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Barry Arm, Alaska Landslide and Tsunami Monitoring Active

By Landslide Hazards Program February 22, 2021

A large steep slope in the Barry Arm fjord 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Whittier, Alaska has the potential to fall into the water and generate a tsunami that could have devastating local effects on those who live, work, and recreate in and around Whittier and in northern Prince William Sound.

The U.S. Geological Survey is supporting the monitoring efforts in the Barry Arm fjord in Alaska. Please see these sites for information:

Data and Tools (outside USGS):

(Please also see the USGS Data and Tools on the tab above.)

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

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person standing on outcrop, water in background and steep slope beyond that

Barry Arm, Alaska, Tsunami Hazard Maybe Not So Severe

...however, wave height could still be hazardous to Whittier and other nearshore communities in Prince William Sound.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Landslide Hazards Program
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Barry Arm, Alaska, Tsunami Hazard Maybe Not So Severe

...however, wave height could still be hazardous to Whittier and other nearshore communities in Prince William Sound.
Learn More
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Tidal Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

Potential Landslide Paths and Implications for Tsunami Hazards in Glacier Bay, Alaska – An Initial Investigation

Glacier Bay and its inlets are a popular destination for cruise ships and passenger boats; about 540,000 people visited Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP) in 2017. A typical tour of the Bay traverses the entire length up to the glacier calving viewpoints in the Johns Hopkins and Tarr Inlets. A 2018 article “Landslides and Giant Waves” by the National Park Service (NPS) states, “The...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Landslide Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center
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Potential Landslide Paths and Implications for Tsunami Hazards in Glacier Bay, Alaska – An Initial Investigation

Glacier Bay and its inlets are a popular destination for cruise ships and passenger boats; about 540,000 people visited Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP) in 2017. A typical tour of the Bay traverses the entire length up to the glacier calving viewpoints in the Johns Hopkins and Tarr Inlets. A 2018 article “Landslides and Giant Waves” by the National Park Service (NPS) states, “The...
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Below are data or web applications associated with this project. Please also see the Outside-USGS Data and Tools listed on the Overview tab.

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar data from 2021 for landslides at Barry Arm Fjord, Alaska

Subaerial landslides at the head of the Barry Arm fjord remain a tsunami threat for the Prince William Sound region in southern Alaska. Tasked RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from two ultrafine beam modes (2 m), U19 and U15, were used to measure landslide movement of slopes near the toe of the Barry Glacier between 21 May 2021 and 5 November 2021. Data were acquired every 24 days, w
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Landslide Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Simulated inundation extent and depth at Whittier, Alaska resulting from the hypothetical rapid motion of landslides into Barry Arm Fjord, Prince William Sound, Alaska

This data release contains postprocessed model output from simulations of hypothetical rapid motion of landslides, subsequent wave generation, and wave propagation. A modeled tsunami wave was generated by rapid motion of unstable material into Barry Arm Fjord. This wave propagated through Prince William Sound and then into Passage Canal east of Whittier. Here we consider only the largest wave-gene
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Landslide Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Select model results from simulations of hypothetical rapid failures of landslides into Barry Arm, Prince William Sound, Alaska

This data release contains model output from simulations presented in the associated Open-File Report (Barnhart and others, 2021). In this report, we present model results from four simulations (scenarios C-290, NC-290, C-689, NC-689, Table 1) of hypothetical rapid movement of landslides into adjacent fjord water at Barry Arm, Alaska using the D-Claw model (George and Iverson, 2014; Iverson and Ge
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Landslide Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Map of landslide structures and kinematic elements at Barry Arm, Alaska in the summer of 2020

Two active landslides at and near the retreating front of Barry Glacier at the head of Barry Arm Fjord in southern Alaska (Figure 1) could generate tsunamis if they failed rapidly and entered the water of the fjord. Landslide A, at the front of the glacier, is the largest, with a total volume estimated at 455 M m3 (Dai et al, 2020). Historical photographs from Barry Arm indicate that Landslide A
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Landslide Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar data from 2020 for landslides at Barry Arm Fjord, Alaska

Subaerial landslides at the head of Barry Arm Fjord in southern Alaska could generate tsunamis (if they rapidly failed into the Fjord) and are therefore a potential threat to people, marine interests, and infrastructure throughout the Prince William Sound region. Knowledge of ongoing landslide movement is essential to understanding the threat posed by the landslides. Because of the landslides' rem
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Landslide Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Below are multimedia items associated with this project.

Barry Arm of Harriman Fjord, Prince William Sound, Alaska
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Below are publications associated with this project.

Preliminary assessment of the wave generating potential from landslides at Barry Arm, Prince William Sound, Alaska

We simulated the concurrent rapid motion of landslides on an unstable slope at Barry Arm, Alaska. Movement of landslides into the adjacent fjord displaced fjord water and generated a tsunami, which propagated out of Barry Arm. Rather than assuming an initial sea surface height, velocity, and location for the tsunami, we generated the tsunami directly using a model capable of simulating the dynamic
Authors
Katherine R. Barnhart, Ryan P. Jones, David L. George, Jeffrey A. Coe, Dennis M. Staley
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Landslide Hazards Program, Volcano Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Volcano Science Center, Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Recovery Activities

Detection and assessment of a large and potentially‐tsunamigenic periglacial landslide in Barry Arm, Alaska

The retreat of glaciers in response to global warming has the potential to trigger landslides in glaciated regions around the globe. Landslides that enter fjords or lakes can cause tsunamis, which endanger people and infrastructure far from the landslide itself. Here we document the ongoing movement of an unstable slope (total volume of 455 million m3) in Barry Arm, a fjord in Prince William Sound
Authors
Chunli Dai, Bretwood Higman, Patrick J. Lynett, Mylène Jacquemart, Ian Howat, Anna K. Liljedahl, Anja Dufresne, Jeffery T. Freymueller, Marten Geertsema, Melissa Ward Jones, Peter J. Haeussler
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Landslide Hazards Program, Alaska Science Center
Monitoring Efforts at the Barry Arm Landslide

Below are news stories associated with this project.

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Potential Landslide-Generated Tsunami in Prince William Sound’s Barry Arm Likely Less Severe than Previously Thought

Wave height could still be hazardous to nearshore communities.

Read Article
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Barry Arm Landslide and Tsunami Hazard

A large steep slope in the Barry Arm fjord 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Whittier, Alaska has the potential to fall into the water and...

Read Article

Below are partners associated with this project.

Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

U.S. Forest Service (USFS)