“Stones from the dangerous winds”: reef platform mega-clasts in the tropical Pacific Islands

Abstract

Tsunamis and intense tropical storms compete as viable mechanisms for catastrophic marine inundations of coastlines, and so interpretation of deposits laid down by palaeo-events is often problematic. Here, examples are presented from the tropical South Pacific Islands to demonstrate how indigenous knowledge may provide vital clues supporting sedimentological investigation and thereby helping to explain the origin of giant boulders emplaced on top of coral reef platforms.