Imagine waves as tall as a skyscraper crashing against the coast, shaking the planet for more than a week. It’s not the plot of a movie catastrophicbut the reality of what happened last September, when one Mega-tsunami hit the coast of Greenland. The cause? A glacial landslide, so massive that it produced waves up to 200 meters high, one of the largest tsunamis ever recorded in modern history.
An unprecedented event
In September 2023, scientists around the world detected something unusual: a constant seismic vibration that shook the Earth for a long time. nine consecutive days. This could not be explained by a simple earthquake, as the duration was too long and the energy involved seemed incredibly high. At first, many thought it was a malfunction of the detection instruments. And how would you have reacted if you had heard about such an event?
Only after a year of study and collaboration between 68 scientists coming from all over the world, it was possible to understand what had caused this phenomenon. A gigantic glacial landslide in a Greenland fjord, caused by the melting of the ice, had dumped an enormous quantity of debris into the sea, generating a mega-tsunami which produced waves up to 650 feet (about 200 meters) high. To give you an idea, we are talking about a height that exceeds that of many skyscrapers.
Waves shaking the planet
But it wasn’t just the mega-tsunami that made the news. The real surprise was duration of seismic vibrations. When the landslide hit the sea, the initial wave embedded itself in the fjord, a narrow inlet surrounded by steep rock walls. Imagine a huge wave bouncing back and forth, with no way to dissipate. This phenomenon created a “seal,” a standing wave that oscillates in an enclosed body of water.
For nine days, this six it continued to shake the fjord, maintaining such a shape and energy that left scientists speechless. As he said Kristian Svenneviggeologist from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland: “If a year ago I had hypothesized that a seiche could last nine days, no one would have believed me.” Yet, it really happened.
Climate change: an alarming sign
But what caused all this? Scientists agree that the climate change is the main culprit. Rising temperatures have weakened the glacier, making the landslide inevitable. Paula Snook, a geologist at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, described this event as an “alarming sign” of what global warming can cause.
We are witnessing phenomena that, until a few decades ago, were considered impossible. The polar regions, which for millennia have remained covered by a thick layer of ice, are now releasing enormous quantities of water and debris, creating dangerous and unpredictable situations. The Greenland mega-tsunami may be just one of the first warnings of what lies ahead.
The mega-tsunami in Greenland shows us how fragile the balance of our planet is and how quickly conditions can change due to global warming. But, in addition to worry, there is also room for hope. Events like this remind us of the importance of scientific research and international collaboration. Only through science can we better understand these phenomena and, perhaps, find solutions to mitigate future damage.
And you, what do you think? Does climate change worry you? Do you think the Earth is already suffering the effects of uncontrolled warming? Leave a comment below and let us know your opinion. Don’t forget to follow us on iCrewPlay to stay up to date on the latest scientific news and discoveries.
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