A massive landslide caused by climate change in a remote part of Greenland created a megatsunami, causing the Earth to vibrate for nine days in September last year, according to newly released research by scientists.
The unusual and prolonged vibrations had a completely different pattern from tremors caused by earthquakes. To uncover the cause, scientists used field recordings, satellite images, and mathematical modeling
The research, published in the journal Science, concluded that the landslide was triggered by glacier melting, which has thinned in recent years due to climate change.
In the remote Dixon Fjord, there was a 200-meter-high splash of water and a wave up to 110 meters high. This wave, which stretched across 10 kilometers of the fjord, reduced to seven meters in a few minutes, according to researchers’ estimates, and then diminished to just a few centimeters over the following days.
This is the first time that water splashing has caused measurable vibrations through the Earth’s crust, which traveled across the globe and lasted several days.
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“When I first saw the seismic signal, I was completely baffled. Although we know that seismometers can record various sources from the Earth’s surface, such a prolonged, globally traveling seismic wave with only one oscillation frequency had never been recorded before. This inspired me to co-lead a large team of scientists trying to solve this mystery,” said Stephen Hicks of UCL Earth Sciences.
The mysterious seismic signal — originating from vibrations through the Earth’s crust — was detected by seismometers worldwide, from the Arctic to Antarctica. It appeared completely different from the rich frequencies of “splashes” and “sound signals” from earthquake recordings, as it contained only one frequency of vibration, like a monotonous hum.
A team of 68 scientists from 40 institutions in 15 countries estimated that 25 million cubic meters of rock and ice fell into the fjord (enough to fill 10,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools).
The fjord is located on a route often used by tourist cruise ships visiting Greenland’s fjords. Fortunately, no cruise ships were near Dixon Fjord on the day of the landslide and tsunami.
The study concluded that with the acceleration of climate change, it will become increasingly important to characterize and monitor regions previously considered stable and provide early warnings for such massive landslide and tsunami events.
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