All articles tagged with #megatsunami
A landslide in Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska, dislodged 64 million cubic meters of rock and generated a megatsunami almost 500 meters high—the second-tallest ever recorded, after a 1958 Alaska event. Scientists link glacier melt from climate change to more frequent collapses, warn that such hazards may be increasing, and call for wider monitoring as cruise operators reassess safety around Alaska’s fjords.
New analysis of the asteroid impact thatended the dinosaurs suggests it also spawned a megatsunami far larger than once thought: an initial wave about 1.5 km (0.93 miles) high, with later tsunamis 50–150 meters tall; in deeper waters, estimates rise to roughly 4.6 km (2.8 miles). The event dumped about 48,000 cubic miles of sediment across the Gulf of Mexico, burying parts of Mexico and the Caribbean and triggering worldwide earthquakes and volcanic activity. The Surfer Magazine piece (republished by Yahoo News) also muses how a similar event could unfold today.
Seismic data and rock cuttings confirm the Silverpit Crater off Yorkshire formed 43–46 million years ago when a ~160-meter asteroid struck the shallow North Sea, vaporizing rock and water and spawning a tsunami over 100 meters tall; two shocked mineral grains in nearby samples settled the long-running debate and establish Silverpit as a rare marine impact crater.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma is at risk of causing a devastating landslide that could trigger a megatsunami, potentially reaching the US east coast. Geologists warn that a future eruption could lead to a 9-mile fault line bursting open, sending 500 billion tonnes of rock into the Atlantic Ocean at speeds exceeding 220mph. This could create a 3,000-foot-high dome of water, forming an "Oceanside tsunami" with the potential to travel up to 4,000 miles.