Warming Permafrost Increases Frequency of Devastating Landslides in Greenland

Springer Science: Landslides, 23 July 2022

Permafrost also exists on Greenland; and rising global temperatures have accelerated its thaw, increasing the vulnerability of coastal mountain regions to unpredictable landslides and collapse. The melting of this frozen ground can open deep fractures in rocky cliffs. These expanding fractures allow rainfall and snowmelt to trickle into the slope and can destabilize boulders that tumble downhill, resulting in landslides or avalanches that produce a deadly flow of rocks. In 2021, a frozen debris avalanche near the Vaigat strait of Central West Greenland triggered a tsunami, and killed four people. Vaigat is a permafrost-rich region known for its growing instability. Over the past seventy years, three devastating landslides in this region have resulted in a dozen fatalities, evacuation of nearby communities, and extensive damage to local infrastructure. As temperatures reach new record highs, the increasing frequency and scale of landslides across Greenland pose a life-threatening risk to local populations. These findings underscore the importance of curbing emissions to remain within the 1.5°C limit of the Paris Agreement, to stabilize high-risk regions where rocky slopes have become increasingly prone to unexpected collapse.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10346-022-01922-7