Tsunami Caused by Greenland Landslide
Greenland house washed into the sea by tsunami-like wave following June 17 landslide.
Two weeks ago while I was in Copenhagen, I met with the head of the Joint Arctic Command, Major General Kim Jørgensen, who is responsible for all military and Coast Guard forces for Greenland (and the Faroe Islands). Neither of us could have imagined that a few days later Greenland would experience a landslide causing a devastating tsunami. The June 17 event had originally been identified in coverage by BBC and National Geographic as an earthquake. However, that appears to be incorrect.
It was a landslide that caused the massive wave. As shown in the photo above, at least eleven houses were swept into the sea. This tragedy is an opportunity for the rest of the world to refresh our recognition of how Greenland will dramatically change shorelines globally. Also I want to share an appeal for assistance to those affected.
The location of the June 17 event as shown above was in the small village of Nuugaatsiaq, about mid-way up the western side. Any sudden massive displacement in the ocean can cause a tsunami, a giant low frequency wave. Most often it is an underwater earthquake, but in this case it was a huge landslide. It appears that warmer weather, melting snow and ice, and rain created the right conditions for the cliff to collapse. The cliff was over a mile high (2 km).
At 1,600 miles by 1,000 miles, Greenland is roughly the size of the Eastern U.S. Note there is some distortion due to the flat projection from the polar region (high latitudes).
Though often ignored by many, Greenland is important to the entire world. Several aspects are a surprise to most people that I talk to. For example:
- Greenland is huge. As shown in the illustration here, it is about 1,600 miles (2,500 km) north to south, larger than the eastern half of the United States.
- Covered by miles (kilometers) of ice over 80% of its area, it will cause about 25 feet (7 meters) of global sea level rise whenever it fully melts. Though that will take many centuries, the melting is happening faster and faster as the Earth warms. We ignore it at our peril.
- With just 56,000 inhabitants on such a huge land area, it is THE most sparsely populated place on Earth. (In case you’re wondering, Antarctica technically has no permanent residents.)
- The many coastal villages on the margins of the big ice sheet are isolated. Access is by boat, small airplane, dog sled or snowmobile. Generally there are no roads between the villages due to the massive ice sheet and glaciers.
- The Danish military group that protects and is responsible for Greenland is the Joint Arctic Command. Part of their forces still patrol by dog sled as that’s the most versatile way to travel in the region, as I reported in a blog post last December. Sirius Dog Sled Patrol has a Serious Problem.
Though climate change, largely triggered by fossil fuel use in the developed world, will have great impact on Greenland, there is an irony. As Greenland melts the meltwater and icebergs breaking off the glaciers will raise sea level in all coastal areas worldwide. Most coastal nations will lose lots of valuable real estate. I believe that Greenland is the only place that will have a net gain of useable land, for some unique reasons:
First, as the ice melts, the island will rise, due to uplift, or isostatic rebound, as the vast weight of the ice disappears. In relative terms, sea level in Greenland will actually fall as the land rises faster than the ocean.
Secondly, the retreating ice, will expose much more usable land, adding to the rather narrow band of land now surrounding the ice sheet, expanding areas for agriculture, villages, and eventually some roads.
For now, let’s keep in our hearts and minds the victims of the tsunami wave that washed about a dozen houses into the sea and killed several residents. For information about the account for humanitarian assistance that has been set up at the Bank of Greenland, CLICK HERE for the Twitter link.