Articles | Volume 8, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-1021-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-1021-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
08 Dec 2020
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 08 Dec 2020
| 08 Dec 2020
Evolution of events before and after the 17 June 2017 rock avalanche at Karrat Fjord, West Greenland – a multidisciplinary approach to detecting and locating unstable rock slopes in a remote Arctic area
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), 1350 Copenhagen,
Denmark
Trine Dahl-Jensen
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), 1350 Copenhagen,
Denmark
Marie Keiding
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), 1350 Copenhagen,
Denmark
John Peter Merryman Boncori
DTU Space, National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark,
2800 Lyngby, Denmark
Tine B. Larsen
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), 1350 Copenhagen,
Denmark
Sara Salehi
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), 1350 Copenhagen,
Denmark
Anne Munck Solgaard
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), 1350 Copenhagen,
Denmark
Peter H. Voss
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), 1350 Copenhagen,
Denmark
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Cited
30 citations as recorded by crossref.
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- Planned relocation due to landslide-triggered tsunami risk in recently deglaciated areas S. Matti et al. 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103536
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- Permafrost controls the displacement rates of large unstable rock-slopes in subarctic environments I. Penna et al. 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2022.104017
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- Litho-structural control on rock slope failures at Garmaksla, Billefjorden coastline, Svalbard D. Kuhn et al. 10.1144/qjegh2022-069
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- Uncovering a 70-year-old permafrost degradation induced disaster in the Arctic, the 1952 Niiortuut landslide-tsunami in central West Greenland K. Svennevig et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160110
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- Predisposing, triggering and runout processes at a permafrost‐affected rock avalanche site in the French Alps (Étache, June 2020) M. Cathala et al. 10.1002/esp.5881
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- A large frozen debris avalanche entraining warming permafrost ground—the June 2021 Assapaat landslide, West Greenland K. Svennevig et al. 10.1007/s10346-022-01922-7
- Societal risk-to-life from natural hazards: Assessments, acceptability and actions at Whakaari/White Island and Piopiotahi/Milford Sound, Aotearoa/New Zealand T. Davies & J. Dykstra 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105325
- Identification of Landslide Precursors for Early Warning of Hazards with Remote Sensing K. Strząbała et al. 10.3390/rs16152781
- Earthquakes in the Eastern Canadian Arctic: Past Occurrences, Present Hazard, and Future Risk M. Lamontagne & A. Bent 10.1785/0220210014
- On the Inference of Tsunami Uncertainties From Landslide Run‐Out Observations T. Zengaffinen‐Morris et al. 10.1029/2021JC018033
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- Back analysis of a coastal cliff failure along the Forkastningsfjellet coastline, Svalbard: Implications for controlling and triggering factors D. Kuhn et al. 10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.107850
30 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Submarine Landslide Susceptibility Mapping in Recently Deglaciated Terrain, Glacier Bay, Alaska N. Avdievitch & J. Coe 10.3389/feart.2022.821188
- Spaceborne InSAR mapping of landslides and subsidence in rapidly deglaciating terrain, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and vicinity, Alaska and British Columbia J. Kim et al. 10.1016/j.rse.2022.113231
- Planned relocation due to landslide-triggered tsunami risk in recently deglaciated areas S. Matti et al. 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103536
- Two similar permafrost degradation landslides at Paatuut, West Greenland, caused tsunamis of substantially different magnitudes K. Svennevig et al. 10.1007/s10346-024-02439-x
- Permafrost controls the displacement rates of large unstable rock-slopes in subarctic environments I. Penna et al. 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2022.104017
- Changes in the coastal environments and their impact on society in the Qaanaaq region, northwestern Greenland S. Sugiyama et al. 10.1016/j.polar.2025.101206
- Litho-structural control on rock slope failures at Garmaksla, Billefjorden coastline, Svalbard D. Kuhn et al. 10.1144/qjegh2022-069
- Massive permafrost rock slide under a warming polythermal glacier deciphered through mechanical modeling (Bliggspitze, Austria) F. Pfluger et al. 10.5194/esurf-13-41-2025
- Seismogenic landslides volume and runout estimation with machine learning C. Hibert et al. 10.1007/s10346-025-02496-w
- Warming-induced destabilization of polar coastal rock cliffs and the role of thermokarst: A case study of Forkastningsfjellet on Svalbard D. Kuhn et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178807
- Uncovering a 70-year-old permafrost degradation induced disaster in the Arctic, the 1952 Niiortuut landslide-tsunami in central West Greenland K. Svennevig et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160110
- Rock avalanches in northeastern Baffin Island, Canada: understanding low occurrence amid high hazard potential M. Matthew et al. 10.1007/s10346-024-02315-8
- Landslides in Greenland from ArcticDEM time series analysis C. Dai et al. 10.1007/s10346-025-02500-3
- Validation and inter-comparison of models for landslide tsunami generation J. Kirby et al. 10.1016/j.ocemod.2021.101943
- Drivers, dynamics and impacts of changing Arctic coasts A. Irrgang et al. 10.1038/s43017-021-00232-1
- Evidence of Middle Holocene landslide-generated tsunamis recorded in lake sediments from Saqqaq, West Greenland N. Korsgaard et al. 10.5194/nhess-24-757-2024
- A national landslide inventory for Denmark G. Luetzenburg et al. 10.5194/essd-14-3157-2022
- Predisposing, triggering and runout processes at a permafrost‐affected rock avalanche site in the French Alps (Étache, June 2020) M. Cathala et al. 10.1002/esp.5881
- A rockslide-generated tsunami in a Greenland fjord rang Earth for 9 days K. Svennevig et al. 10.1126/science.adm9247
- Detecting the impact of climate change on alpine mass movements in observational records from the European Alps M. Jacquemart et al. 10.1016/j.earscirev.2024.104886
- Proglacial lake development and outburst flood hazard at Fjallsjökull glacier, southeast Iceland G. Wells et al. 10.5194/nhess-25-1913-2025
- The 16 September 2023 Greenland Megatsunami: Analysis and Modeling of the Source and a Week-Long, Monochromatic Seismic Signal A. Carrillo-Ponce et al. 10.1785/0320240013
- A large frozen debris avalanche entraining warming permafrost ground—the June 2021 Assapaat landslide, West Greenland K. Svennevig et al. 10.1007/s10346-022-01922-7
- Societal risk-to-life from natural hazards: Assessments, acceptability and actions at Whakaari/White Island and Piopiotahi/Milford Sound, Aotearoa/New Zealand T. Davies & J. Dykstra 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105325
- Identification of Landslide Precursors for Early Warning of Hazards with Remote Sensing K. Strząbała et al. 10.3390/rs16152781
- Earthquakes in the Eastern Canadian Arctic: Past Occurrences, Present Hazard, and Future Risk M. Lamontagne & A. Bent 10.1785/0220210014
- On the Inference of Tsunami Uncertainties From Landslide Run‐Out Observations T. Zengaffinen‐Morris et al. 10.1029/2021JC018033
- Holocene gigascale rock avalanches in Vaigat strait, West Greenland—Implications for geohazard K. Svennevig et al. 10.1130/G51234.1
- Permafrost in monitored unstable rock slopes in Norway – new insights from temperature and surface velocity measurements, geophysical surveying, and ground temperature modelling B. Etzelmüller et al. 10.5194/esurf-10-97-2022
- Back analysis of a coastal cliff failure along the Forkastningsfjellet coastline, Svalbard: Implications for controlling and triggering factors D. Kuhn et al. 10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.107850
Discussed (final revised paper)
Latest update: 05 Jul 2025
Short summary
The 17 June 2017 Karrat landslide in Greenland caused a tsunami that killed four people. We apply a multidisciplinary workflow to reconstruct a timeline of events and find that three historic landslides occurred in 2009, 2016, and 2017. We also find evidence of much older periods of landslide activity. Three newly discovered active slopes might pose a future hazard. We speculate that the trigger for the recent events is melting permafrost due to a warming climate.
The 17 June 2017 Karrat landslide in Greenland caused a tsunami that killed four people. We...
