On September 16, 2023, a massive landslide occurred in Dickson Fjord, northeastern Greenland. It was triggered by a series of factors, including the glacial debuttressing due to climate change. Greenland, being highly sensitive to rising temperatures, has experienced accelerated glacial retreat and destabilization in recent years, making landslides more frequent and severe.
On September 16th, 2023 at 12:35 UTC, a 25.5 Mm3 (3.34×1019 cu yd) rockslide occurred on the slope of Dickson Fjord in Northeast Greenland. [1] [2] The rockslide impacted a gully glacier, leading to a rock and ice avalanche that entered the fjord causing an up to 200 m (660 ft) high tsunami and subsequent waves up to 110 m high, with observable runup up to 100 km (62 mi) away. [3] [4] [5] Svennevig et al. (2024) recreated the dynamics of the landslide using the available seismic data and estimate it achieved a peak velocity of 42 meteres per second. [5] The initial failure triggering the landslide was 150 m thick, 480 m wide and 600 m long, made of a large block of metamorphic rock. [5] The event produced an unprecedented very long period (VLP) seismic event observable on seismic stations worldwide for up to nine days. [6] The wave was caught in a narrow fjord which caused the wave to continue to slosh back and forth off the walls for the entire time, [7] resulting in a global seismic vibration, picked up all over the world, that was first confused with an earthquake. [8]
Greenland’s geography and climate make it prone to natural disasters, particularly landslides and tsunamis caused by glacial activity and permafrost thaw. The region has seen an increase in the frequency and severity of such events as a result of the ongoing warming of the Arctic. Rising temperatures are accelerating the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, as well as causing permafrost, which stabilizes mountainous terrain, to thaw. This has increased the instability of Greenland’s coastal regions. [3] [6] [9]
This article incorporates text by Svennevig, K., Hicks, S., Lecocq, T., Mangeney, A., Hibert, C., Korsgaard, N., Lucas, A., Keiding, M., Marboeuf, A., Schippkus, S., Rysgaard, S., Boone, W., Gibbons, S., Cook, K., Glimsdal, S., Løvholt, F., Spagnolo, M., Assink, J., Harcourt, W., and Malet, J.-P. and the VLPGreenland available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
This article incorporates text by Angela Carrillo‐Ponce, Sebastian Heimann, Gesa M. Petersen, Thomas R. Walter, Simone Cesca, Torsten Dahm available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
A tsunami is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. Unlike normal ocean waves, which are generated by wind, or tides, which are in turn generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water from a large event.
Landslides, also known as landslips, or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, characterized by either steep or gentle slope gradients, from mountain ranges to coastal cliffs or even underwater, in which case they are called submarine landslides.
A megatsunami is a very large wave created by a large, sudden displacement of material into a body of water.
The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 131 deaths.
A seiche is a standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water. Seiches and seiche-related phenomena have been observed on lakes, reservoirs, swimming pools, bays, harbors, caves, and seas. The key requirement for formation of a seiche is that the body of water be at least partially bounded, allowing the formation of the standing wave.
Disko Island is a large island in Baffin Bay, off the west coast of Greenland. It has an area of 8,578 km2 (3,312 sq mi), making it the second largest of Greenland after the main island and one of the 100 largest islands in the world.
Illorsuit is a former settlement in Avannaata municipality, in western Greenland. Located on the northeastern shore of Illorsuit Island − northwest of Uummannaq at the mouth of the Uummannaq Fjord − the settlement had 91 inhabitants in 2010. It was abandoned in 2018.
Nuugaatsiaq is a settlement in the Avannaata municipality, in northwestern Greenland, located on an island off the southern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula, in the Uummannaq Fjord basin. It had 84 inhabitants in 2010, but was abandoned after a tsunami struck in 2017.
Icy Bay is a body of water in the borough of Yakutat, Alaska, formed in the last 100 years by the rapid retreat of the Guyot, Yahtse, and Tyndall Glaciers. It is part of the Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness.
Ella Island is an island in eastern Greenland, within Northeast Greenland National Park. It was established in 1941 to enforce Danish sovereignty in Greenland.. It is home of the legendary Sirius Dog Sled Patrol.
Submarine landslides are marine landslides that transport sediment across the continental shelf and into the deep ocean. A submarine landslide is initiated when the downwards driving stress exceeds the resisting stress of the seafloor slope material, causing movements along one or more concave to planar rupture surfaces. Submarine landslides take place in a variety of different settings, including planes as low as 1°, and can cause significant damage to both life and property. Recent advances have been made in understanding the nature and processes of submarine landslides through the use of sidescan sonar and other seafloor mapping technology.
Nuussuaq Peninsula is a large peninsula in western Greenland.
The 1958 Lituya Bay earthquake occurred on July 9, 1958, at 22:15:58 PST with a moment magnitude of 7.8 to 8.3 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The strike-slip earthquake took place on the Fairweather Fault and triggered a rockslide of 30 million cubic meters and about 90 million tons into the narrow inlet of Lituya Bay, Alaska. The impact was heard 80 kilometers (50 mi) away, and the sudden displacement of water resulted in a megatsunami that washed out trees to a maximum elevation of 524 meters at the entrance of Gilbert Inlet. This is the largest and most significant megatsunami in modern times; it forced a re-evaluation of large-wave events and the recognition of impact events, rockfalls, and landslides as causes of very large waves.
Glacial earthquakes refer to a type of seismic event, with a magnitude of about 5, resulting from glacial calving events. The majority of glacial earthquake activity can be seen in the late summer and are found in Antarctica, Alaska, and Greenland. About 90% of these occur in Greenland. Glacial earthquakes occur most frequently in July, August, and September in Greenland. Seismographs are analyzed by scientists to identify and locate glacial earthquakes.
Sullorsuaq Strait is a strait on the western coast of Greenland.
Karrat Fjord is a fjord in Avannaata municipality in western Greenland.
Dickson Fjord is a fjord in King Christian X Land, eastern Greenland.
Events in the year 2023 in Greenland.
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