Tuesday, August 01, 2006 by: NaturalNewsKey concepts: Pollution, Ocean pollution and Ocean ecosystems
NaturalNews) The pollution of the world's oceans is extracting a price from ocean life and human life -- scientists say a dangerous "toxic slime" is rising up from the depths.
One such symptom is a mutated strain of a 2.7-billion-year-old cyanobacteria known as fireweed, which has stricken Moreton Bay fishermen with searing welts, and caused difficulty breathing when accidentally inhaled.
When fishermen reported the substance, it was dismissed until a sample made it to the University of Queensland. While in a drying oven, the sample released fumes toxic enough to send professors and students gasping for air.
"We know the human factor is responsible (for fireweed). We just have to figure out what it is," said William Dennison, former director of the University of Queensland botany lab.
While the ocean was long thought to be immune to humanity's influence, accumulated environmental influences -- such as over-fishing and runoff from pollutants -- have now altered the basic chemistry of the oceans and made them more supportive to primitive life. Harmful algae, similar to fireweed, have shown up off the coast of Sweden, on the Southern coast of Maui, on Florida's Gulf Coast and north of Venice. The Spanish coast is also overcrowded with jellyfish.
Advanced oceanic life forms are struggling for survival while primitive life forms -- such as algae, bacteria and jellyfish -- are starting to spread unchecked. This regression of evolution is "the rise of slime," according to Jeremy B.C. Jackson, a marine ecologist and paleontologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif.
Over-fishing has started an evolutionary regression that has spun into a vicious circle. There has been a dramatic reduction in the numbers of turtles that prey on jellyfish and an overabundance of the plankton they love to eat, and this has lead some fishermen to become jellyfishermen.
"Easy money," said former shrimp fisherman Grovea Simpson of the creatures. "They get so thick you can walk on them."
Simpson cannot scrape together enough of his original catch to make a living anymore, so he catches great hauls of jellyfish, which are then shipped to China and Japan, where they are delicacies.
The historic fishing industry of California has also taken a dramatic turn. Three of the top five commercial catches are not fish, but squid, crab and sea urchins, and the still-surging numbers of jellyfish may catapult them to Western plates sooner rather than later.
University of British Columbia fisheries Scientist Daniel Pauly fears that one day "My kids will tell their children: Eat your jellyfish."
Perhaps the biggest casualties of humanity's lifestyle side effects are the coral reefs. Although they only cover 1 percent of the oceans' floors, they support nearly 25 percent of all ocean life.
Marine ecologist Brian Lapointe has been studying the effects of algae on a coral reef at Looe Key, Fl. When he recalls seeing the eroded reef -- starved of life-giving sunlight by the algae canopy, and purged of life by suffocating bacteria that thrives on sewage -- he likens it to coming home to find one's house ransacked by burglars.
"It rips my heart out," he says.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Court rules Navy cannot deploy sonar that harms marine mammals
Monday, November 06, 2006 by: Jessica FraserKey concepts: Marine life, Ocean ecosystems and Whales
NaturalNews) A federal appeals court recently rejected an attempt by the Bush administration to overturn a ruling that restricted the U.S. Navy's use of low-frequency active (LFA) sonar, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Three years ago, the NRDC won a landmark federal case that put limitations on the Navy's use of LFA sonar, which was found to pose a serious threat to whales and other marine life.
Since losing its appeal, the Navy must stick to an agreement with the NRDC that limits its testing and training using LFA sonar to an area in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The Navy's LFA sonar system generates intense underwater sound waves that can travel in excess of 300 miles. LFA military sonar was developed to detect submarines at great distances, but the NRDC and other activists argued that the noise it creates can seriously injure or even kill whales and other marine animals that depend on their sensitive hearing for survival.
"This ruling affirms the fact that we can safeguard marine mammals without compromising national security," said Andrew Wetzler, a senior NRDC attorney who argued the case.
The NRDC legal team is currently preparing for another legal battle with the Navy to restrict its use of mid-frequency sonar, which the group claims has caused a number of whale strandings and deaths across the world in the past year.
A federal court ruled in May that the Navy must turn over information on its use of sonar to the NRDC. According to the NRDC's "Nature's Voice" newsletter, a federal judge will decide in the upcoming months whether or not the case against mid-frequency sonar can continue.
NaturalNews) A federal appeals court recently rejected an attempt by the Bush administration to overturn a ruling that restricted the U.S. Navy's use of low-frequency active (LFA) sonar, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Three years ago, the NRDC won a landmark federal case that put limitations on the Navy's use of LFA sonar, which was found to pose a serious threat to whales and other marine life.
Since losing its appeal, the Navy must stick to an agreement with the NRDC that limits its testing and training using LFA sonar to an area in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The Navy's LFA sonar system generates intense underwater sound waves that can travel in excess of 300 miles. LFA military sonar was developed to detect submarines at great distances, but the NRDC and other activists argued that the noise it creates can seriously injure or even kill whales and other marine animals that depend on their sensitive hearing for survival.
"This ruling affirms the fact that we can safeguard marine mammals without compromising national security," said Andrew Wetzler, a senior NRDC attorney who argued the case.
The NRDC legal team is currently preparing for another legal battle with the Navy to restrict its use of mid-frequency sonar, which the group claims has caused a number of whale strandings and deaths across the world in the past year.
A federal court ruled in May that the Navy must turn over information on its use of sonar to the NRDC. According to the NRDC's "Nature's Voice" newsletter, a federal judge will decide in the upcoming months whether or not the case against mid-frequency sonar can continue.
Deep Sea Fishing Devastates Ocean Ecosystems, Destroys Fish Stocks
Sunday, July 06, 2008 by: David GutierrezKey concepts: Fishing, Ecosystems and Deep sea fishing
NaturalNews) Ecologists warn that the most destructive form of fishing is becoming more prevalent, with potentially disastrous consequences for ocean life."Industrial fisheries are now going thousands of miles, thousands of feet deep and catching things that live hundreds of years in the least protected place on Earth," said Elliott Norse, president of Marine Conservation Biology Institute. "They are roving bandits using state of the art technologies to plunder."In the practice of deep sea trawling, fishing boats drag massive, mile-deep nets across the ocean floor far from shore, snatching up anything in their path. Once a rare practice, deep sea trawling has increased in popularity as coastal fisheries are depleted and the demand for seafood continues to rise."All fisheries are gradually turning into deep-sea fisheries because they have fished themselves out of the shallow waters," says Robert Steneck, a marine ecologist at the University of Maine. "The solution is not going into the deep sea, but better managing the shallow waters, where fish live fast and die young but where the ecosystems have greater potential for resilience."Because the open sea is not claimed as the territory of any nation, few regulations on deep-sea trawling exist. Yet the deep sea is home to more biodiversity than any other ecosystem on Earth, with the possible exception of the tropical rainforests. A profusion of species found nowhere else make their homes among the canyons, ridges and mountains of the ocean bottom. Yet these unique geological features are flattened when a 15-ton trawler net collides with them, destroying the habitat of even the fish that escape capture.Deep sea species tend to be long-lived and slow-growing, meaning that they are particularly vulnerable to over-fishing. Stocks of the orange roughy, for example, were depleted by 75 percent within 20 years of when New Zealand began fishing for them.According to Rashid Sumaila of the University of British Columbia, fishing nations need to eliminate the massive subsidies that make the practice possible."It's important to nip these subsidies in the bud before more interests get barnacled around them," Sumaila said. "Eliminating them would render these fleets economically unviable."
yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = "Deep Sea Fishing Devastates Ocean Ecosystems, Destroys Fish Stocks";yahooBuzzArticleCategory = "health";yahooBuzzArticleType = "text";yahooBuzzArticleId = window.location.href;
NaturalNews) Ecologists warn that the most destructive form of fishing is becoming more prevalent, with potentially disastrous consequences for ocean life."Industrial fisheries are now going thousands of miles, thousands of feet deep and catching things that live hundreds of years in the least protected place on Earth," said Elliott Norse, president of Marine Conservation Biology Institute. "They are roving bandits using state of the art technologies to plunder."In the practice of deep sea trawling, fishing boats drag massive, mile-deep nets across the ocean floor far from shore, snatching up anything in their path. Once a rare practice, deep sea trawling has increased in popularity as coastal fisheries are depleted and the demand for seafood continues to rise."All fisheries are gradually turning into deep-sea fisheries because they have fished themselves out of the shallow waters," says Robert Steneck, a marine ecologist at the University of Maine. "The solution is not going into the deep sea, but better managing the shallow waters, where fish live fast and die young but where the ecosystems have greater potential for resilience."Because the open sea is not claimed as the territory of any nation, few regulations on deep-sea trawling exist. Yet the deep sea is home to more biodiversity than any other ecosystem on Earth, with the possible exception of the tropical rainforests. A profusion of species found nowhere else make their homes among the canyons, ridges and mountains of the ocean bottom. Yet these unique geological features are flattened when a 15-ton trawler net collides with them, destroying the habitat of even the fish that escape capture.Deep sea species tend to be long-lived and slow-growing, meaning that they are particularly vulnerable to over-fishing. Stocks of the orange roughy, for example, were depleted by 75 percent within 20 years of when New Zealand began fishing for them.According to Rashid Sumaila of the University of British Columbia, fishing nations need to eliminate the massive subsidies that make the practice possible."It's important to nip these subsidies in the bud before more interests get barnacled around them," Sumaila said. "Eliminating them would render these fleets economically unviable."
yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = "Deep Sea Fishing Devastates Ocean Ecosystems, Destroys Fish Stocks";yahooBuzzArticleCategory = "health";yahooBuzzArticleType = "text";yahooBuzzArticleId = window.location.href;
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Geologist: 'Mini tsunami' likely along Thai coast in the next 50 years
Bangkok, Thailand -- Geologists have forecast that Thailand's Andaman coast could face a "mini tsunami" in the next 50 years, and warned that the area's "improper" land use could put local residences in real danger if a worse-case scenario occurs.
The magnitude of the wave would be 1.5-2.0 metres high - far less than the 5-12 metre tsunami on December 26, 2004, said Norwegian geologist Dr Kjeel Karlsrud, who conducted a risk study recently.
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"The next tsunami should happen within the next 50 to 100 years in Thailand if a quake with a magnitude of 8.5 on the Richter scale occurs underwater in the area of the Sumatra islands. The centre of the afflicted area would be similar to the first tsunami," Dr Karlsrud said.
The six provinces hit in 2004 and Koh Phrathong would still be the centre of the impact, he predicted.
"The most worrying issue is improper land use in those areas that might cause higher damage than it should," he said.
Worrawut Tantiwanich, director of the Department of Mineral Resources' Environmental Geology Division, said prevention measures were needed for the area even though the possibility of a second tsunami was a long way off.
"Warning systems and the improvement of land use in the areas potentially affected should start now," he said.
Among the suggested measures, he said, his authority had concluded that public parks should be built in particular areas as natural barriers to decrease the strength of a tsunami.
"Haad Patong should extend its emergency evacuation routes to 500 metres and add more such routes to the existing seven, while Baan Nam Khem should have 10 similar routes. Together with the efficient warning systems, these should be acceptable prevention measures," Worrawut said yesterday.
He spoke after a meeting with experts and officials from Asean countries on post tsunami measures.
The magnitude of the wave would be 1.5-2.0 metres high - far less than the 5-12 metre tsunami on December 26, 2004, said Norwegian geologist Dr Kjeel Karlsrud, who conducted a risk study recently.
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"The next tsunami should happen within the next 50 to 100 years in Thailand if a quake with a magnitude of 8.5 on the Richter scale occurs underwater in the area of the Sumatra islands. The centre of the afflicted area would be similar to the first tsunami," Dr Karlsrud said.
The six provinces hit in 2004 and Koh Phrathong would still be the centre of the impact, he predicted.
"The most worrying issue is improper land use in those areas that might cause higher damage than it should," he said.
Worrawut Tantiwanich, director of the Department of Mineral Resources' Environmental Geology Division, said prevention measures were needed for the area even though the possibility of a second tsunami was a long way off.
"Warning systems and the improvement of land use in the areas potentially affected should start now," he said.
Among the suggested measures, he said, his authority had concluded that public parks should be built in particular areas as natural barriers to decrease the strength of a tsunami.
"Haad Patong should extend its emergency evacuation routes to 500 metres and add more such routes to the existing seven, while Baan Nam Khem should have 10 similar routes. Together with the efficient warning systems, these should be acceptable prevention measures," Worrawut said yesterday.
He spoke after a meeting with experts and officials from Asean countries on post tsunami measures.
Ocean alert 'may not have helped'
Ocean alert 'may not have helped'
Around 200,000 people died in the 26 December tsunamiThe existence of a warning system to detect the Asian tsunami may not have helped victims, an expert has said.
The tsunami's unprecedented scale meant adequate evacuation plans were unlikely to be in place, said Dr Tim Henstock of the National Oceanography Centre.
A mass inquest into 91 Britons' deaths in the 26 December disaster is on at Olympia Exhibition Centre, London.
Coroner Alison Thompson earlier said the four-day hearing could look only at when, where and how the 91 died.
Police say 149 Britons and people with close links to the UK died in the disaster.
Unprecedented
Dr Henstock told the hearing that no-one could have expected in the region an earthquake of the scale that hit, estimated at between 9.2 and 9.3 on the Richter scale.
Such a quake only happened approximately every 500 years, he said.
An early warning system does not help unless you have infrastructure and mechanisms and everyone knows what is supposed to be done
Dr Tim Henstock
Families 'seeking answers'
List of UK tsunami victims
Oxfam aid 'biggest ever' Any early warning system therefore required a "long-term commitment to the infrastructure", he said.
Dr Henstock said: "The people who knew the earthquake had happened were not in a position to do anything in terms of warning on the ground.
"An early warning system does not help unless you have infrastructure and mechanisms and everyone knows what is supposed to be done if a warning comes in."
He added: "These things do not happen very often but when they do they are very destructive and very widely felt."
'Limited scope'
Relatives at the inquest had questioned why no warnings appeared to have been issued or passed between the different countries hit by the tsunami.
Liz Jones, whose 23-year-old daughter Charlotte was killed in Thailand, said: "If my daughter had had five minutes she would have been alive today."
A survivor told the hearing: "There was not even a single phone call, no word of mouth, not even someone running along with a Tannoy system."
Coroner Alison Thompson will have limited time to focus on each caseMs Thompson, the west London coroner, earlier warned victims' relatives and friends at the hearing of her restricted remit.
"The scope of the inquiry is limited to determining and recording essential facts concerning each death - the identity of each victim, when, where and how they died," she said.
"This court is prohibited in law from looking at any other issues.
"I'm very aware that families may have concerns about other issues, for example the absence of an early warning system, the speed of the local response overseas to the disaster, or indeed the level of involvement of our consular staff overseas.
"While I fully acknowledge and respect their feelings in relation to this, I am sorry these matters cannot be examined in this court."
Several relatives of the deceased later displayed their anger at the speed of the response and the way they were informed by the British government.
'Amazing' generosity
The deaths of a German and a Swiss person will also be considered during the mass inquest.
Metropolitan Police Commander Cressida Dick, who led UK police operations related to the disaster, said 52 people not part of the inquest had been buried or cremated abroad and that six more were still listed as missing.
Peter Troy, humanitarian programmes manager at the Department for International Development (Dfid), said the total for dead or missing following the tsunami stood at 270,000.
He said the government had committed £75m to the recovery, and that the sum raised by the Disasters Emergency Committee "involved an amazing response from the public".
Mr Troy estimated that reconstruction would take two to three years to complete.
Family tributes
Under British law, an inquest must take place when a body is sent home after a death abroad if the coroner believes the deceased suffered a sudden, violent or unnatural death.
But due to the number of deaths being investigated, the time allocated to each individual will be limited.
The deaths of Lord Attenborough's granddaughter Lucy Holland, his daughter Jane Holland and her mother-in-law Audrey Holland will be among those considered.
Some relatives of those who died will also be able to have tributes they have written read out in the court.
It has emerged that the disaster prompted Oxfam International's biggest ever relief operation.
The charity's end of year 'Tsunami Accountability Report' revealed that £160m had been raised - 90% of which came from members of the public.
Around 200,000 people died in the 26 December tsunamiThe existence of a warning system to detect the Asian tsunami may not have helped victims, an expert has said.
The tsunami's unprecedented scale meant adequate evacuation plans were unlikely to be in place, said Dr Tim Henstock of the National Oceanography Centre.
A mass inquest into 91 Britons' deaths in the 26 December disaster is on at Olympia Exhibition Centre, London.
Coroner Alison Thompson earlier said the four-day hearing could look only at when, where and how the 91 died.
Police say 149 Britons and people with close links to the UK died in the disaster.
Unprecedented
Dr Henstock told the hearing that no-one could have expected in the region an earthquake of the scale that hit, estimated at between 9.2 and 9.3 on the Richter scale.
Such a quake only happened approximately every 500 years, he said.
An early warning system does not help unless you have infrastructure and mechanisms and everyone knows what is supposed to be done
Dr Tim Henstock
Families 'seeking answers'
List of UK tsunami victims
Oxfam aid 'biggest ever' Any early warning system therefore required a "long-term commitment to the infrastructure", he said.
Dr Henstock said: "The people who knew the earthquake had happened were not in a position to do anything in terms of warning on the ground.
"An early warning system does not help unless you have infrastructure and mechanisms and everyone knows what is supposed to be done if a warning comes in."
He added: "These things do not happen very often but when they do they are very destructive and very widely felt."
'Limited scope'
Relatives at the inquest had questioned why no warnings appeared to have been issued or passed between the different countries hit by the tsunami.
Liz Jones, whose 23-year-old daughter Charlotte was killed in Thailand, said: "If my daughter had had five minutes she would have been alive today."
A survivor told the hearing: "There was not even a single phone call, no word of mouth, not even someone running along with a Tannoy system."
Coroner Alison Thompson will have limited time to focus on each caseMs Thompson, the west London coroner, earlier warned victims' relatives and friends at the hearing of her restricted remit.
"The scope of the inquiry is limited to determining and recording essential facts concerning each death - the identity of each victim, when, where and how they died," she said.
"This court is prohibited in law from looking at any other issues.
"I'm very aware that families may have concerns about other issues, for example the absence of an early warning system, the speed of the local response overseas to the disaster, or indeed the level of involvement of our consular staff overseas.
"While I fully acknowledge and respect their feelings in relation to this, I am sorry these matters cannot be examined in this court."
Several relatives of the deceased later displayed their anger at the speed of the response and the way they were informed by the British government.
'Amazing' generosity
The deaths of a German and a Swiss person will also be considered during the mass inquest.
Metropolitan Police Commander Cressida Dick, who led UK police operations related to the disaster, said 52 people not part of the inquest had been buried or cremated abroad and that six more were still listed as missing.
Peter Troy, humanitarian programmes manager at the Department for International Development (Dfid), said the total for dead or missing following the tsunami stood at 270,000.
He said the government had committed £75m to the recovery, and that the sum raised by the Disasters Emergency Committee "involved an amazing response from the public".
Mr Troy estimated that reconstruction would take two to three years to complete.
Family tributes
Under British law, an inquest must take place when a body is sent home after a death abroad if the coroner believes the deceased suffered a sudden, violent or unnatural death.
But due to the number of deaths being investigated, the time allocated to each individual will be limited.
The deaths of Lord Attenborough's granddaughter Lucy Holland, his daughter Jane Holland and her mother-in-law Audrey Holland will be among those considered.
Some relatives of those who died will also be able to have tributes they have written read out in the court.
It has emerged that the disaster prompted Oxfam International's biggest ever relief operation.
The charity's end of year 'Tsunami Accountability Report' revealed that £160m had been raised - 90% of which came from members of the public.
Green light for tsunami sensors
Green light for tsunami sensors
The warning system could save thousands of livesIndian Ocean countries meeting in Australia have decided to set up a network of seabed sensors and buoys as part of a tsunami warning system.
The sensors are sensitive enough to detect the slightest changes in water column pressure. They will transmit information to sea-level buoys.
The meeting in Perth was attended by representatives of 27 Indian Ocean countries at risk from tsunamis.
Last December's tsunami is believed to have killed more than 220,000 people.
The warning system could be fully operational by summer 2006, but a couple of dozen buoys should be in place by December this year.
"The establishment of seismic and sea-level networks for the Indian Ocean and an agreement on how to deploy those, I believe, is a significant step forward," Neville Smith, vice-chairman of Unesco's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), said.
Concerns
The three-day forum, which ended on Friday, also agreed that seven warning centres would be created instead of one, as initially proposed.
Competition to host a single centre, which would have brought prestige and international funding to the country that hosted it, was fierce.
It was therefore decided the centres would be based in Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand - plus Iran and Pakistan.
This is because scientists believe that a fault line in the Arabian Sea might trigger a huge tsunami there.
There is now concern that seven separate centres sending advisories to national warning centres in 25 countries might generate confusion.
"A major issue to be addressed is the protocol to be adopted to co-ordinate the multiple advisories to avoid confusion in the receiving nations," a working paper issued at the meeting warned.
The system is being established with the backing of Unesco, which formally set up the Intergovernmental Co-ordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG) in June this year.
The warning system could save thousands of livesIndian Ocean countries meeting in Australia have decided to set up a network of seabed sensors and buoys as part of a tsunami warning system.
The sensors are sensitive enough to detect the slightest changes in water column pressure. They will transmit information to sea-level buoys.
The meeting in Perth was attended by representatives of 27 Indian Ocean countries at risk from tsunamis.
Last December's tsunami is believed to have killed more than 220,000 people.
The warning system could be fully operational by summer 2006, but a couple of dozen buoys should be in place by December this year.
"The establishment of seismic and sea-level networks for the Indian Ocean and an agreement on how to deploy those, I believe, is a significant step forward," Neville Smith, vice-chairman of Unesco's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), said.
Concerns
The three-day forum, which ended on Friday, also agreed that seven warning centres would be created instead of one, as initially proposed.
Competition to host a single centre, which would have brought prestige and international funding to the country that hosted it, was fierce.
It was therefore decided the centres would be based in Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand - plus Iran and Pakistan.
This is because scientists believe that a fault line in the Arabian Sea might trigger a huge tsunami there.
There is now concern that seven separate centres sending advisories to national warning centres in 25 countries might generate confusion.
"A major issue to be addressed is the protocol to be adopted to co-ordinate the multiple advisories to avoid confusion in the receiving nations," a working paper issued at the meeting warned.
The system is being established with the backing of Unesco, which formally set up the Intergovernmental Co-ordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG) in June this year.
Tsunami reveals ancient temple sites
Tsunami reveals ancient temple sites
By Paddy Maguire BBC News, Madras
Shift from brickwork to granite slabs indicates different periodsArchaeologists say they have discovered the site of an ancient temple in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
It is the latest in a series of archaeological discoveries in the area struck by December's tsunami, which desilted large areas of the coastline.
The brick temple dates back more than 2,000 years to the late Tamil Sangam period and was discovered on the beachfront near Saluvankuppam, just north of a famous World Heritage site at Mahabalipuram.
The discovery lends more weight to growing evidence that a huge tsunami hit the east coast of India during this period, obliterating large habitations along the coastline.
Two periods
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) made the discovery while looking for a 9th Century Pallava temple.
We are looking at the remains of a brick temple that was destroyed by a tsunami approximately 2,200 years ago
Badrinarayanan S, rtd director,Geological Survey of India"The tsunami exposed inscriptions on a huge rock that had previously been protected as a site of importance," said T Satyamurthy of the ASI.
"These inscriptions dated back to 935 AD and said that Krishna the Third, from the Rashtrakuda Dynasty in Karnataka, had given gold to a temple to pay for keeping an eternal flame alight.
"This led us to dig further. Near the surface we found coins, pottery, stucco figurines and bronze lamps and so we knew there must be something more. Soon we discovered the remains of the 9th century Pallava temple."
As they continued to excavate they came across the earlier Sangam temple. The distinctive shift from courses of brickwork to large granite slabs indicates the different periods.
"The Pallavas just built on the brick foundations left behind after the Sangam temple was levelled. The two periods are there, clear to see," said Dr Satyamurthy.
Tsunami deposits
But it is the question of how these two temples were destroyed rather than their age that has fired the interest of the teams involved.
Layers of sea shells and debris point to previous tsunami strikesLayers of sea shells and debris in the sand show that tsunami activity had twice levelled the temple complex.
"The Pallava structure was destroyed by waves some time in the 13th Century and evidence suggests that beneath it, we are looking at the remains of a brick temple that was destroyed by a tsunami approximately 2,200 years ago," said Badrinarayanan S, a retired director of the Geological Survey of India.
Another archaeologist from the ASI, G Thirumoorthy, said: "We can see these tsunami deposits in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. We've found that devastation happened along about 1,200km (750 miles) of India's eastern coastline.
"The discovery of this Sangam temple will lead us to other geological sites along the coast and teach us more about the pre-Pallavan period."
Since the tsunami on 26 December, marine archaeologists have also discovered evidence of large structures on the seabed up to 1km out to sea.
They think the structures may be part of a former, legendary city of Mahabalipuram.
Myths state the city was destroyed by a flood sent by gods envious of its beauty.
By Paddy Maguire BBC News, Madras
Shift from brickwork to granite slabs indicates different periodsArchaeologists say they have discovered the site of an ancient temple in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
It is the latest in a series of archaeological discoveries in the area struck by December's tsunami, which desilted large areas of the coastline.
The brick temple dates back more than 2,000 years to the late Tamil Sangam period and was discovered on the beachfront near Saluvankuppam, just north of a famous World Heritage site at Mahabalipuram.
The discovery lends more weight to growing evidence that a huge tsunami hit the east coast of India during this period, obliterating large habitations along the coastline.
Two periods
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) made the discovery while looking for a 9th Century Pallava temple.
We are looking at the remains of a brick temple that was destroyed by a tsunami approximately 2,200 years ago
Badrinarayanan S, rtd director,Geological Survey of India"The tsunami exposed inscriptions on a huge rock that had previously been protected as a site of importance," said T Satyamurthy of the ASI.
"These inscriptions dated back to 935 AD and said that Krishna the Third, from the Rashtrakuda Dynasty in Karnataka, had given gold to a temple to pay for keeping an eternal flame alight.
"This led us to dig further. Near the surface we found coins, pottery, stucco figurines and bronze lamps and so we knew there must be something more. Soon we discovered the remains of the 9th century Pallava temple."
As they continued to excavate they came across the earlier Sangam temple. The distinctive shift from courses of brickwork to large granite slabs indicates the different periods.
"The Pallavas just built on the brick foundations left behind after the Sangam temple was levelled. The two periods are there, clear to see," said Dr Satyamurthy.
Tsunami deposits
But it is the question of how these two temples were destroyed rather than their age that has fired the interest of the teams involved.
Layers of sea shells and debris point to previous tsunami strikesLayers of sea shells and debris in the sand show that tsunami activity had twice levelled the temple complex.
"The Pallava structure was destroyed by waves some time in the 13th Century and evidence suggests that beneath it, we are looking at the remains of a brick temple that was destroyed by a tsunami approximately 2,200 years ago," said Badrinarayanan S, a retired director of the Geological Survey of India.
Another archaeologist from the ASI, G Thirumoorthy, said: "We can see these tsunami deposits in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. We've found that devastation happened along about 1,200km (750 miles) of India's eastern coastline.
"The discovery of this Sangam temple will lead us to other geological sites along the coast and teach us more about the pre-Pallavan period."
Since the tsunami on 26 December, marine archaeologists have also discovered evidence of large structures on the seabed up to 1km out to sea.
They think the structures may be part of a former, legendary city of Mahabalipuram.
Myths state the city was destroyed by a flood sent by gods envious of its beauty.
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