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[[Tsunami]]s are considered rare in the [[British Isles]], as there have only been two confirmed tsunamis in recorded history. However [[meteotsunamis]] are somewhat more common, especially on the southern coasts of [[England]] around the [[English Channel|English]] and [[Bristol Channel|Bristol Channels]].<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706509001181 |title=Meteo-tsunami hazard associated with summer thunderstorms in the United Kingdom |first=Simon K |last=Haslett|work=sciencedirect.com|journal=Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C|volume=43|issue=17-18|pages=1016–1022|year=2009|accessdate=8 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Meteorological Tsunamis in Southern Britain: an Historical Review|first=Simon K|last=Haslett|work=sciencedirect.com|journal=The Geographical Review|volume=99|issue=2|pages=146–163|year=2009|accessdate=8 July 2011}}</ref>
'''Tsunamis affecting the British Isles''' are rare, and there have only been two confirmed examples in recorded history. However, [[meteotsunamis]] are somewhat more common, especially on the southern coasts of [[England]] around the [[English Channel|English]] and [[Bristol Channel|Bristol Channels]].<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706509001181 |title=Meteo-tsunami hazard associated with summer thunderstorms in the United Kingdom |first=Simon K |last=Haslett|work=sciencedirect.com|journal=Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C|volume=43|issue=17-18|pages=1016–1022|year=2009|accessdate=8 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Meteorological Tsunamis in Southern Britain: an Historical Review|first=Simon K|last=Haslett|work=sciencedirect.com|journal=The Geographical Review|volume=99|issue=2|pages=146–163|year=2009|accessdate=8 July 2011}}</ref>


==6100 BC Scotland tsunami==
==6100 BC Scotland tsunami==

Revision as of 19:40, 10 October 2011

Tsunamis affecting the British Isles are rare, and there have only been two confirmed examples in recorded history. However, meteotsunamis are somewhat more common, especially on the southern coasts of England around the English and Bristol Channels.[1][2]

6100 BC Scotland tsunami

The east coast of Scotland was struck by a 70 feet (21 m) high tsunami around 6100 BC, during the Mesolithic period. The wave was caused by the massive underwater Storegga slide off Norway, which dates from around the same time. The tsunami even washed over some of the Shetland Islands. Tsunamite (the deposits left by a tsunami) dating from this event can be found at various locations around the coastal areas of Scotland, and are also a tourist feature in the Montrose Basin, where there is a layer of deposited sand about 0.6 metres (2.0 ft) thick.

At the time, what became the east coast of England was connected to the areas of modern Denmark and the Netherlands by a low-lying land bridge, now known to archaeologists as Doggerland. The area is believed to have had a coastline of lagoons, marshes, mudflats, and beaches, and may have been the richest hunting, fowling and fishing ground in Europe then available.[3][4] Much of this land would have been inundated by the tsunami, with a catastrophic impact on the local human population.[5]

England and Wales, 1014

A widespread flood was reported in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to have occurred in western Britain, from the coast of Cumbria around to Kent, on 28 September 1014. This has been attributed to a tsunami, possibly caused by a comet impact.[6] William of Malmesbury stated that "A tidal wave... grew to an astonishing size such as the memory of man cannot parallel, so as to submerge villages many miles inland and overwhelm and drown their inhabitants." The event was also mentioned in Welsh bardic chronicles.[7]

Bristol Channel, 1607

Main article: Bristol Channel floods, 1607

The Bristol Channel floods, which happened on the morning of January 30, 1607 (New style), are suggested to be a tsunami either caused by an earthquake, a landslide from the Irish coast or a freak combination of high tides and a storm surge. There is historical evidence suggesting a tsunami, such eyewitness accounts describe a wave as "mighty hilles of water" - with sparks - and a wave that travelled so fast that not even a greyhound could escape it.[citation needed] There is an ancient, large faultline off the Southern Western tip of Ireland, which scientists say could have possibly have triggered a tsunami in the Irish Sea. The continental shelf of Ireland is also very steep, with a drop of about 100 metres, and scientists believe the 1607 tsunami might have been triggered by a landslide here, if not an earthquake.[citation needed] Scientists and geologists say that after studying the disaster they are more convinced that it was a tsunami, rather than a simple storm surge.[citation needed]

1755 Lisbon earthquake

The coast of Cornwall was hit by a three metre high tsunami on 1 November 1755, at around 14:00. The waves were caused by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. The tsunami took almost four hours to reach the UK, and by the time the waves reached Cornwall they had lost most of their destructive power. The tsunami was also observed along the south coast of England and on the River Thames in London.[8] Contemporary reports say that there were three of these tsunami waves, and that the sea receded very quickly, then rose up. At St Michael's Mount, the sea rose suddenly and then retired; ten minutes later, it rose 6 feet (1.8 m) very rapidly, then ebbed equally rapidly. The sea rose 8 feet (2.4 m) in Penzance and 10 feet (3.0 m) at Newlyn; the same effect was reported at St Ives and Hayle. Although there is no record of the overall death toll, the 19th century French writer, Arnold Boscowitz, claimed that "great loss of life and property occurred upon the coasts of Cornwall".[9]

The tsunami also reached the city of Galway in Ireland, at a height of two metres, and caused some serious damage to the "Spanish Arch" section of the city wall.

1929 Meteotsunami

On 20 July 1929 a wave reported as being between 3.5 and 6 metres high struck the south coast including busy tourist beaches at Brighton, Hastings and Folkestone. Two people drowned and the wave was attributed to a squall line travelling along the English Channel.[10]

2011 South coast tsunami

A small tsunami with a peak wave height anomaly of 40 cm occurred on 29 June 2011 along the South coast of England. The tsunami was described as mild and there were no records of injuries or damage. Video footage clearly showed the tsunami and there were reports of fish leaping out the water and hair lifting up because of a static charge.[11] Initial media speculation attributed the event to an underwater landslide, as no earthquakes were recorded at the time. However the British Geological Survey concluded that it was unlikely to have been caused by a submarine landslide and was probably a meteotsunami.[10]

Possible future tsunamis

In the 1990s, geologists realised that the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma, off North Africa in the Canary Islands could pose a tsunami risk to Britain, as it is seemingly unstable. They concluded that a future volcanic eruption will result in the mass of rock alongside the volcanoes breaking off and falling into the sea as a massive landslide. This in turn will generate a huge tsunami, which will surge into the Atlantic Ocean and hit Spain, Portugal, the east coast of the United States, France, and the south coast of England. It is estimated that the waves will take around 6 hours to reach England, and that when they do they will be around 10 metres (30 ft) high.[12] Britain would be badly hit, and it is believed by some that if nothing is done, thousands of lives will be lost. However, there is considerable controversy about the accuracy of these predictions. Researchers at the Dutch Technical University at Delft found the island to be much more stable than was widely believed, estimating that it would take at least another 10,000 years for the island to grow enough for there to be a danger.[13]

Another tsunami geologists believe will hit Britain would be caused by a huge earthquake on a fault off the coast of Portugal; the same fault that caused the massive 1755 Lisbon earthquake (see above). Strain has been accumulating on that fault, which will eventually result in the fault breaking again, creating another megathrust earthquake, which could be as big as the 1755 earthquake (which was an estimated magnitude 9).[citation needed] When the earthquake happens, the south coast of England will most likely be affected by a tsunami, as it was in 1755. If it follows the same pattern as the 18th century quake, it will probably take around 4 hours for the tsunami to reach Cornwall.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ Haslett, Simon K (2009), "Meteo-tsunami hazard associated with summer thunderstorms in the United Kingdom", Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, 43 (17–18): 1016–1022, retrieved 8 July 2011 {{citation}}: More than one of |work= and |journal= specified (help)
  2. ^ Haslett, Simon K (2009), "Meteorological Tsunamis in Southern Britain: an Historical Review", The Geographical Review, 99 (2): 146–163 {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); More than one of |work= and |journal= specified (help)
  3. ^ Patterson, W, "Coastal Catastrophe" (paleoclimate research document), University of Saskatchewan
  4. ^ Vincent Gaffney, "Global Warming and the Lost European Country"
  5. ^ Bernhard Weninger et al., The catastrophic final flooding of Doggerland by the Storegga Slide tsunami, Documenta Praehistorica XXXV, 2008
  6. ^ Simon Haslett, The Hell of High Water: Tsunami and the Cornish Coast
  7. ^ Tsunami struck Cumbria in 1014 says Timewatch professor, 29 September 2008
  8. ^ "An extraordinary and Surprising Agitation of the Waters, though without any perceptible Motion of the Earth, having been observed in various Parts of this Island, both Maritime and Inland, on the same Day, and chiefly about the Time that the more Violent Commotions of both Earth and Waters so extensively affected many very distant Parts of the Globe; the following Accounts, relating to the former, were transmitted to the Society; in which are specified the Times and Places when and where they happened". The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. XLIX: 647–653. Retrieved 5 July 2011. {{cite journal}}: More than one of |work= and |journal= specified (help)
  9. ^ Boscowitz, Arnold (1890). Earthquakes. Routledge. p. 192. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  10. ^ a b "Meteotsunami | South West England | June 2011 | British Geological Survey (BGS)". bgs.ac.uk. 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  11. ^ "BBC News - Underwater landslide likely cause of 'mild tsunami'". bbc.co.uk. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  12. ^ Lean, Geoffrey (2 Jan 2005). "Britain could be hit by 30ft wave, says top scientist - Environment - The Independent". The Independent. London: INM. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 185201487. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  13. ^ "New research puts 'killer La Palma tsunami' at distant future". physorg.com. 20 September 2006. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
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