Mega tsunami causes Earth above Dickson Fjord to vibrate for nine days

Dr Stephen Hicks remarks that bizarre vibrations have left scientists "completely baffled"

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A  melted glacier around Constable Point along the Scoresby Sound Fjord, in Eastern Greenland, is seen on Aug. 11. — AFP
A  melted glacier around Constable Point along the Scoresby Sound Fjord, in Eastern Greenland, is seen on Aug. 11. — AFP

A landslide occurred right after a mega-tsunami in Greenland last year and it caused vibrations in the Earth's crust for nine days, a study shows. 

Researchers discovered that the collapse of a 1.2km high peak in east Greenland in September, 2023 caused the water in the fjord below to violently splash back and forth, resulting in vibrations that went right to the Earth’s crust, Sky News reports.

The tsunami was caused by the glacier at the foot of the mountain peak, which was caused by climate change, as per the study that included researchers from University College London (UCL).

The study’s co-author, Dr Stephen Hicks said that the bizarre vibrations that began above Dickson Fjord has left scientists “completely baffled”.

"This is the first time that water sloshing has been recorded as vibrations through the Earth's crust, travelling the world over and lasting several days," Dr Hicks, of UCL Earth Sciences, said.

"Even though we know seismometers can record a variety of sources happening on Earth's surface, never before has such a long-lasting, globally travelling seismic wave, containing only a single frequency of oscillation, been recorded,” the study’s lead author remarked.

Dr Hicks concluded that this study “highlights the intricacies of interconnections between climate change in the atmosphere, destabilisation of glacier ice in the cryosphere, movements of water bodies in the hydrosphere, and Earth's solid crust in the lithosphere.”