A rockslide-generated tsunami in a Greenland fjord rang Earth for 9 days

Kristian Svennevig; Stephen P. Hicks; Thomas Forbriger; Thomas Lecocq; Rudolf Widmer-Schnidrig; Anne Mangeney; Clément Hibert; Niels J. Korsgaard; Antoine Lucas; Claudio Satriano; Robert E. Anthony; Aurélien Mordret; Sven Schippkus; Søren Rysgaard; Wieter Boone; Steven J. Gibbons; Kristen L. Cook; Sylfest Glimsdal; Finn Løvholt; Koen Van Noten; Jelle D. Assink; Alexis Marboeuf; Anthony Lomax; Kris Vanneste; Taka'aki Taira; Matteo Spagnolo; Raphael De Plaen; Paula Koelemeijer; Carl Ebeling; Andrea Cannata; William D. Harcourt; David G. Cornwell; Corentin Caudron; Piero Poli; Pascal Bernard; Eric Larose; Eleonore Stutzmann; Peter H. Voss; Bjorn Lund; Flavio Cannavo; Manuel J. Castro-Díaz; Esteban Chaves; Trine Dahl-Jensen; Nicolas De Pinho Dias; Aline Déprez; Roeland Develter; Douglas Dreger; Läslo G. Evers; Enrique D. Fernández-Nieto; Ana M.G. Ferreira; Gareth Funning; Alice Agnes Gabriel; Marc Hendrickx; Alan L. Kafka; Marie Keiding; Jeffrey Kerby; Shfaqat A. Khan; Andreas Kjær Dideriksen; Oliver D. Lamb; Tine B. Larsen; Bradley Lipovsky; Ikha Magdalena; Jean Philippe Malet; Mikkel Myrup; Luis Rivera; Eugenio Ruiz-Castillo; Selina Wetter; Bastien Wirtz

doi:10.1126/science.adm9247

A rockslide-generated tsunami in a Greenland fjord rang Earth for 9 days

Kristian Svennevig, Stephen P. Hicks, Thomas Forbriger, Thomas Lecocq, Rudolf Widmer-Schnidrig, Anne Mangeney, Clément Hibert, Niels J. Korsgaard, Antoine Lucas, Claudio Satriano, Robert E. Anthony, Aurélien Mordret, Sven Schippkus, Søren Rysgaard, Wieter Boone, Steven J. Gibbons, Kristen L. Cook, Sylfest Glimsdal, Finn Løvholt, Koen Van NotenJelle D. Assink, Alexis Marboeuf, Anthony Lomax, Kris Vanneste, Taka'aki Taira, Matteo Spagnolo, Raphael De Plaen, Paula Koelemeijer, Carl Ebeling, Andrea Cannata, William D. Harcourt, David G. Cornwell, Corentin Caudron, Piero Poli, Pascal Bernard, Eric Larose, Eleonore Stutzmann, Peter H. Voss, Bjorn Lund, Flavio Cannavo, Manuel J. Castro-Díaz, Esteban Chaves, Trine Dahl-Jensen, Nicolas De Pinho Dias, Aline Déprez, Roeland Develter, Douglas Dreger, Läslo G. Evers, Enrique D. Fernández-Nieto, Ana M.G. Ferreira, Gareth Funning, Alice Agnes Gabriel, Marc Hendrickx, Alan L. Kafka, Marie Keiding, Jeffrey Kerby, Shfaqat A. Khan, Andreas Kjær Dideriksen, Oliver D. Lamb, Tine B. Larsen, Bradley Lipovsky, Ikha Magdalena, Jean Philippe Malet, Mikkel Myrup, Luis Rivera, Eugenio Ruiz-Castillo, Selina Wetter, Bastien Wirtz

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Climate change is increasingly predisposing polar regions to large landslides. Tsunamigenic landslides have occurred recently in Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat), but none have been reported from the eastern fjords. In September 2023, we detected the start of a 9-day-long, global 10.88-millihertz (92-second) monochromatic very-long-period (VLP) seismic signal, originating from East Greenland. In this study, we demonstrate how this event started with a glacial thinning-induced rock-ice avalanche of 25 × 106 cubic meters plunging into Dickson Fjord, triggering a 200-meter-high tsunami. Simulations show that the tsunami stabilized into a 7-meter-high long-duration seiche with a frequency (11.45 millihertz) and slow amplitude decay that were nearly identical to the seismic signal. An oscillating, fjord-transverse single force with a maximum amplitude of 5 × 1011 newtons reproduced the seismic amplitudes and their radiation pattern relative to the fjord, demonstrating how a seiche directly caused the 9-day-long seismic signal. Our findings highlight how climate change is causing cascading, hazardous feedbacks between the cryosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1196-1205
Number of pages	10
Journal	Science (New York, N.Y.)
Volume	385
Issue number	6714
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adm9247
Publication status	Published - 12 Sept 2024

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Programme Area 5: Nature and Climate

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1126/science.adm9247

Cite this

Svennevig, K., Hicks, S. P., Forbriger, T., Lecocq, T., Widmer-Schnidrig, R., Mangeney, A., Hibert, C., Korsgaard, N. J., Lucas, A., Satriano, C., Anthony, R. E., Mordret, A., Schippkus, S., Rysgaard, S., Boone, W., Gibbons, S. J., Cook, K. L., Glimsdal, S., Løvholt, F., ... Wirtz, B. (2024). A rockslide-generated tsunami in a Greenland fjord rang Earth for 9 days. Science (New York, N.Y.), 385(6714), 1196-1205. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adm9247

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title = "A rockslide-generated tsunami in a Greenland fjord rang Earth for 9 days",

abstract = "Climate change is increasingly predisposing polar regions to large landslides. Tsunamigenic landslides have occurred recently in Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat), but none have been reported from the eastern fjords. In September 2023, we detected the start of a 9-day-long, global 10.88-millihertz (92-second) monochromatic very-long-period (VLP) seismic signal, originating from East Greenland. In this study, we demonstrate how this event started with a glacial thinning-induced rock-ice avalanche of 25 × 106 cubic meters plunging into Dickson Fjord, triggering a 200-meter-high tsunami. Simulations show that the tsunami stabilized into a 7-meter-high long-duration seiche with a frequency (11.45 millihertz) and slow amplitude decay that were nearly identical to the seismic signal. An oscillating, fjord-transverse single force with a maximum amplitude of 5 × 1011 newtons reproduced the seismic amplitudes and their radiation pattern relative to the fjord, demonstrating how a seiche directly caused the 9-day-long seismic signal. Our findings highlight how climate change is causing cascading, hazardous feedbacks between the cryosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.",

author = "Kristian Svennevig and Hicks, {Stephen P.} and Thomas Forbriger and Thomas Lecocq and Rudolf Widmer-Schnidrig and Anne Mangeney and Cl{\'e}ment Hibert and Korsgaard, {Niels J.} and Antoine Lucas and Claudio Satriano and Anthony, {Robert E.} and Aur{\'e}lien Mordret and Sven Schippkus and S{\o}ren Rysgaard and Wieter Boone and Gibbons, {Steven J.} and Cook, {Kristen L.} and Sylfest Glimsdal and Finn L{\o}vholt and {Van Noten}, Koen and Assink, {Jelle D.} and Alexis Marboeuf and Anthony Lomax and Kris Vanneste and Taka'aki Taira and Matteo Spagnolo and {De Plaen}, Raphael and Paula Koelemeijer and Carl Ebeling and Andrea Cannata and Harcourt, {William D.} and Cornwell, {David G.} and Corentin Caudron and Piero Poli and Pascal Bernard and Eric Larose and Eleonore Stutzmann and Voss, {Peter H.} and Bjorn Lund and Flavio Cannavo and Castro-D{\'i}az, {Manuel J.} and Esteban Chaves and Trine Dahl-Jensen and {Pinho Dias}, {Nicolas De} and Aline D{\'e}prez and Roeland Develter and Douglas Dreger and Evers, {L{\"a}slo G.} and Fern{\'a}ndez-Nieto, {Enrique D.} and Ferreira, {Ana M.G.} and Gareth Funning and Gabriel, {Alice Agnes} and Marc Hendrickx and Kafka, {Alan L.} and Marie Keiding and Jeffrey Kerby and Khan, {Shfaqat A.} and Dideriksen, {Andreas Kj{\ae}r} and Lamb, {Oliver D.} and Larsen, {Tine B.} and Bradley Lipovsky and Ikha Magdalena and Malet, {Jean Philippe} and Mikkel Myrup and Luis Rivera and Eugenio Ruiz-Castillo and Selina Wetter and Bastien Wirtz",

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Svennevig, K, Hicks, SP, Forbriger, T, Lecocq, T, Widmer-Schnidrig, R, Mangeney, A, Hibert, C, Korsgaard, NJ, Lucas, A, Satriano, C, Anthony, RE, Mordret, A, Schippkus, S, Rysgaard, S, Boone, W, Gibbons, SJ, Cook, KL, Glimsdal, S, Løvholt, F, Van Noten, K, Assink, JD, Marboeuf, A, Lomax, A, Vanneste, K, Taira, T, Spagnolo, M, De Plaen, R, Koelemeijer, P, Ebeling, C, Cannata, A, Harcourt, WD, Cornwell, DG, Caudron, C, Poli, P, Bernard, P, Larose, E, Stutzmann, E, Voss, PH, Lund, B, Cannavo, F, Castro-Díaz, MJ, Chaves, E, Dahl-Jensen, T, Pinho Dias, ND, Déprez, A, Develter, R, Dreger, D, Evers, LG, Fernández-Nieto, ED, Ferreira, AMG, Funning, G, Gabriel, AA, Hendrickx, M, Kafka, AL, Keiding, M, Kerby, J, Khan, SA, Dideriksen, AK, Lamb, OD, Larsen, TB, Lipovsky, B, Magdalena, I, Malet, JP, Myrup, M, Rivera, L, Ruiz-Castillo, E, Wetter, S & Wirtz, B 2024, 'A rockslide-generated tsunami in a Greenland fjord rang Earth for 9 days', Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 385, no. 6714, pp. 1196-1205. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adm9247

TY - JOUR

T1 - A rockslide-generated tsunami in a Greenland fjord rang Earth for 9 days

AU - Svennevig, Kristian

AU - Hicks, Stephen P.

AU - Forbriger, Thomas

AU - Lecocq, Thomas

AU - Widmer-Schnidrig, Rudolf

AU - Mangeney, Anne

AU - Hibert, Clément

AU - Korsgaard, Niels J.

AU - Lucas, Antoine

AU - Satriano, Claudio

AU - Anthony, Robert E.

AU - Mordret, Aurélien

AU - Schippkus, Sven

AU - Rysgaard, Søren

AU - Boone, Wieter

AU - Gibbons, Steven J.

AU - Cook, Kristen L.

AU - Glimsdal, Sylfest

AU - Løvholt, Finn

AU - Van Noten, Koen

AU - Assink, Jelle D.

AU - Marboeuf, Alexis

AU - Lomax, Anthony

AU - Vanneste, Kris

AU - Taira, Taka'aki

AU - Spagnolo, Matteo

AU - De Plaen, Raphael

AU - Koelemeijer, Paula

AU - Ebeling, Carl

AU - Cannata, Andrea

AU - Harcourt, William D.

AU - Cornwell, David G.

AU - Caudron, Corentin

AU - Poli, Piero

AU - Bernard, Pascal

AU - Larose, Eric

AU - Stutzmann, Eleonore

AU - Voss, Peter H.

AU - Lund, Bjorn

AU - Cannavo, Flavio

AU - Castro-Díaz, Manuel J.

AU - Chaves, Esteban

AU - Dahl-Jensen, Trine

AU - Pinho Dias, Nicolas De

AU - Déprez, Aline

AU - Develter, Roeland

AU - Dreger, Douglas

AU - Evers, Läslo G.

AU - Fernández-Nieto, Enrique D.

AU - Ferreira, Ana M.G.

AU - Funning, Gareth

AU - Gabriel, Alice Agnes

AU - Hendrickx, Marc

AU - Kafka, Alan L.

AU - Keiding, Marie

AU - Kerby, Jeffrey

AU - Khan, Shfaqat A.

AU - Dideriksen, Andreas Kjær

AU - Lamb, Oliver D.

AU - Larsen, Tine B.

AU - Lipovsky, Bradley

AU - Magdalena, Ikha

AU - Malet, Jean Philippe

AU - Myrup, Mikkel

AU - Rivera, Luis

AU - Ruiz-Castillo, Eugenio

AU - Wetter, Selina

AU - Wirtz, Bastien

PY - 2024/9/12

Y1 - 2024/9/12

N2 - Climate change is increasingly predisposing polar regions to large landslides. Tsunamigenic landslides have occurred recently in Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat), but none have been reported from the eastern fjords. In September 2023, we detected the start of a 9-day-long, global 10.88-millihertz (92-second) monochromatic very-long-period (VLP) seismic signal, originating from East Greenland. In this study, we demonstrate how this event started with a glacial thinning-induced rock-ice avalanche of 25 × 106 cubic meters plunging into Dickson Fjord, triggering a 200-meter-high tsunami. Simulations show that the tsunami stabilized into a 7-meter-high long-duration seiche with a frequency (11.45 millihertz) and slow amplitude decay that were nearly identical to the seismic signal. An oscillating, fjord-transverse single force with a maximum amplitude of 5 × 1011 newtons reproduced the seismic amplitudes and their radiation pattern relative to the fjord, demonstrating how a seiche directly caused the 9-day-long seismic signal. Our findings highlight how climate change is causing cascading, hazardous feedbacks between the cryosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.

AB - Climate change is increasingly predisposing polar regions to large landslides. Tsunamigenic landslides have occurred recently in Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat), but none have been reported from the eastern fjords. In September 2023, we detected the start of a 9-day-long, global 10.88-millihertz (92-second) monochromatic very-long-period (VLP) seismic signal, originating from East Greenland. In this study, we demonstrate how this event started with a glacial thinning-induced rock-ice avalanche of 25 × 106 cubic meters plunging into Dickson Fjord, triggering a 200-meter-high tsunami. Simulations show that the tsunami stabilized into a 7-meter-high long-duration seiche with a frequency (11.45 millihertz) and slow amplitude decay that were nearly identical to the seismic signal. An oscillating, fjord-transverse single force with a maximum amplitude of 5 × 1011 newtons reproduced the seismic amplitudes and their radiation pattern relative to the fjord, demonstrating how a seiche directly caused the 9-day-long seismic signal. Our findings highlight how climate change is causing cascading, hazardous feedbacks between the cryosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.

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U2 - 10.1126/science.adm9247

DO - 10.1126/science.adm9247

M3 - Article

C2 - 39264997

AN - SCOPUS:85204167409

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 385

SP - 1196

EP - 1205

JO - Science (New York, N.Y.)

JF - Science (New York, N.Y.)

IS - 6714

ER -

A rockslide-generated tsunami in a Greenland fjord rang Earth for 9 days

Abstract

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