Geological grounds at the bottom of the Red Sea suggest that the region is at danger of a tsunami , and an international team of researchers has find evidence of a hefty tsunami hitting Egypt 500 years ago .
The discovery was possible thanks to deepwater exploration at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba , the eastern branch of the Red Sea . This was part of an OceanX mission . At about 900 meters ( roughly 3,000 feet ) deep , lead discipline author Professor Sam Purkis saw cracks in the sea bed . The domain is geologically alive .
The Red Sea shape about 30 million yr from the separation of the Arabian and African architectonic plates . While certainly possible , the finding , report inGeophysical Research Letters , was surprising even so .
“ instantly , I realized that what we were await at was the outcome of some geologic force out , which had broken the seafloor , ” excuse Purkis , from the University of Miami , in astatement .
To realize the history of this subaqueous break , Purkis and a fellow scientist gather up samples from the chasm using the submergible onboard the OceanXplorer research vas .
The sway sample suggest that the cracking formed 500 years ago , make by an underwater landslide . These events are known to make tsunamis , and sediments roll up north of the ocean floor faulting confirm this view . Models suggest that the tsunami because of this landslide could have been 10 metre ( 33 feet ) high .
“ Just a little shake in the wrong stead and the whole wall could fail , leading to a much enceinte tsunami than occur 500 class ago , ” Purkis said . “ That expanse of Egypt , as well as Saudi Arabia , which are urbanise so speedily , have sure luck which have n’t been antecedently recognise , but they need to be , to avoid a next cataclysm . ”
There are no historical reports of the tsunami taking plaza , so it is unknown if it was really that sizable and if it harmed anyone living in the neighborhood five centuries ago .
If the tsunami were to take space today , the situation would be very different – and much more dangerous . The area is more densely populated in this 24-hour interval and age , and will be even more so in the futurity . For example , there is the resort city of Sharm El Sheik , a famous holidaymaker name and address very close to where the landslide take shoes .
