Spatio-temporal dynamics of suspended sediment concentration during the 2004 Sumatra tsunami

Spatio-temporal dynamics of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in Indian Ocean during the 2004 Sumatra tsunami was analyzed using satellite data. Surface SSC in epicenter area increased notably right after the tsunami week (about 200% higher than that in the same period in earlier 4 years); the surface SSC in a deep water area about 1600 km from the epicenter area did not increase after the tsunami. Increase of SSC in the epicenter area may be mainly caused by the transportation of SSC by the tsunami backwash. Range of spatial clustering in SSC significantly decreased during the tsunami week. It may be related to the tsunami waves that diluted the spatial clustering level in SSC. A new spatio-temporal correlation model shows that the fluctuation in the spatio-temporal correlation surface of SSC appeared remarkably intense round the tsunami. Present study reveals that the tsunami considerably disturbed the spatio-temporal dynamics in SSC.