Diatoms are microorganisms found in all the world’s oceans Universität Bremen
THE largest landslides on Earth happen in the oceans, and an ooze of dead plankton may be responsible. If so, it could help us predict the risk of devastating tsunamis triggered by these events.
Far beneath the waves, huge “megaslides” can transport 3000 cubic kilometres of sediment at speeds of up to 80 metres per second.
The largest such event on record was the Storegga Slide 8150 years ago off the coast of Norway. Dwarfing every slide known on land, it caused a tsunami that flooded…
