The Falkland Islands are at risk from tsunamis caused by underwater landslides, according to new research.
Scientists from Heriot-Watt University and the British Geological Survey found evidence of prehistoric submarine landslides in the Falkland Trough.
The landslides are all in the same location and the scientists say the Subantarctic Front, a branch of one of Earth’s strongest currents, was behind the formation of the landslides.
The landslides came from a drift that formed when strong currents, up to 50 million cubic metres of water per second, pushed sediment high up on the continental slope, at 400-1000 metres underwater. A tipping point would then occur and cause a landslide.
Sediment has been accumulating again at the site, named Burdwood Drift by the researchers, where the seabed is so steep it will collapse again - but they can’t tell when.
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Image via Heriot Watt University
