Geologists say a slab of sea floor near the Great Barrier
Reef is in the early stages of collapse and could trigger a tsunami.
A huge slab of sea floor near the Great Barrier Reef is in
the early stages of collapse and could trigger a tsunami, researchers have
warned.
Marine geologists from Australia's James Cook University have been using advanced 3D
mapping techniques on the deepest parts of the reef since 2007 and have
discovered dozens of sub-marine canyons.
On a recent trip, they found a one cubic kilometre slab of
sea floor - the remains of an ancient underwater landslide - which is perched
on the continental shelf.
Geologist Robin Beaman said: "Under-sea landslides are
a well understood geological process, but we didn't know there were any on the
Barrier Reef.
"It is sitting on top of a sub-marine canyon, cutting
into the slopes and it is in the preliminary stage of collapse."
He added that it was unclear when the collapse would occur.
Mr Beaman said: "It is slowly giving way although it
remains stable under current conditions.
"But it is absolutely going to collapse and when it
does it will fall one kilometre into the adjacent basin.
"This will generate a localised tsunami that will
affect the Queensland coastline, which is around 40 miles away.
"We're not trying to alarm people, but we need to know
it is there and what could happen when it falls."
The discovery, published in the journal Natural Hazards, was
made by geologists on board the research vessel Southern Surveyor.
