Scientists find huge ancient landslide at Great Barrier Reef
Thursday, 9 February 2017
Scientists find huge ancient landslide at Great Barrier Reef
Sydney: A massive underwater landslide that could have triggered a towering tsunami some 300,000 years ago has been discovered in the depths of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, scientists said.
The ancient landslide, likely caused by a strong earthquake that could have generated a tsunami wave 27m-high, was discovered unexpectedly by researchers conducting three-dimensional mapping of the seafloor around the world’s biggest reef.
Scientists had already located eight undersea hills “in the middle of nowhere” and found the crater while piecing together the contours of the nearby territory, said Robin Beaman of James Cook University, one of the co-authors of a study published in the Marine Geology journal.
The landslide, which was discovered some 75km off the Queensland state coast, was 32 cubic kilometres or “about 30 times the size of Uluru”.
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2017/02/09/scientists-find-huge-ancient-landslide-at-great-barrier-reef/#XiKLUxCcrjmfQSuw.99
