Bare Earth: When a Landslide Triggers a Tsunami

Every so often in nature, a catastrophe occurs that then leads to another and another, which is just what happened when a landslide in the mountains of British Columbia led to an outburst flood that  then led to an underwater avalanche in the ocean  far below. A team of researchers in British Columbia are worried we might see more of these hazards  cascades in the future as climate change advances, so they are using a toolbox of tech to search the wreckage of the Elliot Creek hazards cascade to unearth new clues about what caused this catastrophic series of events and how often they might occur in the future.

Hey, teachers! Here’s a cheat sheet of what’s included in this episode of Bare Earth:
- Hazards cascade: landslide, tsunami, glacial lake outburst flood, underwater avalanche, avalanche flood
- Landscape changes over time, animal adaptations to these changes
- Climate change and its effect on the frequency of major landscape events
- Mapping catastrophic environmental events, bathymetry, developing warning systems
- Airborne Coastal Observatory, LiDAR
- Elliot Creek

This episode is part of our series Bare Earth, where we set out to see what the bare-earth landscapes of our coast will reveal when seen from above—way, way above.

Created by the Hakai Institute
Produced by Katrina Pyne and Meig Henry
Edited by Katrina Pyne
Narrated by Katrina Pyne
Videography by Bennett Whitnell and Grant Callegari
Additional videography by Katrina Pyne, Kristina Blanchflower, Feelreel Films, Will McInnes, Eiko Jones, and Storyblocks
ACO motion graphics by Nick Viner and Mike Tilston
Special thanks to:
Derek Heathfield, Hakai Institute
Santiago Gonzalez Arriola, Hakai Institute
Nick Viner, Hakai Institute
Nick Sinclair, Hakai Institute
Wayne Jacob, Hakai Institute
Isabelle Desmarais, Hakai Institute
Emily Haughton, Hakai Institute
Steve Beffort, Hakai Institute
Rob White, Hakai Institute
Will McInnes, Hakai Institute
Keith Holmes, Hakai Institute
Taylor Denouden, Hakai Institute
Gord Frazer, Hakai Institute
Ian Giesbrecht, Hakai Institute
Dan Shugar, University of Calgary
Mike Tilston, University of Calgary
Gwyn Lintern, Geological Survey of Canada
Cooper Stacey, Geological Survey of Canada
Darren Blaney, Homalco First Nation
Canada Foundation for Innovation
Brian Menounos, University of Northern British Columbia
Marten Geertsema, BC Ministry of Forests
Göran Ekström, Columbia University
Lewis Bailey, University of Calgary
PlanetLabs
Canadian Hydrographic Service
Canadian Coast Guard

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