Eight Giant Landslides in Greenland in the last 100 years

Published Mar 29 2023 -

In Greenland, there have been eight major landslides in the last hundred years. Before that, the number was zero. There will be more and perhaps bigger landslides in line with increased climate changes, new research states.

That is reported by Sermatsiaq.

Kristian Svennevig, Geologist and Senior Researcher at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), is behind the study of new and older landslides in Greenland.

The reason, according to the senior researcher, is not surprising given the climate changes currently being experienced.

"When the temperatures in the mountainside approach the melting point, the permafrost, which has otherwise has worked as cement in the unstable hills for thousands of years, can become pliable, and the mountainside can begin to slowly creep," says Svennevig.

This development can trigger large landslides, such as in the Karrat Fjord in 2017, which took four human lives.