By Yemi Olakitan
Flood-like water outbursts from ice-dammed glacial lakes around the world occur earlier in the year and come from higher areas as a result of climate change.
This is demonstrated by a recent study with involvement from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), which was published in the academic journal Nature, using observation data dating back to 1900.
This is demonstrated by a recent study with involvement from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), which was published in the academic journal Nature, using observation data dating back to 1900. Nevertheless, these alleged outbursts are apparently diminishing at the same time. According to Lisa Luna from PIK, co-author of the study, “when glaciers amass water from precipitation and glacial melt in lakes at their margins, the dams can become unstable and finally break, unexpectedly unleashing the accumulated water in potentially deadly glacial lake outbursts.”
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She continues, “These floods have regularly resulted in fatalities, devastated crops and infrastructure, and therefore closed vital transportation routes for months.
In their study, the researchers used data on water volume, peak flow, time, and source lake elevation to characterize more than 1,500 glacial lake outbursts that have been seen in alpine locations globally since 1900. They were able to calculate patterns over time as a result.
“In recent decades, glacial melt has accelerated, reducing the volume and peak discharge of the most violent glacial lake outbursts. Nonetheless, floods now occur 10 weeks earlier in the European Alps than in 1900, eleven weeks earlier in the high mountains of Asia, and seven weeks earlier in northwest North America.
“We also discovered that lakes at higher altitudes now have reported explosions. The Andes, Iceland, and Scandinavia are now, on average, 250 to 500 meters higher than they were 120 years ago, according to the study’s author Georg Veh of the University of Potsdam.
Knowing about these temporal shifts could be helpful in reducing damage, for example, by temporarily closing bridges or roadways that cross rivers. By the end of the 21st century, a number of areas with modest glaciers, including the European Alps, Scandinavia, and British Columbia, Canada, might have mostly ice-free landscapes. Nonetheless, certain places, like Patagonia or Alaska, might still have sizable glaciers by 2100 and be able to store meltwater. To avoid or at least lessen future flood tragedies, the researchers advise monitoring glacier-dammed lakes in these areas and outfitting downstream river sections with early warning systems.
