Tsunamis Now Threaten Even the Arctic, Scientists Are Worried

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]The Arctic is facing a threat. It has never seen before. Possible underwater volcanic activity and earthquakes in the East Siberian Sea. An eruption or a strong earthquake during an ice-free period might trigger a tsunami. And that's something the Arctic is not ready for.

[00:00:17]Apparently, underwater volcanoes may be forming near remote Bennett Island, and their activity could trigger giant waves.

[00:00:25]A similar event already happened on July 30th, 2025, near the Kuril Islands.

[00:00:30]That time, a severe magnitude 8.8 earthquake caused a tsunami that flooded parts of Paramushir Island. Tsunami waves also raced across the Pacific heading toward Japan, Hawaii, and the US West Coast. More than 2 million people across the Pacific were told to evacuate.

[00:00:48]Alerts spread across a huge area, up to countries like China, the Philippines, Indonesia, [music] and New Zealand, and even far-away places like Peru, Chile, and Mexico.

[00:00:59]And these days, Bennett Island keeps everyone on alert because of signs of possible volcanic activity around it.

[00:01:06]Satellite images pick up [music] smoke-like plumes rising over the ocean.

[00:01:10]They behave like volcanic emissions and spread for hundreds of miles, >> [music] >> sometimes reaching Alaska and Canada.

[00:01:17]Scientists believe this could mean that underwater volcanoes are actively releasing heat and material. There are also changes on the seabed in a bay near the island. In some places, the seafloor rose or sank by about 3 to 40 feet in just 9 years. It means that something is still [music] shifting deep below.

[00:01:37]On top of that, a mountain in the southeast looks like an old volcano.

[00:01:42]>> [music] >> And basalt columns at Chernyshev Peninsula formed long ago when lava erupted, [music] cooled, and cracked into pillars.

[00:01:50]During an expedition, scientists also noticed unusual conditions around the island. The sea looked unusually disturbed, which could be a sign of something happening below the surface.

[00:02:01]The team also felt the air warming and even had to open their jackets.

[00:02:06]The reason could be the heat rising from some underwater sources.

[00:02:10]Experts say the Arctic is changing fast because of rising global temperatures, but the [music] problem is that there are not enough regular scientific expeditions in the region.

[00:02:20]Scientists only visit from time to time and often have to rely on older data, >> [music] >> which no longer matches the processes happening now. That's why scientific knowledge is falling behind real changes in the Arctic.

[00:02:34]We need more large and regular expeditions to monitor the region and track what's happening there in real time, and that's not an easy feat. In 2022, a research team traveled by inflatable boats to Bennett Island, and that trip showed just how hard it was to reach and study the area, but also how important such [music] expeditions were for understanding the changes.

[00:02:56]It seems the Arctic is literally exploding. Over time, huge craters began to appear, and what was once a near-perfect landscape is now filled with dark, ice-covered chasms. Now, you might think this is a treat for scientists, but the reality [music] may be scarier than we imagine.

[00:03:15]The problem is that the phenomenon became a big mystery even for them, and no one found answers for a long time.

[00:03:23]The first crater was about 164 ft deep, and it was in 2014 that a helicopter pilot flying over the Arctic permafrost discovered it. But, here's the wild part.

[00:03:34]>> god.

[00:03:35]While experts were still debating how it had appeared, other craters emerged in the same area, and they didn't stop.

[00:03:43]Over the next 10 years, these mysterious holes just kept popping up in the ground.

[00:03:49]Researchers raised a series of hypotheses, such as the idea that meteors hit the site, or even the possibility of extraterrestrial [music] activity, to justify the sudden appearance of the holes.

[00:04:01]However, after digging a little deeper, they found elevated levels of methane gas in the air around the craters.

[00:04:08]Here's how it works. The Arctic's interior [music] soil is rich in this gas, which builds up over time, gradually forming small mounds on the surface.

[00:04:17]When the pressure of the methane gets too much for the ground above, there's a huge explosion. The mound splits open, creating a massive hole and releasing all that trapped gas. Mystery [music] solved.

[00:04:30]Or is this just the beginning?

[00:04:35]There were still a lot of unanswered [music] questions. At first, they thought the explosions were just chemical reactions. Make sense, right?

[00:04:42]But, here's the catch. No one ever saw flashes of light or found any signs of burning in the craters.

[00:04:49]If there was no fire, then something else had to be at play. That meant there had to be a physical force, something powerful enough to blast those giant holes into the ground. But, what could it be?

[00:05:02]It all comes down to the Arctic's unique geology. Picture Earth's layers, the core, mantle, and crust. The Arctic ground has a similar setup. Regular soil on top, a thick frozen permafrost layer below, and then there's a solid layer of methane even deeper.

[00:05:18]>> [music] >> And right between the permafrost and the methane, well, that's where the magic happens.

[00:05:24]There, tiny pockets of super salty unfrozen water, called cryopegs, exist.

[00:05:30]But, here's the crux of the matter. As ice in the soil melts, water seeps into these cryopegs, overfilling them.

[00:05:38]And since they can't handle the extra water, they start to expand. This puts pressure on everything above, creating fractures that creep up to the surface.

[00:05:47]Eventually, the pressure gets so intense that it cracks the solid methane layer, creating a sudden gas explosion. Hey, I can relate.

[00:05:57]It's a mixture of chemistry and physics unique to this region. And while it can take decades to happen, once it starts, there's no stopping it.

[00:06:06]One of the biggest concerns for scientists is figuring out where future [music] explosions might occur. It's hard to estimate. Although this is a phenomenon specific to the region, we can't rule out the possibility of natural events with similar effects occurring in less isolated places, which would be an even [music] bigger problem.

[00:06:25]But, let's not get ahead of ourselves, and for now, let's just focus on the Arctic.

[00:06:30]The Arctic permafrost is full of surprises.

[00:06:34]And here's another one that sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.

[00:06:38]Imagine a massive portal slowly opening in the ground, revealing ancient layers of Earth that haven't seen the light of day for over 650,000 years. Sounds unreal, but well, it does exist.

[00:06:51]>> [music] >> Scientists call it the gateway to the underworld, a giant ever-growing crater in the Arctic known as the Batagaika crater.

[00:07:00]Satellite images first revealed [music] this creepy-looking sinkhole in 1991.

[00:07:05]But, its history dates back even further. In the 1970s, part of a massive frozen slope collapsed, exposing a strange curved cliff above a deep depression. This bizarre shape immediately caught the attention of scientists.

[00:07:21]And here's where things get even crazier.

[00:07:26]After much analysis, they discovered that this isn't just any crater. It's the largest mega slump formation in the world.

[00:07:34]It's upper rim towers 180 ft high, about as tall as an 18-story building.

[00:07:39]But, the real mind-blower, it's like a natural time machine. As the ice melts, it exposes frozen soil packed with fossils, ancient sediments, and even DNA from creatures that lived tens of thousands of years ago.

[00:07:54]So, we get a glimpse of the animal and plant life that existed in the ancient world right from the Arctic permafrost.

[00:08:01]In 2018, scientists made [music] an insane discovery. A 42,000-year-old prehistoric foal, perfectly preserved just like it had stepped out of a time machine, which gives us an idea of what is still buried there.

[00:08:15]But here's one thing. Finds like this are super rare. Scientists aren't sure they'll ever come across another specimen in such perfect condition.

[00:08:24]Still, that doesn't mean the search is over. There are plenty of other hidden treasures just waiting to be discovered.

[00:08:31]Clues that could help us unlock the secrets of early Earth.

[00:08:35]Now, when you think of the Arctic, what's the first thing that comes to mind? It is common to immediately think of ice, but here's a wild fact. It wasn't always frozen.

[00:08:45]Picture this. Less than a million years ago, Greenland, the world's biggest frozen island, was actually covered in plants, flowers, and even tiny insects.

[00:08:55]Sounds crazy, but scientists have proof.

[00:08:58]And get this. The discovery came from an ice sample taken in 1993, which then sat forgotten in a lab for 30 years.

[00:09:08]When experts finally reexamined it, they weren't expecting much. But instead of just measuring isotopes, they found something unbelievable. Fossils of ancient plants and insects buried deep inside the ice. Among them, moss, willow fragments, and even a perfectly preserved Arctic poppy.

[00:09:27]And here's why that's a game-changer.

[00:09:29]That flower only grows in soil, not on ice. So, at some point [music] in history, the center of Greenland's ice sheet completely melted, making way for a full-blown ecosystem. This means that not only the edge of the region was once fertile soil, but the entire place.

[00:09:48]And here's where things get a little concerning.

[00:09:51]Ever heard the saying, "Looking to the past is looking into the future?"

[00:09:55]Well, if Greenland lost its ice before, [music] that means it could happen again. And if it does, we're talking drastic changes, like rising [music] sea levels that could flood entire cities, and even the release of ancient viruses and bacteria that have been frozen for thousands of years. So, let's hope that this new melting doesn't happen quickly.

[00:10:17]And just when you think that Greenland's ice couldn't get any more mysterious, [music] scientists have found a giant virus buried deep within it. It all started in [music] 2019 when they were collecting samples of dark ice and reddish snow, trying to figure out why some parts of the ice weren't as white as they should have been.

[00:10:35]What they didn't expect was [music] to stumble upon a giant virus hiding inside. Yep, this isn't your everyday little virus.

[00:10:43]We're talking about something much bigger than [music] normal.

[00:10:47]This one is about 100 to 200 times larger than a typical virus, and has a pretty weird behavior. Instead of attacking animals or humans, it goes after algae.

[00:10:58]Sounds bad, right? But, we have a twist.

[00:11:00]It might actually help nature.

[00:11:03]>> [screaming] >> By infecting algae, the virus darkens the ice, which makes it reflect less light, and that could slow down melting, acting like a natural sun shield for the Arctic.

[00:11:15]This was the first time giant viruses were ever found in Greenland's ice and snow.

[00:11:20]Scientists now want to find out what else it's hiding. Does it belong to a specific family? What else does it do for algae? Although there are clues, the hope is that these mysteries will be solved as soon as possible and we will all know how it acts and [music] how it can impact the Arctic. Well, one thing's for sure, every new discovery [music] like this teaches us more about our planet and who knows, the next breakthrough [music] could change the way we understand the frozen world and maybe even our own future.

[00:11:52]Hey, can you lift a truck with your hands? No? Shocker.

[00:11:57]But let me introduce you to nature's original strongman, the ocean, which casually tossed 700-ton boulders around like they were pebbles during a mega tsunami that hit Africa thousands of years ago. This wasn't just a bad day at the beach. This mega tsunami was so powerful it made the 2004 Indonesian and 2011 Japanese tsunamis look like kitty pool splashes.

[00:12:21]Now, to give you an idea of how terrifying regular tsunamis already are, the Japan tsunami produced waves 133 ft tall. The Indian Ocean tsunami was slightly smaller, but it took over 200,000 lives across many countries.

[00:12:37]Now, imagine something way worse.

[00:12:40]You see, for a long time scientists thought waves that big were just science fiction, but then they found these enormous boulders, massive chunks of rock flung far inland and did the math.

[00:12:52]It turns out only waves around 800 ft tall could have pulled off that kind of rocky vandalism and the culprit? A volcano that literally fell apart into the ocean and triggered one of the most powerful tsunamis Earth has ever seen.

[00:13:07]Usually, tsunamis are blamed on underwater earthquakes, you know, tectonic plates getting into slap fights, but volcanoes? Oh, they've got tsunami potential, too.

[00:13:18]In 1883, for example, a volcano in Indonesia named Krakatoa erupted for 6 months non-stop until it exploded and the explosion was heard all the way in Australia. This triggered many tsunamis, some almost 100 ft tall.

[00:13:35]Still, that was more like a toe dip compared to the full cannonball from the mega tsunami. Back in ancient times, the volcano that crumbled during the mega tsunami was huge [music] and it didn't just fall apart. It lost a chunk that was 10 times the size of Mount Everest, [music] 10 Mount Everest. It was like the earth wanted to see what would happen if we threw a mountain into the ocean just for fun.

[00:14:00]It was so massive that when the entire side of the volcano belly flopped into the Atlantic, it created waves that could cover the Statue of Liberty three times. It also destroyed an island more than 30 mi away.

[00:14:13]The volcano behind this real-life Michael Bay scene was called Fogo, located on, you guessed it, Fogo Island.

[00:14:21]This island is basically just a whole single volcano that rose from the sea thanks to a magma hotspot, a place in the ocean where a lot of magma escapes and erupts like an underwater volcano.

[00:14:34]Over time, this magma cooled and stacked up like pancakes until, voila, after seven major eruptions, the island popped out of the ocean like it was playing peekaboo. Surprise, it's a volcano.

[00:14:47]But Fogo's dramatic entrance was also a ticking time bomb. You see, the more a volcano grows, the heavier it gets and if there's not enough magma inside it to support it, the whole thing can just collapse. Sometimes, it doesn't take much. A minor earthquake, some erosion, or just a poor foundation made of soft sediment can trigger a collapse. It's like a really tall guy trying to balance over a bunch of marbles. Fogo had all the bad luck ingredients, too tall, [music] too heavy, and built on squishy ground.

[00:15:19]And it gets worse. As the volcano grows heavier, it starts squishing the magma underneath. That lava can't rise, so it just simmers down there, slowly thickening like soup left on a burner for too long. Gases build up, pressure increases, and eventually, kaboom.

[00:15:37]It's the volcanic version of eating too many burritos and then trying to hold in a sneeze. This massive pressure and imbalance can trigger what's called a flank collapse, which is science speak for oops, half the volcano just fell into the ocean. That's what happened with Fogo.

[00:15:54]Most of the volcanic islands that formed this way are long gone, but Fogo is still very much alive and kicking. In fact, it last erupted in 2014, and considering that it goes off every 20 years, maybe don't travel to Fogo Island in around 2034.

[00:16:12]For the longest time, scientists believed only big, bulky volcanic islands could collapse like this.

[00:16:18]But new research says that even smaller, skinnier guys, like the Danny DeVitos of the island world, aren't safe either.

[00:16:25]The thing is that small volcanic islands only seem stable because of their small mass. It's like Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger both slipping on the ice.

[00:16:35]Arnie's fall might cause more chaos, but Danny can still go flying. And those little collapses? Yes, they matter.

[00:16:43]Take Santa Maria, a tiny island that's about 170 times smaller than Hawaii. It has collapsed multiple times, not because it wanted to, but because it's basically standing on soggy breadcrumbs.

[00:16:55]Its foundation is loose marine sediment, and to make things worse, it's sitting right next to the East Azores Fault, where three tectonic plates meet up for daily slap fights.

[00:17:08]This fault is responsible for many earthquakes and even some tsunamis that happened in Lisbon in the past. So, you can imagine what it's like living right above it.

[00:17:19]Every time the volcano in Santa Maria erupts and grows, it also sinks. But, when a chunk collapses, it bounces back up like a buoy.

[00:17:28]This seamount-to-island-to-seamount-to-island again roller coaster means that Santa Maria has popped in and out of the ocean like a submarine playing peekaboo. And with every peek comes a potential tsunami.

[00:17:42]Another volcano with similar trust issues is Pacaya, located in Guatemala.

[00:17:47]Between 2011 and 2013, scientists spotted strange movements in the soil.

[00:17:53]Tiny shifts that suggested something underneath was getting restless. Sure enough, in 2014, Pacaya erupted.

[00:18:01]Luckily, it didn't collapse, but that risk still looms, especially if magma gets trapped in it like it did with Fogo. The consequences could be explosive, literally.

[00:18:11]In fact, about a thousand years ago, Pacaya experienced a collapse that sent debris avalanches more than 15 miles away.

[00:18:20]Since then, it's rebuilt itself like a fiery phoenix, but it could still crumble again. That's why volcanologists obsess over the tiniest wobbles. It's not paranoia if the mountain really might fall.

[00:18:34]Now, you might be thinking here, "Okay, but that was the past. Surely that kind of ridiculous mega tsunami collapse can't happen again, right?" Well, welcome to the 21st century. Islands like Hawaii, La Palma in Spain, and various parts of the Caribbean are sitting on the same kind of geological whoopie cushions. All it takes is the right combo, loose foundation, steep slopes, maybe some trapped magma, and boom, flank collapse.

[00:19:03]In fact, it's already happened recently.

[00:19:05]In 2018, Anak Krakatau, the volcanic baby of the infamous Krakatoa, lost a big chunk of itself during an eruption.

[00:19:13]It caused a tsunami, but it was more awkward than devastating. Like a volcano losing its pants on stage. Embarrassing, but survivable.

[00:19:23]But that's just amateur hour compared to history's real showstoppers. Ritter Island's 1888 collapse was so intense that the island literally got shorter.

[00:19:34]It went from being more than 2,000 ft tall to a mere 460 ft.

[00:19:39]But the record holder is the legendary Lituya Bay megasplash from 1958, where a 7.8 magnitude earthquake triggered a massive landslide that sent a wave taller than the Empire State Building roaring through Alaska at highway speeds. Strangely enough, only five people lost their lives here. But on the other hand, the destruction path it left behind can still be seen today all the way from space.

[00:20:07]Melting glaciers and ice caps can make [music] volcanoes collapse, too. When they melt, there's a sudden decrease in pressure on Earth's crust that can destabilize entire volcanoes. It's called isostatic rebound. It's like suddenly yanking a chair out from under someone who's been sitting still for centuries. Whoops.

[00:20:27]Also, here's something you probably never thought you'd worry about on your island getaway. Some volcanic islands grow outward as lava pours into the sea, creating unstable platforms known as lava deltas.

[00:20:39]>> [music] >> These deltas can collapse without warning, taking newly formed land and sometimes tourists, too, right back into the ocean. No pressure, though. Just thought, you know, maybe you want to stay off steaming new land.

[00:20:53]So, yeah. Next time you're lounging on a beachy volcanic island thinking, "Wow, this place is paradise." Just remember, it might also be a ticking geological time bomb with a flair for the dramatic.

[00:21:05]From ancient mountain-sized cannonballs to surprise lava deltas, volcanoes have a history of keeping things spicy.