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Man walking on the ice. A new study evaluated the debris left behind by the massive tsunami that hit Alaska three years ago. Researchers warn that more tsunamis may occur as global warming results in glacier retreat, rising water levels and permafrost thaw. ( pixabay )
The tsunami that devastated Alaska in October 2015 occurred as a result of a glacial retreat and scientists warned that this could happen again.
Three years ago, a slope of the Tyndall glacier collapsed, sending 180 million tonnes of rock into the nearby fjord, causing a tsunami reaching 193 meters above sea level. It is said to be one of the highest tsunamis recorded in the last century.
Fortunately, Icy Bay, the area hit by water at the time, was uninhabited and no one was injured. However, if a similar event occurred in a populated area, it would be catastrophic.
Experts warn that the tsunami, which has caused waves as high as the Seattle Space Needle, will be a normal phenomenon in the future due to climate change.
A team of researchers collected data on the extreme tsunami site to assess their severity. The data was published in the journal Nature.
The tsunami of Alaska 2015
The Tyndall Glacier has retreated to 17 kilometers due to the rapid warming of the climate over the last fifty years. More than 400 meters of icebreaking occurred between 1961 and 1991 before the glacier moved to its present location.
Then, in 2015, a landslide occurred. As there was no more glacial ice bearing steep slopes and with the permafrost thaw, the huge rocks fell and created the gigantic wave that traveled up to 60 miles to the hour. .
"The tsunamis caused by landslides can have a much shorter life span and be faster than those caused by tectonics that has dominated tsunami research in recent years," the researchers wrote.
The largest tsunami ever recorded took place in Lituya Bay, also in Alaska in 1958. The event was triggered by a similar landslide that hit the terminus of a glacier and s 39; is directed to the fjord. The wave reached 534 meters and lasted about 76 seconds.
More tsunami of monsters
Unfortunately, events like the 2015 Alaska tsunami will occur more frequently if the planet continues to warm up, causing glaciers to shrink and permafrost to thaw. Landslides can produce massive waves as the masses of water continue to rise and move towards the land.
"As the slopes of the mountain adapt to new conditions, they can release single rocks, avalanches of rocks or fail entirely," said Martin Lüthi, a geographer who documented a small tsunami in a fjord in Greenland . "Several very large landslides have occurred in areas of rapid deglaciation around the world and triggered large waves of tsunami when they reached lakes or fjords."
The authors of the study propose to assess the potential failure and create a map of risk areas to reduce damage in the event of landslides and tsunamis in the future.
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