The landslide occurred when a 1.2 km-high mountain peak collapsed into the Dickson Fjord, a secluded area in Greenland. This sudden event, unseen by human eyes, created a wave that shot up to 200 meters high and extended 10 km across the fjord. Within minutes, the massive wave reduced to seven meters, and over the next few days, it dwindled to just a few centimeters.
But this was no ordinary tsunami. The wave continued to slosh back and forth in the uniquely shaped fjord for nine days, producing a mysterious global seismic signal that baffled scientists around the world.
To understand what happened, the team employed detailed mathematical models. These models accounted for the landslide’s angle and the fjord’s narrow, winding structure, showing how the water’s energy remained trapped, unable to escape. This trapped energy was responsible for the prolonged seismic activity detected across the globe.
The study, published in Science, highlights not only the power of natural events but also the ripple effects they can have on Earth’s systems. For the scientific community, this research provides critical insights into how climate change can influence geophysical phenomena, such as landslides and tsunamis.
Want to dive deeper? Stephen Hicks, a UCL researcher involved in the study, breaks it all down in this detailed video: Watch here.
This remarkable event reminds us how interconnected our planet’s systems are—and how much we still have to learn.
