Slab of Barrier Reef sea floor breaking off - Could produce a tsunami

A huge slab of sea floor near the Great Barrier Reef is in the early stages of collapse and could generate a tsunami when it finally breaks off, researchers warned Friday.

"We found this one large block that stood out. It is sitting on top of a sub-marine canyon, cutting into the slopes and it is in the preliminary stage of collapse."

He stressed that no one knew when a collapse may occur, "whether tomorrow or even in our lifetime", but that people should be aware that it was there.

"It is slowly giving way although it remains stable under current conditions," he said.

"But it is absolutely going to collapse and when it does fall it will fall one kilometre into the adjacent basin.

"This will generate a localised tsunami that will affect the Queensland coastline, which is around 70 kilometres (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," he added.

Read full article at: [link to phys.org]