Unbelievable 650-Foot Mega-Tsunami: How Satellite Footage Captured the Global Shockwaves

Scientists recently detected an unusual seismic pulse from Greenland’s Dickson Fjord. For nine days, instruments worldwide recorded a slow, steady beat. This pulse, rising and falling every 92 seconds, was too faint for people to notice but strong enough to disturb the Earth’s crust from Alaska to Australia.

On September 16, 2023, a massive landslide sent over 25 million cubic yards of rock and ice crashing into the fjord. That’s enough material to fill around 10,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The impact generated a tsunami wave that soared to about 650 feet. The resulting surge caused damage estimated at $200,000 to research equipment on nearby Ella Island.

Instead of calming, the water began to rock back and forth in a phenomenon known as a seiche. Researchers studied this unusual movement and found that water levels fluctuated up to 30 feet. Alice Gabriel, a geophysicist at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution, described the complexity of simulating such a long-lasting tsunami.

In total, over 70 researchers from 41 institutions came together to investigate this event. Kristian Svennevig from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland shared, “No one had the faintest idea what caused this signal.” They eventually connected it to the landslide.

The melting of glaciers due to climate change contributed to this landslide. As temperatures rise, the stability of rocky slopes diminishes. Similar melting triggered a deadly tsunami in Karrat Fjord in 2017, demonstrating that warming temperatures can lead to dangerous geological events.

Current satellite technology is better equipped to monitor these extreme conditions. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission launched in December 2022 helps researchers analyze oceanic processes more accurately. Thomas Monahan from the University of Oxford noted, “This research shows how next-generation satellites are transforming our understanding of dynamic environments.”

By exploring past events and employing advanced models, scientists can predict potential future incidents, improving safety for Arctic travelers. Each new discovery helps us grasp how changes in climate and geography impact our planet.

For more insights, read the full study published in Science and Nature Communications.

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