Latest news with #Greenland
Gizmodo
10 hours ago
- Science
- Gizmodo
Mega-Tsunamis That Shook the World for 9 Days Revealed in New Satellite Images
Scientists have finally solved the mystery behind two strange events that shook the entire planet for nine days straight. Their findings close the book on a years-long effort to trace the seismic signals back to their source. In September 2023, global seismometers detected something strange. The Earth was experiencing minor tremors every 90 seconds—and the shaking went on for nine days. One month later, it happened again. Scientists were baffled, as natural tectonic processes couldn't explain the anomalies. After roughly a year of scientific sleuthing, two studies published in 2024 independently hypothesized that the shaking resulted from two huge landslides, setting off two 'mega-tsunamis' in the Dickson Fjord in East Greenland. These enormous standing waves—or seiches—sloshed back and forth inside the fjord and triggered small movements within the Earth's crust, they posited. It was an intriguing possibility, and both studies presented compelling evidence to support their claims. But, 'there were some big uncertainties that made it difficult to fully corroborate that this was actually the root cause,' Thomas Monahan, a Schmidt AI in Science fellow at the University of Oxford, told Gizmodo. So, Monahan and his colleagues set out to confirm whether this hypothesis was correct. In a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, they unveiled the first direct satellite observations of the seiches and definitively linked them to the seismic anomalies. The researchers used data captured by NASA's Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, which launched in December 2022 to map the height of water across 90% of Earth's surface. This type of data collection—known as satellite altimetry—works by transmitting radar pulses from a satellite to Earth's surface, and then measuring the time it takes for the signals to bounce off the surface and return to the satellite. Conventional altimeters failed to capture evidence of the seiches due to long gaps between observations, according to an Oxford statement. As such, they generally struggle to gather data in fjord regions due to the complexity of the terrain, Monahan said. But SWOT is equipped with a cutting-edge altimeter instrument that uses two antennas to triangulate the return signals. This allows the satellite to take very high-resolution measurements of surface water levels. 'What we're able to get is essentially an incredibly high-resolution snapshot of what the elevation of the sea surface is doing in these complex regions,' Monahan said. These snapshots provided a more accurate picture of how the fjord's sea surface height changed during the 2023 seismic events, allowing his research team to calculate the slopes of the massive waves that had formed. 'We were able to essentially unearth the fact that there was a significant anomaly in the fjord exactly when we would expect this wave to occur,' Monahan said. But determining that these seiches formed at the same time as the strange seismic signals still wasn't enough to prove the two events were linked. The researchers needed direct evidence to prove that these huge waves were capable of generating global tremors. To that end, they linked the SWOT snapshots to small movements in the Earth's crust detected at seismic stations located thousands of miles away from the fjord. Coupling this continuous seismic data with the intermittent satellite observations allowed them to reconstruct the characteristics of the wave, even for periods that SWOT did not observe. The researchers also ruled out the possibility that the seismicity stemmed from weather or tidal conditions and ultimately determined that the seiches were the sources of the tremors. These waves formed when a warming glacier collapsed in on itself, Monahan said. 'This created very large landslides, which—when they struck the fjord—produced massive mega-tsunamis on the order of 200 meters or 600 feet tall,' he explained. 'This was the first time that a mega-tsunami of that nature had occurred in Eastern Greenland,' Monahan said, adding that this type of event has been documented on the territory's west coast. To see this phenomenon spreading to other parts of the ice sheet 'is concerning,' he said, because it shows that climate change is accelerating in this region. 'I think what this study really emphasizes is that—well, it sounds silly to say—but climate change is a global phenomenon,' Monahan said. 'Some of the biggest and fastest changes are occurring in the Arctic and in remote regions where we may not see it every single day. But it's important to understand and quantify those changes as they will eventually come to impact us where we live,' he said. Indeed, the waves that shook the world offer a stark reminder of the sweeping impacts of rising global temperatures.
CBS News
11 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Trump administration plans to move Greenland from U.S. European Command to Northern Command
Inside Greenland: residents say they're not for sale, but they are open for business The Trump administration is planning to move Greenland from the purview of U.S. European Command to U.S. Northern Command, several U.S. officials told CBS News. Moving Greenland to Northern Command, which is in charge of defending the homeland, is a symbolic statement suggesting a view of Greenland as more a part of the defense of the U.S. than of Europe. In the eyes of the U.S., the move treats Greenland more like Canada and less like a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Top Trump officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have pressed Greenland to break from Denmark and come under the security umbrella of the United States, sources said. Vance visited the Pituffik Space Base in March and blasted Denmark's management of Greenland, accusing it of underinvesting in Greenland's people and security architecture. The space base is equipped with a warning system to detect incoming missiles, and the Pentagon sees Greenland as critical to national security. U.S. European Command includes Europe, Russia and Greenland. U.S. Northern Command is responsible for the defense of the continental U.S. and Alaska, in coordination with Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. President Trump hasn't given up on the idea of acquiring Greenland, which he and other top officials see as key to U.S. national security. When Vance visited in March, Mr. Trump said, "We have to have Greenland." The president has also expressed an interest in Greenland because of its rare earth minerals, which are needed in electronics like cell phones and electric cars. "We will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before," Mr. Trump said in his March address to a joint session of Congress. But the vast majority of Greenlanders don't want to join the U.S., according to what little polling exists. Its population of about 56,000 is concentrated along the southern coast, and most of the country is covered in ice.
Travel Weekly
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Travel Weekly
Missed the last eclipse? Cruise lines offer a remedy in 2026
Teri West Do you remember where you were on April 8, 2024? It was a day where hundreds of thousands of people congregated in states like Vermont and Ohio to experience an event that lasted only about four minutes: a total solar eclipse. If you weren't one of those who traveled for it and didn't happen to live anywhere along its path of totality, that may have been the day that you swore you'd travel to catch the next one. Cruise lines, too, made a promise to themselves that they would be there. And "there" is coming sooner than you think. A total solar eclipse will be visible next August in Greenland, Iceland, Spain and Russia. Seabourn Cruise Line and Virgin Voyages will be offering their first eclipse sailings next year, with plans to position ships within the path of totality that traverses the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. Cruises filling up fast Eclipse sailings are doing incredibly well. Seabourn is offering two sailings, and both are pretty much sold out, said chief marketing officer Mike Fulkerson. One is a two-week voyage along Western Ireland and ending in Iceland, and the other will sail the Mediterranean roundtrip from Barcelona. Princess Cruises recently added a third sailing to its lineup. Eclipse cruises' popularity caught Atlas Ocean Voyages off guard when it launched sales for its 2024 sailing, but now the company knows just how much people want to be on a cruise during the event, CEO James Rodriguez told me. "If I could make more eclipses throughout the year, I would," he said. Cruises enable eclipse enthusiasts to develop a communal sense of excitement during the build-up toward the brief event and offer more dexterity than on land, he said. If one location in the path of totality has cloud cover, for example, the ships can navigate to a more favorable location as the event approaches. And since the cruises last more than just that day, the entire ship finds a sense of community as anticipation builds toward that moment, Rodriguez said. "It's kind of hard to replicate on a land vacation versus a cruise vacation because you're all there onboard [and] experience this together," Rodriguez said. "You talk about it before, you talk about it when it's happening and then you also talk about it after the cruise, and you create friends. And so for us, it's the closest expedition experience, that communal experience, that you have outside the polar regions." He's found there to be a contingency of eclipse chasers who seek out cruises on those specific dates. The company sold out half of its 2024 sailings in half a day. One of its 2026 sailings will travel through Iceland and Greenland, and the other will be in the Mediterranean. Seabourn published a graphic of an eclipse before launching sales for its 2026 voyages and saw a rush of inquiries, said Fulkerson. "Our travel agents and our internal sales team were just getting bombarded with, 'When is it going to be available?'" he recalled. "'Can I get on a wait list?'" During the early sales launch period, the company saw a 400% increase in bookings compared to similar timeframes for noneclipse cruises, he said. Preparing for 2027 The sweet spot for launching eclipse sailings is slightly more than two years out, Rodriguez told me, which is why you're starting to see sailing become available for 2027's eclipse. The path of totality in 2027 spans from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean with land coverage in parts of North Africa and the Middle East. Holland America launched sales for two 2027 eclipse cruises last week. "The excitement around viewing a total solar eclipse the past few years has been palpable," Paul Grigsby, the line's vice president of deployment, said in a statement. "We jumped at the chance to create more itineraries."
Russia Today
16 hours ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Pentagon to change stance on Greenland
The Pentagon is preparing to make a 'symbolic and operational split' between Greenland and Denmark by reassigning the Arctic island's command jurisdiction, Politico has reported. Greenland would thus be moved from the European Command (EUCOM) to the Northern Command (NORTHCOM), whereas Denmark would remain in the former, according to the outlet. The change, which is part of a broader review of the Unified Command Plan, would elevate Greenland's priority in defense planning at the Pentagon and White House. 'From the perspective of geography, the move makes some sense,' one official told Politico. 'From a political perspective, however, this clearly is going to worry Europe.' Greenland, an autonomous territory within Denmark, is geographically closer to North America than to Europe – just 26 kilometers from Canada, but over 2,000 from Denmark. The US already maintains a major military outpost at Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, which was established in 1951 under a Cold War-era agreement. The base supports missile tracking and space surveillance, and now serves as a key node in Washington's expanding missile defense ambitions. Framing Greenland as a strategic asset, US officials have justified the shift as necessary to counter rival powers. 'We need to ensure that America is leading in the Arctic,' Vice President J.D. Vance previously said, citing Russian and Chinese activity. According to Politico, the reassignment would also support expansion of the Golden Dome — a global missile shield announced by President Donald Trump last month and estimated to cost hundreds of billions of dollars. The system would aim to intercept threats from anywhere on Earth or space. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has called the initiative a 'reckless approach' that undermines global stability. In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Arctic holds vast potential for trade and resource extraction. While stressing that 'Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic,' he warned that geopolitical rivalry in the region is escalating, citing Washington's 'serious plans regarding Greenland.'
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Earth vibrated for 9 DAYS following a 650ft mega-tsunami, scientists confirm
Back in September 2023, scientists around the world were baffled by a bizarre seismic signal that repeated every 90 seconds for nine days. Now, almost two years later, scientists have confirmed the root cause of this bizarre phenomenon. Using novel satellite technology, experts from the University of Oxford have shown that the strange signal was caused by a 650ft (200 metre) mega-tsunami. This colossal wave was triggered by the collapse of a 3,937ft (1,200 metre) mountain into the remote Dickson Fjord in Greenland, unleashing 25 million cubic metres of rock and ice. The huge wave became trapped in the Fjord, bouncing back and forth in the form of a standing wave or 'seiche'. Lead author Thomas Monahan, Schmidt AI in Science Fellow at Oxford University, told MailOnline: 'The standing wave itself was massive. 'We estimate it to initially be 7.9 metres in height - that is an enormous wall of water bouncing back and forth. 'An estimate of the force that exerts over the length of the fjord is 500 Giga Newtons, which is equivalent to the amount of force produced by 14 Saturn V rocket ships launching at once, and was enough to shake the earth for days.' Part of what made the 2023 seismic event so mysterious was that no one directly observed the tsunami in order to prove it was the source of the vibrations. Even a Danish military vessel visiting the fjord in the days after the tsunami was unable to see any evidence of a standing wave. This was because the wave rapidly reduced in height even as it continued to produce seismic signals. Starting at around 23ft (seven metres) in height by the time it had crossed the 6.2-mile (10km) extent of the Dickson Fjord, the standing wave had become just centimetres tall after a few days. Combined with the fact that the military didn't know what they were looking for, this meant the wave went completely unobserved. Now, in a new paper published in Nature Communications, Mr Monahan and his colleagues have used novel satellite technology to make the first observations of the mega-tsunami. The scientists used 'satellite altimetry data', which works out the height of the Earth's surface by measuring how long it takes for radar signals to bounce off the surface. Due to the long gaps between observations, normal satellite altimetry isn't able to measure precisely enough to capture something like a wave. However, the researchers used data captured by the new Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite launched in 2022. SWOT uses two antennae held on either side of a 33ft (10 metre) arm which work together to make extremely accurate measurements. This dataset covers over 90 per cent of the Earth's surface, allowing scientists unprecedented views of the world's waterways. Mr Monahan says: 'Unlike previous satellites, SWOT provides detailed two-dimensional measurements of sea surface height, down to the centimetre, across the entire globe, including in hard-to-reach areas like fjords, rivers, and estuaries. 'Because SWOT can "see" into remote regions from space, it gave us an unprecedented view into Dickson Fjord during the seiche events in September and October. 'By capturing high-resolution images of sea-surface height at different times, we could estimate how the water surface tilted during the wave — in other words, the slope of the seiche.' The researchers then combined these observations with seismic data taken from thousands of miles away to reconstruct the size and characteristics of the waves. Additionally, the researchers reconstructed the local weather and tide conditions to confirm that the wave could not have been caused by anything other than a massive landslide. Co-author Professor Thomas Adcock, of the University of Oxford, says: 'This study is an example of how the next generation of satellite data can resolve phenomena that has remained a mystery in the past. 'We will be able to get new insights into ocean extremes such as tsunamis, storm surges, and freak waves.' These abilities will become even more valuable in the future as climate change creates more freak disasters like the 2023 tsunami. As the climate gets hotter, glacial collapses will become more common and put more lives at risk. Research conducted by University College London in 2024 found that the collapse occurred because a warming climate had weakened the surrounding glacier. Dickson Fjord is a popular route for tourist cruise ships and, had a ship been in the fjord at the time, the impact could have been devastating. Last week flood waters created by the partial collapse of the Birch glacier in Switzerland destroyed 90 per cent of the nearby village of Blatten amidst fears that more villages could still be at risk. Mr Monahan says: 'Climate change is giving rise to new, unseen extremes. These extremes are changing the fastest in remote areas, such as the Arctic, where our ability to measure them using physical sensors is limited.' WHAT CAUSES TSUNAMIS? A tsunami, sometimes called a tidal wave or a seismic sea wave, is a series of giant waves that are created by a disturbance in the ocean. The disturbance could be a landslide, a volcanic eruption, an earthquake or a meteorite; the culprit is most often an earthquake. If the landslide or earthquake triggering the tsunami occurs nearby the shore, inhabitants could see its effects almost immediately. The first wave of the tsunami can arrive within minutes, before a government or other institution has time to issue a warning. Areas that are closer to sea level have a higher risk of being affected by the waves. Those less than 25 feet from sea level are the most dangerous. The cause of death most frequently associated with tsunamis is drowning. Additional hazards include drinking water contamination, fires and flooding. Initial tsunami warnings are usually based on seismic information only. Inhabitants of coastal areas that might be exposed to a tsunami are encouraged to follow evacuation routes in the event that they receive a tsunami warning. They should seek higher ground or move inland immediately to get away from the ocean.
