International team study recreates Tracy Arm landslide and tsunami
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 6
International team study recreates Tracy Arm landslide and tsunami
9 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 6
The Science paper examines the 10 August 2025 southeast Alaska collapse, which sent water 1,578 feet up a fjord wall and generated the second-largest recorded landslide-triggered tsunami.
Researchers also modelled a seiche that oscillated in Tracy Arm for 36 hours, showing how hard such failures are to forecast even after visible glacier retreat destabilises slopes.
The study links the disaster to rapid retreat of South Sawyer Glacier and warns that shrinking glaciers and thawing permafrost could raise similar risks in Alaskan fjords and elsewhere.
Can newly found seismic clues provide a warning system for Alaska's next catastrophic landslide?
Is Alaska’s record tsunami the first of many climate-driven mega-disasters set to strike globally?
After a megatsunami nearly wiped out tourist ships, how safe are Alaska's iconic fjords now?
Alaska’s 64 Million Cubic Meter Landslide Triggers Second-Highest Tsunami Ever Recorded at 481 Meters
Overview
On August 10, 2025, a massive landslide of 64 million cubic meters occurred at the rapidly retreating South Sawyer Glacier in Alaska, triggered by climate change and permafrost thaw that destabilized the steep rock slope. This landslide generated a towering tsunami with a 100-meter initial wave and a 481-meter run-up, causing severe vegetation loss and water fluctuations far away. The early morning timing prevented a disaster by missing cruise ships, but ongoing instability led cruise lines to remove Tracy Arm from their 2026 routes. The event exposed gaps in early warning systems, prompting development of advanced seismic detection and multi-level alerts to better protect vulnerable fjord regions amid a global rise in glacier-related hazards.