Reconstruction of extreme floods and tsunamis from coastal sedimentary archives in Los Choros, Coquimbo region, 28°S, Chile

This study used sedimentary archives obtained from a high-standing terrace along the coastal zone of the Coquimbo region to reconstruct past extreme events (floods and tsunamis). Using sedimentological (grain size), geochemical (XRF), and geochronological (14C and 137Cs) analyses, we identified nine flood deposits (1957, 1965, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1997, 2002, 2015, and 2017) and one tsunami deposit (1922). The sedimentary flood record appears complete for the last 70 years and is useful for reconstructing paleoflood events, highlighting the relevance of coastal high-standing terraces to improve our understanding of the frequency of floods in Chilean coastal areas.