Rock avalanche buries glacier in the Arctic: impact of global warming

On March 10, 2025, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred on an oceanic transform fault near the island of Jan Mayen, in the Arctic Ocean. The tremor generated a large rock avalanche that buried part of the Kjerulf glacier, producing infrasound signals and causing ice calving ¹.

The event was analyzed using seismic data, Global Navigation Satellite System data, infrasound records, satellite images, and long-term climate records ¹. The avalanche occurred minutes after the earthquake, accompanied by a temporary reduction in near-surface seismic velocity. Satellite observations revealed multiple previous landslides in the years leading up to the earthquake, indicating progressive slope instability ¹.

The research suggests that Arctic warming and permafrost degradation may increase the susceptibility of slopes to earthquake-triggered failures. This highlights the emerging interaction between tectonic hazards, permafrost instability, and climate change ¹.

The island of Jan Mayen is known for its seismic activity, located near the Jan Mayen oceanic transform fault, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates slide past each other at a rate of 14 millimeters per year ². The March 2025 earthquake was the first to trigger a rock avalanche on the island, prompting studies to understand the phenomenon ².

The collected data showed that smaller landslides occurred in 2017, 2019, 2023, and 2024, all concentrated in the area that eventually collapsed. This suggests that global warming and permafrost degradation may have contributed to the slope instability ².