Kinematic evolution of a large paraglacial landslide in the Barry Arm fjord of Alaska

In the Barry Arm fjord of Alaska, repeat, high-resolution aerial and satellite data provide a unique opportunity to learn how a large bedrock landslide with a receding and thinning glacier at the toe is deforming.

If the landslide were to fail into the fjord, it has the potential to generate a tsunami that could adversely impact activities in and around the region.

Several lines of evidence suggest that the thinning and movement of the Barry Glacier impacts deformation of the slope above it, causing valley walls adjacent and upslope from the glacier to move differently than how they have in the past. Thus, actively deglaciating slopes are sufficiently dynamic that we cannot rely solely on one set of static maps of structures and kinematic elements for predictive capability.

Rather, multi-temporal maps and long-term surveillance are needed to understand the structural and kinematic evolution of rapidly changing and unstable paraglacial valley walls.