NASA Earth Observatory
While kayaking in Barry Arm fjord in June 2019, Valisa Higman, an artist-in-residence at Alaska’s Chugach National Forest, noticed some odd fractures on a cliff overlooking the fjord. Curious if the slope might be in the process of collapsing, she emailed photos (see one of them below) to her brother, Bretwood Higman. “Hig” is a geologist with Ground Truth Alaska, and he has studied landslides and tsunami deposits for decades. […]
Immediately after seeing the Landsat images, Higman was also convinced something serious was happening and alarmed about what it could mean. Since then, he has been reaching out to colleagues and coordinating with state and federal partners to evaluate the risk. In May 2020, a group of 14 scientists published an open letter warning that a landslide-generated tsunami is likely within 20 years and could happen at any time. If a landslide occurs, the resulting tsunami in Barry Arm could produce waves that are hundreds of feet high. Other, more distant bays—such as the more heavily populated Passage Canal (about 30 miles/50 kilometers away)—could see 30-foot (9-meter) waves.