Glacial lakes are formed when meltwater gets trapped behind natural barriers like glacial ice, bedrock, or moraines. If these barriers fail, a sudden release of water known as an outburst flood can occur, causing severe damage to the environment and communities downstream. With glaciers melting due to climate change, the frequency of such events is on the rise.
Research led by Dr. Joanne Wood from the University of Exeter focused on glacial lakes in the Andes of South America, particularly in Peru and Bolivia. They studied the history of outburst events triggered by earthquakes and found that out of 59 earthquakes near glacial lakes, only one led to a flood.
Despite the common belief that seismic activity can cause catastrophic floods by destabilizing dams, the evidence from the Andes and globally does not strongly support this theory. Dr. Wood’s team analyzed over 11,000 earthquakes and 67 glacial lake outburst floods since 1900 to investigate the relationship between seismic triggers and flood occurrences.
The study challenges the assumption that earthquakes are the primary drivers of glacial lake outburst floods, highlighting the need for further research to understand the complex interactions between seismic events and glacial lake dynamics.
2024-04-11 09:00:02
Article from phys.org