By Mary O’KEEFE

Have you seen the reports of the Greenland rockslide that shook the entire Earth? There have been several articles written about this and I actually read the journal Science report on how the aspects of this rock/ice slide were calculated. I am always fascinated by how Mother Nature shows us how everything on Earth is connected.

According to Advanced Science News, the landslide of Greenland caused a mega-tsunami that “sloshed back and forth” across a fjord for nine days creating seismic waves that caused seismometers to hum across the globe.

The article was published on Sept. 13 and titled, “A rockslide in Greenland caused the Earth to vibrate for nine days.”

This happened on Sept. 23, 2023 and the shaker that lasted for nine days was a scientific mystery … at first.

“Seismologists around the world detected the unusual and long-lasting vibrations of a very different pattern to the rumbles of earthquakes,” according to the article.

An international team of researchers used every method imaginable to try to find the reason for the weird pattern.

The study in the journal Science found that although not witnessed by humans there was the collapse of a “1.2 km-high mountain peak into the remote Dickson Fjord beneath, causing a backsplash of water 200 meters in the air, with a wave up to 110 meters high.”

By the way, 1.2 km is about 1,312.24 yards – a football field is 120 yards; 200 meters is 656.168 feet.

By using models, scientists predicted that the “mass of water would have moved back and forth every 90 seconds, matching the recordings of vibrations traveling in the Earth’s crust all around the globe,” according to a press release from University College London.

“When I first saw the seismic signal, I was completely baffled. Even though we know seismometers can record a variety of sources happening on Earth’s surface, never before has such a longlasting, globally traveling seismic wave, containing only a single frequency of oscillation, been recorded. This inspired me to co-lead a large team of scientists to figure out the puzzle,” co-author Dr. Stephen Hicks of UCL Earth Sciences, stated in the press release.

He added, “Our study of this event amazingly highlights the intricate interconnections between climate change in the atmosphere, destabilization of glacier ice in the cryosphere, movements of water bodies in the hydrosphere, and Earth’s solid crust in the lithosphere.”

So a few things; first, climate change. Even if you don’t see climate change in your neighborhood, though I believe if you are observant you will see signs of it – climate change affects us all. Something that occurred in Greenland vibrated the Earth – that’s the entire planet, not just the ground others are standing on.

But another thing – how exciting it must have been for scientists to have a mystery like this to solve. There is this illusion that society knows everything it needs to know but no … not when the Earth vibrates for nine days.

“This is the first time that water sloshing has been recorded as vibrations through the Earth’s crust, traveling the world over and lasting several days,” stated lead author Dr. Kristian Svennevig of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.

“When we set out on this scientific adventure, everybody was puzzled and no one had the faintest idea what caused this signal. All we knew was that it was somehow associated with the landslide. We only managed to solve this enigma through a huge interdisciplinary and international effort,” stated Dr. Svennevig. “As a landslide scientist, an additional interesting aspect of this study is that this is the first-ever landslide and tsunami observed from eastern Greenland, showing how climate change already has major impacts there.”

What this means is that as we bicker about the latest outrageous claim we see on social media, the Earth once again is trying to let us know she is in trouble. It’s like in the 1975 film “Jaws” when the artist (portrayed by Carla Hogendyk) is painting by the breakwater and notices a shark fin in the bay. At first she quietly says, “Shark,” almost like a loud whisper as if she isn’t sure what she is seeing. But as it becomes more obvious it is a great white, her cries grow louder. Roy Scheider’s character, Sheriff Brody, first reacts slowly. This is right after they caught the boys in the water with a fake fin. Then his wife [portrayed by Lorraine Gary] tells him their son Michael is in the bay. You see the fear wash over his face; his walk turns into a run toward the bay. The threat is more personal now; it affects his family directly. Well, climate change is that personal and is affecting us all now.

Enjoy cooler temperatures now because this weekend the temps will be rising. Today and Friday will see highs in the low 70s, then up to the low 80s on Saturday. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are predicted to have temps in the low 90s with Monday being the hottest day.

The projection for next week is a mix. There are some forecasts that see a cooling pattern while others see temperatures going up.

“In the 95 to 80 range,” said Ryan Kattell, NOAA meteorologist.

There is also some rain in our future with a 30% today, Thursday, but the rain will most likely come on Friday.

“This is pretty early to start talking about rain,” Kattell said.

Usually September and October are pretty dry in the area; however, rain in these months occurs every five or 10 years so it’s not unheard of, he added.