Jeff Kerby
A massive landslide in a Greenland fjord triggered a wave that “shook the Earth” for nine days.
The seismic signal last September was picked up by sensors all over the world, leading scientists to investigate where it had come from.
The landslide – a mountainside of rock that collapsed and carried glacial ice with it – triggered a 200m wave.
That wave was then “trapped” in the narrow fjord – moving back and forth for nine days, generating the vibrations.
Landslides like this, scientists say, are happening more frequently with climate change – as the glaciers that support Greenland’s mountains melt.
The results of the investigation into this event, which are for nine days.
“We’ve never seen such a large scale movement of water over such a long period,” said Dr Hicks.
Scientists say the landslide was caused by rising temperatures in Greenland, which have melted the glacier at the base of the mountain.
“That glacier was supporting this mountain, and it got so thin that it just stopped holding it up,” said Dr Hicks. “It shows how climate change is now impacting these areas.”
Copernicus Sentinel Data, 2023/ESA
While this event was in a a remote area, these fjords are visited by some Arctic cruise ships. Fortunately none were in the area where this landslide occurred. But the lead researcher, Dr Kristian Svennevig from the National Geological Surveys for Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), said this was an increasingly common phenomenon in the Arctic.
“We are witnessing a rise in giant, tsunami-causing landslides, particularly in Greenland,” he told BBC News.
“While the Dickson Fjord event alone doesn’t confirm this trend, its unprecedented scale underscores the need to carry out more research.”
The event at Dickson Fjord, Dr Hicks added, “is the perhaps first time a climate change event has impacted the crust beneath our feet all the world over.”