The secret of a strange global earthquake signal has been discovered

An international study led by University College London (UCL) researchers has uncovered the mystery of a strange global earthquake signal. The signal, recorded in September 2023 by seismic networks around the world, initially puzzled scientists.

According to the scientific news department of Techna Technology Media, research shows that the origin of this signal was a huge landslide in a remote fjord in Greenland. When a huge mass of ice and rock fell into the fjord, a powerful tsunami was created that oscillated in the area for nine days. These long-term fluctuations in water created tremors in the Earth’s crust that propagated as a single, stable signal around the world.

“This is the first time that water turbulence has been identified as a source of seismic waves that can travel around the world and last for days,” said Steven Hick, one of the researchers on the project. Using mathematical models, satellite images and seismic data, the researchers simulated this event accurately. According to these simulations, the initial landslide generated a tsunami wave more than 100 meters high that spread along the fjord. This wave oscillated in the fjord for several days and its energy was spread in the form of seismic waves in the earth’s crust.

The main cause of this massive landslide is climate change and the thinning of natural glaciers in the region. Decreasing the thickness of glaciers has caused the instability of mountain slopes and increased the possibility of landslides. The study shows that massive landslides in polar regions can have significant global impacts. Also, this discovery emphasizes the importance of monitoring polar regions and predicting natural events such as landslides and tsunamis.

Discovering the link between the Greenland landslide and the global earthquake signal will advance our understanding of earthquakes and the effects of climate change on Earth. These findings are very important for predicting and better managing natural hazards in the future. To see the latest news, refer to the scientific news page of Tekna Media.