Scientists raise concerns after first-of-its-kind weather event shakes Earth for 9 days: 'We are in uncharted waters'

A first-time megatsunami caused by a landslide rocked the world for nine days.

What's happening?

According to The Guardian, a landslide in Greenland triggered a megatsunami that sent seismic waves throughout the world. The landslide was a result of Earth getting warmer. The glacier that originally supported a 1,200-meter mountain peak started to melt and could no longer hold it up. This caused the peak to collapse into the fjord below, resulting in massive waves that led to seismic waves on Earth's surface.

The "extraordinary event" was the first to be recorded in eastern Greenland and destroyed a two-century-old Inuit site. Though no one inhabits the area, this indicates that an event like this hasn't happened in a very long time. It was also a stroke of pure luck that cruise ships and visiting scientists had vacated the area a few weeks before, so nobody was injured.

"We are in uncharted waters scientifically, because we don't really know what a tsunami does to a cruise ship," Kristian Svennevig of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland told The Guardian.

In fact, it took 68 scientists across 40 institutions in 15 different countries to uncover the mystery of the event by using data collected by various sensors all over the world. Since the discovery, the research has been published in Science.

Why is this climate event important?

This event is significant because it shows how human actions are actively changing the world in which we live.

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Greenland has never recorded a landslide before; this signals to scientists that similar events are likely to occur as Earth continues to get warmer.

"We can quite clearly see this event, triggered by climate change, caused a global vibration beneath all of our feet, everywhere around the world," professor Anne Mangeney of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris told The Guardian. "Those vibrations travelled from Greenland to Antarctica in less than an hour. So we've seen an impact from climate change impacting the entire world within just an hour."

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Scientifically, this event has opened new doors for researchers who specialize in natural disasters. The study published about the event states that subsequent analysis has led to new ways for researchers to model tsunamis and landslides.

The authors of the study also noted that this emphasizes how human-related actions have led to Earth-shifting consequences. It is important to help prevent these events by contributing on individual levels.

Building climate resilience starts at home by developing emergency plans for power outages, insulating homes to withstand extreme temperatures, and advocating for flood-protected energy systems. Small lifestyle changes, including integrating clean energy, replacing old appliances with energy-efficient models, and reducing waste also contribute to a healthier planet. Together, these efforts can shore up our defenses against extreme weather, helping to keep our families and communities safe.