Amazing Facts

Geologists discover 3 million year old massive landslide beneath the Great Barrier Reef

In an astonishing discovery, scientists have found evidence of massive landslide beneath the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. According to researchers, the natural calamity might have occurred nearly 3,00,000 years ago due to a strong earthquake.
Geologists believe that the strong earthquake that created such a huge landslide would also have led to tsunami with 27 metres high wave and scientists have also created a three-dimensional model of the Great Barrier Reef to explain the event.
Previously, geologists had discovered eight different hills under the sea. See them as a hole stunned the scientists as what they found was mind-boggling. The huge chunk of the continental slope was nearly 20 km long and eight km deep hidden under the ocean bed.
Gloria Knolls — the remanent of the landslide is nearly 30 times bigger than the Uluru rock in volumes. While it is located 75 km off the coast of Innisfail. Lead study author James Cook said, “this is all that remains after a massive collapse of sediment of about 32 cubic km volume (off the north coast of Queensland).”
Claiming it to be a remarkable discovery, Beaman said that “We were amazed to discover this cluster of knolls while 3D multibeam mapping the deep Great Barrier seafloor.”
Researchers then sampled the cold-water corals on one of the eight hills to find the age of landslide. Several samples were collected from a depth of a kilometre and more, and scientists identified oldest corals fossil to be around 302,000 years.
Beaman further added that they don’t know the exact composition of each of the hills and what lives on them. He revealed that his team will use submarines to go underwater and conduct future tests.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the best natural wonders in all of the world and stretches more than 2,300 kilometres. Scientists have mapped its most of the parts, but still, some deep regions are yet to explore.

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