Climate Change Could Trigger Giant Tsunamis From Antarctica, Study Warns
Climate change means trouble. If the heatwave that has currently serenaded almost all of India isn't proof enough, a new study hints at a dangerous possibility. Climate change could cause huge tsunamis in the Southern Ocean by triggering underwater landslides in Antarctica, a new study claims.
Scientists drilled into sediment cores beneath the seafloor and found that during previous climate changes (3 million and 15 million years ago), loose sediment layers built up and then triggered giant tsunamis to race towards South America, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.
How climate change could trigger tsunamis
According a study published in the journal Nature Communications on May 18, the heating up of oceans caused by climate change could cause similar tsunamis again. "Submarine landslides are a major geohazard with the potential to trigger tsunamis that can lead to huge loss of life," Jenny Gales from the University of Plymouth in the UK, said in a statement.
"Our findings highlight how we urgently need to enhance our understanding of how global climate change might influence the stability of these regions and potential for future tsunamis."
Also read:?NASA To Study Impact Of Climate Change On Earth Using AI For The First Time
Landslides happened in Antarctica millions of years ago when the oceans heated up in the past. Owing to the death of algal blooms caused by hot water, the seafloor was filled with a slippery sediment that caused landslides. While the exact reason for these landslides remains unknown, scientists think the most-likely culprit is the melting of glacier ice due to global warming.
When ice sheets shrank and receded, Earth's tectonic plates began to rebound upwards, as LiveScience explained. In turn, this could have triggered earthquakes that caused tsunami-causing landslides.
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While the scale of these tsunamis is not known, no tsunamis are good news. Scientists are worried that if they're right about tsunamis happening due to glacial melting, we could face a similar situation due to climate change.
What do you think the dangers of climate change? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.
