University of Alaska Fairbanks

Frozen Debris Lobes

Looming over Alaska's most economically important highway

Press

Source: Alaska Public Media: “Dalton Highway closures coming to avoid ‘frozen debris lobe'”
Source: BBC: “Warming speeds world's slowest moving landslides”
Source: Science: “A cold, creeping menace”
Source: Frontier Scientists: “Many angles to decode frozen debris lobes”; “Effective stress and FDL science”; “Temperamental machinery and FDL science”
Source: UAF Aurora: “Attack of the Debris Lobes”
Source: KUAC radio broadcast: “Debris Lobe Threatens Dalton Highway”
Source: Anchorage Daily News: “State reroutes Dalton Highway to dodge migrating ‘blob’ ”; “Pricey projects loom for Alaska as erosion threatens runways, roads and more”; “State looks for help fighting ‘blob’ oozing toward Dalton Highway ”; “As frozen debris field slides toward Dalton Highway, state makes plans to move road”; “Only in Alaska? Creeping frozen landslide threatens critical highway and pipeline”; “Frozen landslide threatens to devour Dalton Highway”
Source: Fairbanks Daily News Miner: “Sliding mass threatens pipeline, Dalton Highway”

Drawing: cross-section of a frozen debvris lobe

Illustration by Dan Darrow © 2014.