Landslides (fjellskred) in northern Norway: past, present and future

The tendency for slopes to fail is a result of conditioning factors since deglaciation, from glacial erosion, ice retreat and periods of warming leading to intense rainfall. Today, many unstable slopes have been identified which may lead to catastrophic landslide events, as result of these long-term conditioning factors.

Triggering factors, such as intense rainfall are monitored to ensure the reliability of the early warning systems that are used to protect vulnerable communities from catastrophic landslides and subsequent tsunamis.

Postdoc Louise Vick will present some examples of unstable slopes in Troms, what we know about them and how we approach the analysis as geologists. Louise will then look at how we can expect climate change to effect these unstable slopes, and what is needed in Norway for climate change adaptation in the future.