Spatial patterns of subaerial coarse clasts

Abstract High-energy waves such as tsunamis and storm waves can dislodge and transport enormous clasts. With a growing body of literature that uses subaerial coarse clasts (individual clast sized between tens of centimetres and several metres in the intermediate axis) to interpret paleotsunamis or storms on the one hand, and characterizes coarse-clast deposits formed in recent events on the other, this chapter provides an introduction to wave-deposited coarse-clast research. It (1) addresses how to correctly identify wave-transported coarse-clast deposits; (2) provides an overview of different patterns of coarse-clast deposits, including isolated megaclasts, boulder fields, boulder ridges, coral-rubble ridges, and other gravel-sized deposits; and (3) discusses the potentials for inferring extreme-wave characteristics and deposition mechanisms (tsunami vs. storm) from coarse-clast deposits.