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Abstract Landslides, a forest disturbance, mobilize carbon (C) sequestered in vegetation and soils. Mobilized C is deposited either onto hillslopes or into the water, sequestering C from and releasing C to the atmosphere at different time scales. The C‐dense old‐growth temperate forests of SE Alaska are a unique location to quantify C mobilization rate by frequent landslides that often evolve into saturated moving masses known as debris flows. In this study, the amount of C mobilized by debris flows over historic time scales was estimated by combining a landslide inventory with maps of modeled biomass and soil carbon. We analyzed SE Alaskan landslides over a 55‐year period where a total of 4.69 ± 0.21 MtC was mobilized, an average rate of 2.5 tC km−2 yr−1. A single event in August 2015 mobilized 57,651 ± 3,266 tC, an average of 63 tC km−2. Depositional fate was inferred using two methods, a standard stream intersection analysis and a second novel approach using simulated debris flow deposition modeling calibrated to the study area. Approximately 60% of debris flow deposits intersected the stream network (9% into mainstem channels, 91% into small tributaries), consistent with long‐term modeled connectivity, suggesting that debris flows are likely to contribute to globally significant amounts of C buried in local fjord sediments. Our results are consistent with an emerging consensus that landslide disturbances that mobilize organic carbon may play an important role in the global carbon cycle over geologic time, with coastal temperate forests being hotspots of potential carbon sequestration.
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Geomorphology and initiation mechanisms of the 2020 Haines, Alaska landslide
Abstract In early December 2020, an atmospheric river (AR) and rain-on-snow (ROS) event impacted the Haines, Alaska area, resulting in record-breaking rainfall and snowmelt that caused flooding and dozens of mass movement events. We consider the AR—a one-in-500-year event—as the trigger for the devastating Beach Road Landslide (BRLS), which destroyed or damaged four residences and took the lives of two people. The BRLS started as a debris avalanche and transitioned into a debris flow, with a total approximate landslide volume of 187,100 m3. Geomorphic analysis using lidar data identified evidence of paleo-landslides and displaced masses of rock, one of which served as the source area for the BRLS. Significant structural features in the weak ultramafic bedrock defined the head scarp area and formed the failure plane. This study illustrates the importance of identifying pre-existing landslide features and source areas likely to produce future landslides. As an increase in ROS events is projected for Southeast Alaska with warmer and wetter winters, we recommend the development of an AR scale coupled with geological information for the region, to enhance warnings to residents in landslide-prone areas.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2114015
- PAR ID:
- 10369417
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer Science + Business Media
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Landslides
- Volume:
- 19
- Issue:
- 9
- ISSN:
- 1612-510X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 2177-2188
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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