Scientists have found what they think to be the origin of massive underwater landslides in Antarctica, which might have resulted in tsunami waves that swept throughout the southern hemisphere hundreds of thousands of years ago. The explanation is well-known: climate change.

But not today's climate change, but climatic change in the distant past. A team of researchers led by Jenny Gales, a lecturer at the University of Plymouth, identified layers of fragile, fossilised, environmentally rich sediments hundreds of metres beneath the seafloor.

According to a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38240-y">study</a> published earlier this month in Nature Communications by the researchers, these weak layers left the area susceptible to collapse when earthquakes or other seismic activity occurred.

Based on research, those thin layers originated when temperatures in Antarctica were up to 3 degrees Celsius hotter than they are now, and when sea levels were higher and ice sheets were considerably less than they are now.

If all of that sounds familiar, it's because our planet is already undergoing many similar changes, including rising sea levels, warmer oceans, and disappearing ice sheets. This suggests that such massive underwater landslides are likely to occur again if climate change continues unchecked.

“We need to better understand the extent of the weak layers that sit beneath the submarine landslides in Antarctica that make this area unstable. We also need to better understand exactly how climate is influencing the triggering of these submarine landslides. This will give us a better understanding of the future risks posed by these hazardous events,” Jenny Gales told the Indian Express.

<h2>Risks of underwater landslides</h2>

Underwater landslides, according to Gales, are a massive&nbsp;danger with the potential to create tsunamis that can result in large&nbsp;casualties. These landslides have the potential to harm infrastructure, including subsea cables. "The submarine landslides are dated to around 400,000 years ago, 1.72 million years ago, and 12.14 million years ago, and any tsunami associated with these submarine landslides would have happened directly after the submarine landslide events," Gales explained, referring to landslide evidence discovered in 2017 by an international team of scientists during the Italian Odyssea&nbsp;expedition.

The scientists revisited to the location in 2018 as part of an expedition that gathered sediment cores from hundreds of metres below the seafloor. They studied the materials to determine what the climate would have been like in the region millions of years ago and how it generated the weak layers beneath the ocean floor.&nbsp;

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Scientists have found what they think to be the origin of massive underwater landslides in Antarctica, which might have resulted in tsunami waves that swept throughout the southern hemisphere hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Scientists have found what they think to be the origin of massive underwater landslides in Antarctica, which might have resulted in tsunami waves that swept throughout the southern hemisphere hundreds of thousands of years ago. The explanation is well-known: climate change. But not today's climate change, but climatic change in the distant past. A team of researchers led by Jenny Gales, a lecturer at the University of Plymouth, identified layers of fragile, fossilised, environmentally rich sediments hundreds of metres beneath the seafloor. According to a study published earlier this month in Nature Communications by the researchers, these weak layers left the area susceptible to collapse when earthquakes or other seismic activity occurred. Based on research, those thin layers originated when temperatures in Antarctica were up to 3 degrees Celsius hotter than they are now, and when sea levels were higher and ice sheets were considerably less than they are now. If all of that sounds familiar, it's because our planet is already undergoing many similar changes, including rising sea levels, warmer oceans, and disappearing ice sheets. This suggests that such massive underwater landslides are likely to occur again if climate change continues unchecked. “We need to better understand the extent of the weak layers that sit beneath the submarine landslides in Antarctica that make this area unstable. We also need to better understand exactly how climate is influencing the triggering of these submarine landslides. This will give us a better understanding of the future risks posed by these hazardous events,” Jenny Gales told the Indian Express. Risks of underwater landslides Underwater landslides, according to Gales, are a massive danger with the potential to create tsunamis that can result in large casualties. These landslides have the potential to harm infrastructure, including subsea cables. "The submarine landslides are dated to around 400,000 years ago, 1.72 million years ago, and 12.14 million years ago, and any tsunami associated with these submarine landslides would have happened directly after the submarine landslide events," Gales explained, referring to landslide evidence discovered in 2017 by an international team of scientists during the Italian Odyssea expedition. The scientists revisited to the location in 2018 as part of an expedition that gathered sediment cores from hundreds of metres below the seafloor. They studied the materials to determine what the climate would have been like in the region millions of years ago and how it generated the weak layers beneath the ocean floor. WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Massive underwater landslides in Antarctica triggered by past climate change: Study

Parts of Indonesia that do not have early warning signals for an earthquake are at a risk from a tsunami caused by an underwater landslide, according to scientists.&nbsp;

According to more than 2.5 million years of data, there are 19 old underwater landslides surrounding the nation. &nbsp;

The submarine landslides occur once in every 1,60,000 years. &nbsp;

If history repeats itself in the modern world, cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda with a population of more than 1.6 million people will be at stake. &nbsp;

The newly proposed capital city of Indonesia on the island of Borneo, Balikpapan will be severely impacted, according to researchers.&nbsp;

Coastal communities in the country without early warning signal could be at risk because of the landslides that have occurred in the past, according to a research team monitored by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.&nbsp;

“The largest of the landslides comprised 600 kilometres cubed of sediment, while the smallest we identified were five kilometres cubed,” said Researcher Rachel Brackenridge.&nbsp;

The junk created by the largest landslides had the capacity to fill the Sydney Harbour a thousand times. &nbsp;

The team mapped under the seabed using seismic data, according to Brackenridge.&nbsp;

The seabed is layered and huge sediments chunks are seen which might make things chaotic. Seeing the internal layers and characteristics of the sediments it is evident that the sediment has spilled down a slope like an underwater avalanche.&nbsp;

The death toll has crossed the 4000 marks in the last two years only from the Palu Bay and Anak Krakatau tsunamis.&nbsp;

The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that took 2,30,000 lives in Indonesia, had its epicentre at the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.&nbsp;

According to researchers, the landslides were the side-effect of a strong current that acts as conveyor belts carrying sediments from the Mahakam Delta to the continental slope to the south. This makes the seabed steep and week leading to landslides.&nbsp;

Researchers estimate that the largest tsunamigenic event took place every 5,00,000 years.&nbsp;

The problem is that Indonesia has the warning signals in a different place but not in areas that would be worst affected by a tsunami generated from the landslides.&nbsp;

Researchers are now quantifying the risk by making various models od landslide and tsunami generation, which would help them predict the scope and size of the threshold that causes tsunamis and inform mitigation strategies.

Parts of Indonesia that do not have early warning signals for an earthquake are at a risk from a tsunami caused by an underwater landslide, according to scientists.

Parts of Indonesia that do not have early warning signals for an earthquake are at a risk from a tsunami caused by an underwater landslide, according to scientists. According to more than 2.5 million years of data, there are 19 old underwater landslides surrounding the nation. The submarine landslides occur once in every 1,60,000 years. If history repeats itself in the modern world, cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda with a population of more than 1.6 million people will be at stake. The newly proposed capital city of Indonesia on the island of Borneo, Balikpapan will be severely impacted, according to researchers. Coastal communities in the country without early warning signal could be at risk because of the landslides that have occurred in the past, according to a research team monitored by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. “The largest of the landslides comprised 600 kilometres cubed of sediment, while the smallest we identified were five kilometres cubed,” said Researcher Rachel Brackenridge. The junk created by the largest landslides had the capacity to fill the Sydney Harbour a thousand times. The team mapped under the seabed using seismic data, according to Brackenridge. The seabed is layered and huge sediments chunks are seen which might make things chaotic. Seeing the internal layers and characteristics of the sediments it is evident that the sediment has spilled down a slope like an underwater avalanche. The death toll has crossed the 4000 marks in the last two years only from the Palu Bay and Anak Krakatau tsunamis. The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that took 2,30,000 lives in Indonesia, had its epicentre at the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. According to researchers, the landslides were the side-effect of a strong current that acts as conveyor belts carrying sediments from the Mahakam Delta to the continental slope to the south. This makes the seabed steep and week leading to landslides. Researchers estimate that the largest tsunamigenic event took place every 5,00,000 years. The problem is that Indonesia has the warning signals in a different place but not in areas that would be worst affected by a tsunami generated from the landslides. Researchers are now quantifying the risk by making various models od landslide and tsunami generation, which would help them predict the scope and size of the threshold that causes tsunamis and inform mitigation strategies.

Lack of warning signals in Indonesia could bring millions at risk from tsunami caused by underwater landslides

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