Associate Professor Robert Jenkins from Institute of Science and Engineering, Assistant Professor Moe Kato from Institute for Promotion of Diversity and Inclusions and Associate Professor Kei Sato from Institute of Liberal Arts and Science, Kanazawa University in collaboration with Associate Professor Ryo Tateishi and Professor Shin'ichi Sano from School of Sustainable Design, University of Toyama, and Associate Professor Hiromasa Iwai from Department of Urban Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, successfully conducted direct observations of “submarine landslide” traces in the southern part of Toyama Bay using underwater drones and revealed the actual conditions of the collapsed sediments and surfaces and the state of biological habitation.
Since submarine landslides are events that occur underwater, it is generally difficult to directly observe their traces. Thus, little is known about the scale and collapse pattern of the submarine landslide that occurred during the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake. In this study, underwater drone surveys were conducted in two areas in Toyama Prefecture, offshores of the Jinzugawa River estuary and the Shogawa and Oyabe River estuaries.
These findings will elucidate the impact of tsunami and fishery damages underwater caused by the earthquake, providing valuable information for planning future countermeasures.
Robert Jenkins, Moe Kato and Kei Sato specialize in paleontology and geobiology. In this collaborative fieldwork research project, Jenkins and Kato contributed to underwater drone surveys and Jenkins and Sato to acquired image analyses, respectively.
The participation of our faculty members in the project was conducted under the support of our university as part of Kanazawa University Disaster Investigation Team (KUD).
Figure 1: Survey location
Figure 2: Underwater drone survey image (off the mouth of the Jinzu River, approx. 350 m depth)
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Researcher's Information： Robert Jenkins
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