← Back to Sessions

Rapid Seismic Assessment of Potentially Tsunamigenic Landslides

Description: 

As the climate warms and glaciers retreat, the flanks of glacial valleys lose their support. These unsupported slopes increase the chance of failure, creating new landslide hazards and, in some cases, the potential to initiate catastrophic local tsunamis. This hazard is an emerging concern in much of coastal Alaska, a region dominated by a steep, glaciated mountain range landscape. Little is known about the potential for future hazards from these events, threatening human life in nearby communities. Currently, no systems are in place to detect, locate, and assess the size of landslides sufficiently quickly to inform potential tsunami warnings.

We examine a selection of landslides across coastal Alaska over the past decade using the existing seismic network to demonstrate the potential for rapidly determining a landslide's tsunamigenic potential. We exploit the long-period waveform similarity observed in these events and develop an approach to assess landslides rapidly. Our strategy demonstrates the ability to detect and locate landslides with volumes as low as ~100,000 m3 using data recorded within one minute of occurrence. In the presence of good seismic network coverage, location errors are no more than a couple of kilometers. We also develop a simple amplitude relationship to approximate a slide's volume within an order of magnitude. This rapid landslide assessment approach provides a foundation for eventual coastal landslide monitoring systems on a real-time basis.

Session: Detecting, Locating, Characterizing and Monitoring Non-earthquake Seismoacoustic Sources

Type: Oral

Date: 4/19/2023

Presentation Time: 09:00 AM (local time)

Presenting Author: Ezgi Karasözen

Student Presenter: No

Invited Presentation: 

Authors