The March 11 tsunamis that reduced many parts of Japan to rubbles also tore off Manhattan-sized icebergs from Antarctica, NASA researchers discovered.

A team of researchers headed by cryosphere specialist Kelly Brunt at Goddard Space Flight Centersaid that the tsunami traveled around 8,000 miles through the Pacific Ocean and hit the Sulzberger Ice Shelf of Antarctica.

The tsunami was only around a foot high when it reached after around 18 hours of traveling, but tore off around 48 square miles of icebergs from a region of Antarctica that remained unchanged for at least 46 years prior to the event.

Speaking on the topic, Brunt said, “We knew right away this was one of the biggest events in recent history - we knew there would be enough swell. And this time we had a source.”

In September 1968, large icebergs were found in the Southern Pacific Ocean, which were later estimated to be a result of the Great Africa Earthquake and Tsunami that had hit a month earlier.

The March 11 tsunami was caused by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the northern coast of Japan.