A recent study has revealed that a mega-tsunami triggered by a landslide in Greenland caused the Earth to vibrate for an astonishing nine days. The incident, which occurred last September, involved the collapse of a mountain peak rising 1.2 kilometers (0.7 miles) high, leading to significant water displacement in the fjord below, resulting in vibrations that penetrated the Earth’s crust.
Researchers attribute the landslide to the thinning of the glacier at the base of the mountain, a consequence of climate change. The phenomenon, which originated above Dickson Fjord in eastern Greenland, left scientists perplexed, according to the study’s co-author, Dr. Stephen Hicks from University College London (UCL).
“This is the first instance where water movement has been documented as vibrations traveling through the Earth’s crust globally and lasting for several days,” Dr. Hicks stated. He noted that while seismometers can record various activities on the Earth’s surface, such a prolonged, single-frequency seismic wave event had never been documented before.
The research highlights the complex connections between climate change in the atmosphere, glacier destabilization in the cryosphere, movements of water in the hydrosphere, and the solid Earth’s crust in the lithosphere. To illustrate the enduring impact of the water splashing, scientists used a mathematical model to replicate the landslide’s angle.
This model indicated that the water sloshed back and forth approximately every 90 seconds, emitting vibrations that traveled across the globe, contributing to one of the largest tsunamis in recent recorded history. The wave reportedly stretched 10 kilometers (7.4 miles) across the fjord and initially surged 110 meters into the air but diminished to 7 meters within minutes, according to estimates from the study published in the journal Science.