Landslide and Avalanche Debris Litter Hubbard Glacier
NASA
February 25, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the remote St. Elias Mountains in the Yukon on December 6, 2025, triggering landslides and avalanches that deposited debris across Hubbard Glacier. Satellite-based radar imagery from NASA's NISAR mission revealed the dramatic changes to the landscape just two days after the quake. The images showed areas of rough terrain, appearing bright green in false-color radar maps, where rock, snow, and ice had been dislodged and scattered across the glacier's surface.
The St. Elias region is known for its thick glacial ice, with layers exceeding 700 meters (2,000 feet), making it impossible to use traditional ground displacement mapping techniques after earthquakes. Instead, satellite radar provided critical insights into the quake's impact by capturing the scattered debris on the glacier’s surface. Geophysicist Eric Fielding of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory noted that the earthquake's force sent ice and rock cascading down the mountain slopes, creating visible scars in the radar images.
False-color radar images acquired before and after the earthquake revealed significant changes to the landscape. Areas with rough surfaces appeared bright green due to increased scattering of radar energy, while smoother regions remained darker (purple). These images highlighted the extent of landslides and avalanches near Mount King George and McArthur Peak, showing how the debris spread across the glacier’s flatter areas.
This event underscores the importance of satellite technology in studying remote and challenging environments. The NISAR mission's ability to capture detailed radar imagery allowed scientists to observe the earthquake’s impact on a region otherwise inaccessible due to its remoteness and thick glacial cover. This research not only advances our understanding of how earthquakes affect glaciated mountain ranges but also provides valuable data for improving disaster response and hazard mitigation in similar regions.
The findings also highlight the role of space-based observations in monitoring natural disasters and environmental changes. For readers
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Originally published on NASA on 2/25/2026