Storegga

• Main Authors: Goff, James, Dudley, Walter
• Format: Book Part
• Language: unknown
• Published: Oxford University Press 2021
• Subjects: Greenland; Norway; Storegga
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197546123.003.0014

Northwest Europe is not immune to tsunamis. More than 8,000 years ago, Mesolithic people had found a good life following the retreating glaciers and settling the new land rich in flora and fauna. Britain was joined to mainland Europe, and people lived in an area of flat land called Doggerland. And then two things happened: The sea level began to rise rapidly—far more rapid than today—and the Storegga submarine landslide off the coast of Norway produced a region-wide tsunami that can be traced as far as Greenland, western Ireland, and southern England. This was the beginning of the end for Doggerland. In 1701, an English professor interpreted Plato’s Atlantis as being Doggerland, not some mythical Mediterranean paradise destroyed by Santorini’s eruption. However, like so many academic ponderings, it was buried deep in obscurity. This chapter brings this story back to life.