Research has shown that glaciers during the ice age are prone to flooding

Scientists have long debated whether the population of mountainous regions is increasingly at risk from meltwater floods as meltwater glaciers release more and more water. A small portion of this meltwater remains in glacial lakes around the world. If their dams are broken, corresponding glacial lake flooding could have devastating consequences for the population living downstream. Potsdam researchers were able to demonstrate that it is not just an increase in the number and surface area of ​​glacial lakes that determine the risk of such flooding. Over the period from 1990 to 2023, analysing satellite images of nearly 1700 documented glacial lake floods in 13 glacial areas around the world has reduced the area of ​​ice damned lakes. , we found that the lake covered with moraine remains almost constant. Overall, they were unable to identify trends towards flooding in the larger lake.

“Some lakes have developed wide outlets over time, which allows rivers from these lakes to discharge meltwater very efficiently without necessarily breaking the dam. Environmental Science and Geography Dr. George Biher, a leading author of the Institute of Academic Research, stated: Such changes in lakes tend to result from smaller lakes, even if the lake area is increasing worldwide. It contributes to the fact that there is.

Not all lake flooding behaves the same. Glacier lakes, held back by glacial ice, frequently break out due to increasingly unstable ice blocks. However, the resulting flood events are averaged on average due to the small volume of the lake. Other lakes are bamed by moraines left by the melting of the glaciers. The potential dangers posed by lakes painted with moraines for settlement and infrastructure are increasing, particularly in the Himalayas of Alaska and Patagonia. But catastrophic flooding from moraine-dyed lakes remains rare, like in India in 2023, which has at least 55 deaths.

The authors highlight how closely related climate change, glacial retreats and natural disasters are, and how important it is to continuously monitor these processes. “Remote sensing plays an important role here. Otherwise, processes can be monitored in a wide range of inaccessible locations,” says Dr. Bee. Real-time data provides a valuable foundation for risk management in mountainous regions. Therefore, future measures to protect people, roads and power plants could be better planned on the site.

This paper has been published in Nature Water.