DHAKA: A cave on the northwestern coast of Sumatra holds a remarkable record of big tsunamis in the Indian Ocean.

The limestone opening, close to Banda Aceh, retains the sandy deposits washed ashore by huge, earthquake-induced waves over thousands of years.

Scientists are using the site to help determine the frequency of catastrophes like the event of 26 December 2004.

This is being done by dating the cave’s tsunami-borne sediments, which are easy to see between layers of bat droppings.

‘The tsunami sands just jump right out at you because they`re separated by guano layers. There`s no confusing the stratigraphy (layering),’ explains Dr Jessica Pilarczyk, reports the BBC.

‘It makes for interesting field work; I`m not going to lie to you. The bats get very excited when people are disrupting their space. But from a geologist’s point of view, this cave has the most amazing stratigraphy,’ she said.

BDST: 1621 HRS, DEC 12, 2013
Edited by: Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor