The conclusion made by researchers from the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ leaves many people speechless. They claim that a huge tsunami with waves 200 meters high occurred last year. However, no one ever discovered it.
The amount of energy released caused suspicion that something was up.
- Tsunamis are often caused by volcanic eruptions or earthquakes.
- However, these events may also be associated with the fall of huge rocks into the water.
- This is exactly what happened last year in western Greenland.
- But, as incredible as it may seem, it has only now been recorded, after studies were conducted on the enormous amount of energy released.
- The researchers concluded that the tsunami was so large that it also generated a second type of wave that kept the fjord's waters churning for a week.
- The results were described in a study published in Seismic record.
Read more
The tsunami was confined to the strait and no one was injured.
The team decided to investigate what happened after reports of high waves at a Danish naval base (uninhabited at the time) located on the island of Ella, near where the tsunami occurred.
Researchers later discovered that all this happened in a side valley of Dixon Gorge. There, satellite images revealed a huge rock breaking off from a height of about 400 meters.
This powerful impact generated huge waves. No one witnessed what happened inside the strait because it is an uninhabited area. Seismic data suggests that the tsunami passed through most of the inlet, but disappeared when it reached the open sea.
However, some of the energy created new waves (about 20 meters) in the opposite direction. They ended up stuck inside the fjord, causing rough waters for about a week.
The reason for the rock's separation is still unknown. However, one possibility is that it is linked to climate change. The ice in the area would have melted, causing the fall and everything that happened afterward.
