A new study has revealed that a mega-tsunami triggered by a landslide in Greenland caused the Earth to vibrate for nine consecutive days. The incident occurred last September when a mountain peak, standing 1.2 kilometers high, collapsed, resulting in water in the nearby fjord splashing back and forth and transmitting vibrations through the Earth’s crust.
The study, which involved scientists from University College London (UCL), attributes the landslide to the thinning of the glacier at the mountain’s base, a change linked to climate change.
This unusual phenomenon began in Dickson Fjord in eastern Greenland and left scientists perplexed. Dr. Stephen Hicks, a co-author of the study, noted, “This is the first time that water sloshing has been recorded as seismic vibrations traveling through the Earth’s crust globally and lasting for several days.”
Dr. Hicks explained that while seismometers can capture various events on the Earth’s surface, the detection of such a prolonged seismic wave with a single frequency is unprecedented. The findings underscore the complex connections between climate change, glacier destabilization, water movement, and the solid Earth’s crust.
Researchers employed a mathematical model to illustrate that the water continued to splash for nine days after the landslide. The simulation indicated that the water would oscillate every 90 seconds, generating vibrations that spread worldwide and contributing to one of the largest tsunamis recorded in recent times.
The tsunami wave reached an impressive 10 kilometers wide and 110 meters high in the fjord but diminished to 7 meters within a few minutes, according to estimates published in the journal Science.