Boone, Wieter ; Lecocq, Thomas ; Van Noten, Koen ; De Plaen, Raphael ; Hendricks, Mark

Released on 2024-09-16

Abstract: In September 2023, a mysterious, globally observed and unprecedented 9-day-long seismic signal was caused by a massive landslide in Greenland. 25 million m³ of rock and ice fell into the Dickson Fjord and, in turn, caused a 200-metre-high mega-tsunami that continued sloshing back and forth – a phenomenon called a seiche – in the narrow fjord for 9 days. That is the conclusion of research published in the journal Science. The seismic waves generated by this large mass of moving water have been observed around the world. Never before have scientists, including researchers of the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), observed such an unusual mechanism causing a global seismic signal.

Keyword(s): Rockslide ; Tsunami ; Greenland
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