An M5.5 earthquake occurred in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1400 km east northeast of St. John’s Thursday afternoon. The earthquake occurred along the Reykjanes Ridge at a depth of 10 km. Here are some distances the earthquake occurred from different locations:

• 1073.9 km southeast of Nanortalik, Greenland
• 1424.8 km east northeast of St. John’s, NL
• 1432.2 ENE east northeast of Mount Pearl, NL

Many people on social media wondered if an earthquake in this area could lead to a tidal wave or Tsunami.

In short, the answer is possibly but it’s very unlikely an earthquake along this fault zone would lead a Tsunami, and there are a few specific reasons for that:

• Tectonic Setting: The ridge is a divergent plate boundary where the Eurasian and North American plates are pulling apart. This type of boundary generally produces shallow, small to moderate magnitude earthquakes. Divergent boundaries are less likely to produce large vertical displacements of the seafloor, which is the primary cause of tsunamis.
• Earthquake Magnitude: Earthquakes along the Reykjanes Ridge are often of lower magnitude compared to those at subduction zones (convergent boundaries), where large vertical seafloor displacements are more common. It typically takes a large, shallow earthquake (usually above a magnitude of 7.5) to trigger a significant tsunami.
• Seafloor Displacement: The earthquakes along mid-ocean ridges, including the Reykjanes Ridge, usually result in horizontal displacement of tectonic plates rather than the vertical movement needed to displace large volumes of water.

Earthquakes in this area aren’t uncommon, and typically, when they do occur, we will have nothing to worry about.