2024 Surprise Inlet landslides: Insights from a prototype landslide‐triggered tsunami monitoring system in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Ezgi Karasozen; Michael E. West; Katherine R. Barnhart; John J. Lyons; Terry Nichols; Lauren N. Schaefer; Bohyun Bahng; Summer Ohlendorf; Dennis M. Staley; Gabriel J. Wolken

doi:10.1029/2025gl115911

USGS · 70268796

2024 Surprise Inlet landslides: Insights from a prototype landslide‐triggered tsunami monitoring system in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Ezgi Karasozen·Michael E. West·Katherine R. Barnhart·John J. Lyons·Terry Nichols·Lauren N. Schaefer·Bohyun Bahng·Summer Ohlendorf·Dennis M. Staley·Gabriel J. Wolken

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Abstract

Alaska's coastal communities face growing landslide hazards owing to glacier retreat and extreme weather intensified by the warming climate, yet hazard monitoring remains challenging. As part of ongoing experimental monitoring in Prince William Sound, we detected three large landslides (0.5–2.3 M m 3 ) at Surprise Inlet on 20 September 2024, within the span of an hour. These events were identified in near real-time through seismic data and later confirmed using satellite imagery, tidal records, and infrasound. The landslides generated a modest tsunami, and a 4 cm wave was recorded by a tide gauge 18 km away, marking the first recorded landslide to reach water since monitoring began in this region in 2021. Here, we examine the detection and interpretation of these landslides using multiple data sources and modeling. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this regional seismic monitoring system and show how complementary instrumentation, where available, can enhance detection capabilities.

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Geophysical Research Letters Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 59.91280847695441° to 61.18214394792622° latitude; -148.69339399398933° to -145.64673816140657° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Ezgi Karasozen, Michael E. West, Katherine R. Barnhart, John J. Lyons, Terry Nichols, Lauren N. Schaefer, Bohyun Bahng, Summer Ohlendorf, Dennis M. Staley, Gabriel J. Wolken. 2025-07-02. 2024 Surprise Inlet landslides: Insights from a prototype landslide‐triggered tsunami monitoring system in Prince William Sound, Alaska. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl115911

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Alaska place United STates place Article subject Geophysical Research Letters subject Prince William Sound place

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