William had been wrecked on the 14th of last September (Gough, 1973). It is likely that Beechey erroneously wrote "January 1827" as "January 1826."
5. Conclusion
The event reported to have occurred on Chichijima Island in January 1826 could have been in January 1827. The estimate of sea level rise needs to take into account the part due to storm surges.
The Bonin Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo and nobody resided permanently before 1830. Tsuji (2006) pointed out that no records of earthquakes or tsunamis before the 18th century have been left and found the 1826 tsunami on Chichijima Island as the oldest. This study investigates the historical documents on which this conclusion was based and reexamines the event.
2. Sources for Soloviev and Go (1974)
Tsuji (2006) understood that a tsunami caused by an earthquake in the water near the Bonin Islands in January 1826 struck Chichijima Island, raising the water six meters above the high tide level. This derives from an English translation of an article in Soloviev and Go (1974, in Russian), a tsunami catalog of the Pacific, which Tsuji regarded as a quotation from the original text. The article has a note (Beechy, 1831; Perrey, 1862c); Beechey (1831) is written by the captain of His Majesty’s Ship Blossom, about his voyage to the Pacific and Bering Strait in 1825-1828. It includes an account of the Bonin Islands in 1827. Perrey (1862, in French) is written by a French seismologist, about earthquakes and volcanic phenomena in Japan; the 1826 article on the Bonin Islands is annotated (Nouv. Ann. Des Voy. 2e liv., t. 20, p.81, avril 1831), reflecting Beechey (1831).
3. Descriptions in Beechey (1831)
Beechey wrote about his visit to Chichijima Island in June 1827 as follows: We learned from Wittrein, who had resided eight months upon the island, that in January of 1826 it had been visited by a tremendous storm, and an earthquake which shook the island so violently, and the water at the same time rose so high, that he and his companion, thinking the island about to be swallowed up by the sea, fled to the hills for safety. This gale, which resembled the typhoons in the China sea, began at north and went around the compass by the westward, blowing all the while with great violence, and tearing up trees by the roots : it destroyed the schooner which the crew of the William had began to build, and washed the cargo of the ship, which since her wreck had been floating about the bay, up into the country. By the appearance of some the casks, the water must have risen twelve feet above the usual level. [The seamen affirmed that it rose twenty.] (omitted) Shocks of earthquakes are frequently felt during the winter; and Wittrein and his companion repeatedly observed smoke issuing from the summits of the hills on the island to the northward.
4. Comparison of descriptions
Soloviev and Go (1974) does not mention the storm described in Beechey (1831), but only notes that there was a very strong earthquake accompanied by a tsunami. The rise of the water is described based on high tide level, which is not in Beechey (1831). Perrey (1862) has similar descriptions to Soloviev and Go (1974). These two works are catalogs of earthquakes and tsunamis, and the articles on the Bonin Islands omit or modify the descriptions in Beechey (1831).
According to the original text of Beechey (1831), it is natural to understand that the earthquake occurred in the midst of a storm. As storm surges may have occurred, the evaluation by Tsuji (2006) of 6-7 meters in net sea level rise due to the tsunami may be an overestimate. However, it is not clear whether the descriptions suggesting volcanic activity are true, which island it is, or whether it is related to earthquakes.
If Beechey's statement that Wittrein had resided eight months on the island is correct, he was not there in January 1826. George Peard, who accompanied Beechey on the voyage, noted in his journal that the William had been wrecked on the 14th of last September (Gough, 1973). It is likely that Beechey erroneously wrote "January 1827" as "January 1826."
5. Conclusion
The event reported to have occurred on Chichijima Island in January 1826 could have been in January 1827. The estimate of sea level rise needs to take into account the part due to storm surges.