Traces of a giant landslide deep in the southern Baltic Sea – researchers investigate a potential tsunami

A huge landslide on the bottom of the Baltic Sea may have resulted in a tsunami. As part of a new project, researchers will try to uncover what could have happened 8,000 years ago, and whether it could happen again.

“When we studied sediment from the seabed off Blekinge we noticed anomalies. The sediment is like a history book, but the pages here are in completely the wrong order. Different types of layers are mixed up, and the order we were expecting to find them in simply doesn’t exist. The question we want to answer is whether this is due to a tsunami,” says Elinor Andrén, professor of environmental science at Södertörn University.

“The hypothesis we will test is that around 8,000 years ago, a submarine landslide caused a tsunami that affected the coastal areas of the southern Baltic Sea. This theory is not really far-fetched, as a similar event occurred off the coast of Norway. The area’s bedrock also has weaknesses that may cause earthquakes, which can lead to landslides. Something must have caused the landslide on the seabed."