2023 Greenland landslide
The 2023 Greenland landslide was a massive event that occurred on September 16 in Dickson Fjord, in northeastern Greenland. This catastrophic landslide was triggered by a series of factors, including the glacial debuttressing due to climate change. Greenland, being highly sensitive to rising temperatures, has experienced accelerated glacial retreat and destabilization in recent years, making landslides more frequent and severe.[1][2][3]
Background
[edit]Greenland’s geography and climate make it prone to natural disasters, particularly landslides and tsunamis caused by glacial activity and permafrost thaw. The region has seen an increase in the frequency and severity of such events as a result of the ongoing warming of the Arctic. Rising temperatures are accelerating the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, as well as causing permafrost, which stabilizes mountainous terrain, to thaw. This has increased the instability of Greenland’s coastal regions.[2][1][3]
Mega-tsunami
[edit]The landslide caused 25 million cubic meters of rock to fall into the ocean, displacing enough water to generate a 200m wave that caused seismic waves that were picked up globally for nine days.[4] The wave was caught in a narrow fjord which caused the wave to continue to slosh back and forth off the walls for the entire time, resulting in a global seismic vibration, picked up all over the world, that was first confused with an earthquake.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Paddison, Laura (2024-09-13). "A landslide triggered a 650-foot mega-tsunami in Greenland. Then came something inexplicable". CNN. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
- ^ a b "Greenland landslide caused freak wave that shook Earth for nine days". New Scientist. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
- ^ a b Matti, Stephanie; Cullen, Miriam; Reichardt, Uta; Vigfúsdóttir, Andrea (2023-02-15). "Planned relocation due to landslide-triggered tsunami risk in recently deglaciated areas". International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 86: 103536. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103536. ISSN 2212-4209.
- ^ Carrington, Damian (2024-09-12). "Entire Earth vibrated for nine days after climate-triggered mega-tsunami". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ "Massive Greenland tsunami shook Earth for nine days". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-09-18.