A recent study has revealed that a mega-tsunami generated by a landslide in Greenland caused the Earth to vibrate for nine days. The incident occurred last September when a 1.2km-high mountain peak collapsed, resulting in water from the fjord below sloshing back and forth and creating vibrations detectable throughout the Earth’s crust.
Researchers attributed the landslide to the thinning of the glacier at the mountain’s base, which is linked to climate change. The phenomenon originated above Dickson Fjord in eastern Greenland and has left scientists perplexed, according to Dr. Stephen Hicks, a co-author of the study from University College London (UCL).
“This marks the first time vibrations caused by water movement have been recorded traveling through the Earth’s crust over such a long duration,” said Dr. Hicks from UCL Earth Sciences. He noted that while seismometers can track various surface events, the lengthy, global seismic waves consisting of a single frequency of oscillation are unprecedented.
The researchers simulated the landslide with a mathematical model to showcase how the water splashing persisted for nine days. Their findings suggested that the water splashed back and forth every 90 seconds, transmitting vibrations through the Earth’s crust and triggering one of the most significant tsunamis in recent memory.
The tsunami wave reached an extent of 10km across the fjord and initially rose to 110m, but it diminished to 7m within minutes, as estimated in the study published in the journal Science.