A recent study has revealed that a mega-tsunami triggered by a landslide in Greenland caused the Earth to vibrate for nine days. The incident occurred last September when a 1.2 km-high mountain peak collapsed into a fjord below, causing water to splash back and forth, which led to vibrations reaching the Earth’s crust.
Researchers linked the landslide to the thinning of the glacier at the mountain’s base, a direct consequence of climate change. The study, conducted by scientists from University College London (UCL), noted that this new phenomenon originated above Dickson Fjord in eastern Greenland, leaving scientists puzzled.
Dr. Stephen Hicks, a co-author of the study, emphasized that this is the first time vibrations caused by sloshing water have been recorded traveling through the Earth’s crust globally for an extended period. He stated, “Even though we know seismometers can record a variety of activities on Earth’s surface, never before has such a long-lasting, globally traveling seismic wave, featuring only a single frequency of oscillation, been documented.”
The researchers utilized a mathematical model to simulate the angle of the landslide and demonstrated that the water would have splashed back and forth every 90 seconds, creating vibrations throughout the Earth’s crust, resulting in one of the largest tsunamis in recent history. The wave reached 10 km across the fjord and soared to 110 meters high, quickly diminishing to 7 meters within minutes, according to estimates from the study published in the journal Science.