NASA, the American space agency, has revealed unprecedented details of a tsunami that generated a nine-day seismic event in September 2023. This rare phenomenon was triggered by a large rock landslide that occurred in Dickson Fjord, located in Greenland.
As a result, the fjord’s waters began to oscillate every 90 seconds, creating an intriguing scenario for scientists and researchers around the world. The information comes from g1.
This extraordinary event was recorded by the SWOT satellite, a joint mission between NASA and the French National Center for Space Studies. Launched in 2022, the SWOT satellite was designed to measure, in high resolution, water levels on the surfaces of oceans, lakes and rivers.
The tsunami causes a difference in level in the waters of the fjords
After the landslide, the satellite detected a significant difference in height in the waters of the fjord, reaching a difference of up to 1.2 meters between the north and south sides.
Thanks to the opportune moment in which the SWOT satellite flew over the site of the tsunami, scientists were able to analyze the shape of the waves generated by the landslide. Josh Willisa sea level expert from NASA, underlined the importance of this feat, stating that it was an unprecedented opportunity to observe such phenomena.
Initially, to explain the phenomenon, the scientific team had considered the hypothesis of equipment failures or even the presence of a new volcano, classifying it as a “Unidentified seismic object”. However, accurate data provided by SWOT demonstrated that the cause of this long-lasting seismic event was, in fact, a landslide.
“Coincidentally, the SWOT passed over the fjord at a time when the waters were quite gathered against the north face”said Josh Willis, a sea level expert at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. “Looking at the waveform is something we have never been able to do before SWOT analysis”has completed.
Impacts of landslides and climate change
This landslide, linked to climate change, not only generated the tsunami, but also made the Earth vibrate for nine consecutive days. The publication of the results of this study in the journal Science has highlighted the seriousness of climate influences on current seismic and geological phenomena.
The analysis was carried out by an international team of scientists, strengthening global collaboration in resolving and understanding these complex natural events.
NASA technological innovations
The role played by the SWOT satellite is an excellent example of technological innovations applied to the observation of natural phenomena. Offering a detailed, high-resolution view of the impact of landslides on the seas, the satellite proves to be a vital resource for researchers seeking to better understand Earth’s dynamics.
When a huge landslide triggered a 9-day tsunami in Greenland’s Dickson Fjord, the SWOT satellite, with an unprecedented ability to measure the height of the sea surface in confined spaces, captured the unique contours crashing into the inside the fjord walls. https://t.co/QheqgLgX6F pic.twitter.com/ctPH75ur3j
—NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) October 31, 2024
Source: Terra
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