Three years ago now, a devastating and strange tsunami tore apart a fjord Alaska, when 163 million tons of mountain rock fell into the water, causing a gigantic and terrifying wave, 182 meters high, which devastated and stripped the coasts from trees. In the next article, we want to talk to you about the cause of the worst tsunami ever recorded in history.
The phenomenon, which occurred in October 2015, was recorded in the Taan fjord in southeastern Alaska and appears to be within the four largest tsunamis recorded in the past century.
What was the cause of the worst tsunami in history?
What was the cause of the worst recorded tsunami? This type of tsunami is related to the climate change , as there is evidence to suggest that some of the reasons were the unusual warm climate of the area.
"More landslides of this type are likely to occur as the mountain glaciers continue to shrink and the alpine permafrost is thawed"
declared some of the authors, led by geologist Bretwood Higman of Ground Truth Trekking, in Nature Scientific Reports.
"40 years ago, the Taan fjord did not even exist because it was completely full of ice," confirmed Dan Shugar, a geoscientist at the University of Washington, along with 32 other scientists from the United States. Glen and Germany.
But the Tyndall glacier retreated some 16 kilometers between the years 1961 and 1991, reducing itself at the same time by 300 meters, until it stabilized in the location it has today.
That fact not only opened the fjord, but also it also eliminated a large mass of ice that reinforced and sustained the walls of the mountain , according to the research data, being a cause of the worst tsunami in history.
At the moment when the rocks fell off, just in front of the glacier, the confined form of the fjord gave rise to the gigantic wave, which undertook its destructive journey at a vertigo speed of 96.5 km / h.
"Imagine, it's like throwing a golf ball hard in a bathtub" said Shugar.
"The water will go to all sides of the bathtub, but when you get to the edges of the bathtub you can not go further, so the only way you can take is up."
Surely the protagonist of this article on the cause of the worst tsumani in history is not the most famous, but it was equally devastating and would be classified in the same genre.
"Actually the largest one recorded happened on an Alaskan road, off Lituya Bay, and it happened in a very similar way; A landslide fell hitting the end of a glacier and entering the water of the fjord. Although on that occasion it was preceded by an earthquake "declared the scientist.
In the case of the tsunami in this article, the scientists' actions were relatively quick, scientifically speaking, since they arrived on the scene after detecting the initial seismic signature of the landslide eight months later.
They studied the remains meticulously, detecting vegetation coasts, large accumulations of rocks and debris, and even smaller rocks buried in the trunks of the trees.
On this occasion, there was no regret for human losses but Shugar warns of the concern that exists in case in the future, a new tsunami could reach a cruise of the many who visit the fjords annually. In fact, a recent and similar tsunami caused 4 deaths on the coasts of Greenland.
the concern is widespread, since more events of this type are expected as massive glaciers retreat due to global warming.
"As the slopes of the mountains adapt to the new conditions, they can release individual rocks, rock avalanches or fail completely" , said Martin Lüthi, a geographer at the University of Zurich
"Several very large landslides have taken place in areas of rapid deglaciation around the world and unleashed large waves of tsunamis when they reached lakes or fjords. "
"The authors are certainly right in their proposal to identify, map and monitor possible danger zones to mitigate future damage through large tsunamis generated by landslides," Lüthi added.
"Their interpretations of the role of glacial retreat in the creation of risk scenarios are compelling and chilling," added Ronadh Cox, a geoscientist at Williams College in Massachusetts who studied the power of extreme waves to move rocks and other large objects. size.
Tsunamis and avalanches are not the only dangers caused by the retreat of glaciers. The melting mountain glaciers can also leave lakes of great depth; these lakes can drain suddenly, cascading down the slopes.
The bottom line is that climate change is altering landscapes and the scale of consequences, so it was somehow the cause of the worst tsunami in history and perhaps many of those to come.
Are we really aware of the situation in which we live? What do you think? Have you found interesting our article about the cause of the worst tsunami in history?