Alberta scientists help determine cause of landslide in India
Researchers from around the world have been working to understand the cause of a landslide in Chamoli, India that occurred on Feb. 7.
More than 25 million cubic metres of rock and ice caused massive amounts of damage in the Chamoli district in India’s Uttarakhand region.
The landslide left 200 people either dead or missing and caused $75 million in damages.
It also destroyed two hydro power stations.
A team of 53 researcher and scientists were brought together to determine what made this particular landslide so devastating.
Jeffrey Kavanaugh, co-author of the study and an associate professor with the University of Alberta’s department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, says there were a combination of factors the landslide as destructive as it was.
“Our study showed that the particular makeup of the slide, roughly 80 per cent rock and 20 per cent ice, was close to a ‘worst-case’ scenario. The slide fell a great distance — in total, well over three vertical kilometres — which released enough energy to melt almost all of the ice.”
The landslide was moving so quickly that the energy it created melted the ice underneath.
This turned the slide into a dense, fast moving mixture of rock, water and ice.
Kavanaugh noted that landslides are common in this part of the world, but could be happening more frequently.
“This is a location where mountain hazards are significant and potentially increasing due to climatic change, and where there are significant concerns regarding environmental impacts, public safety and social justice.”
It took the team of researchers months to determine the definitive cause of the landslide.
Everything from satellite imagery, seismic records and even eye-witness videos of the events.
This helped the team to determine with a high degree of accuracy what made the slide this dangerous.
Dan Shugar, from the University of Calgary, led the team and said all the information was used to created computer models of the slide.
“High-resolution satellite imagery obtained as the disaster unfolded was critical to helping us understand the event in almost real time,” Shugar stated. “We tracked a plume of dust and water to a conspicuous dark patch high on a steep slope. This was the source of a giant landslide that triggered the cascade of events, and caused immense death and destruction.”
The full report on the events in Chamoli will be published in Science Magazine.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.