Worldwide Seismic Phenomenon Lasting 9 Days Uncovered by Satellite Data: Mega-Tsunamis Remain a Mystery
Revised Article:
In 2023, the world witnessed a nine-day earthquake-like event, shaken by gigantic waves sloshing around East Greenland's Dickson Fjord. One wave towered an impressive 650 feet, about half the height of the Empire State Building. These mammoth waves, dubbed "mega-tsunamis," were initially a scientific mystery until satellite and ground imagery pointed toward landslides in the fjord as the likely culprit.
However, direct evidence of these seiches, or shaking water waves, remained elusive. Now, a new breakthrough has confirmed the theory thanks to the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite. The groundbreaking revelation was published in the journal Nature Communications on June 3.
"Climate change is ushering in unseen extremes. These extremes are rapidly changing in remote areas, such as the Arctic, where our ability to measure them with physical sensors is limited. This study demonstrates the power of next-generation satellite technology to investigate such processes," said Thomas Monahan, the study's lead author, a graduate student in engineering science at the University of Oxford.
Typically, scientists analyze tsunami movements using satellite altimetry, which involves sending radar pulses to the ocean's surface from orbit. Yet, satellites have coverage gaps, and their instruments can only measure below them, making it hard to study confined areas like fjords.
To solve this mystery, scientists turned to the SWOT satellite, a collaborative project between NASA and CNES, France's space agency. Armed with an instrument called the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn), the SWOT satellite can map 90% of the ocean's surface with unrivaled precision, measuring water levels with a resolution of up to 8.2 feet along a 30-mile arc.
SWOT's data captured above the fjord during the mega-tsunamis revealed clear cross-channel slopes, moving in opposite directions, verifying their existence. Seismic observations from afar, along with weather and tidal readings, further enabled the researchers to reconstruct the waves and conclusively link them to the obscure seismic signals.
"This study is an example of how the next generation of satellite data can provide answers where mysteries previously existed. We will be able to gain new insights into ocean extremes such as tsunamis, storm surges, and unusual waves," said Thomas Adcock, a co-author and professor of engineering science at the University of Oxford.
"However, to unlock the full potential of this data, we'll need to innovate and employ both machine learning and our knowledge of ocean physics to analyze our findings," he added.
In essence, the SWOT satellite's cutting-edge capabilities have provided insights into these mega-tsunamis, offering a new level of understanding and visualization of such extreme events.
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- The Alarming Acceleration of Greenland's Ice Shelf Collapse and Its Consequences
- Greenland loses enough ice in the last 2 decades to cover the United States in 1.5 feet of water
- What's the difference between a tsunami and a tidal wave?
- The new breakthrough in environmental-science, published in the journal Nature Communications, demonstrates the power of technology in investigating climate-change-related events like mega-tsunamis, particularly in remote areas where physical sensors are limited.
- The SWOT satellite's Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) technology played a crucial role in verifying the existence of the mega-tsunamis in the Dickson Fjord, offering a novel level of understanding and visualization of such extreme environmental events.
