Glacier Lake Outburst Floods

Abstract

The globally observed retreat of mountain glaciers is often accompanied by the formation of new glacier lakes. Such lakes are attractive new landscape elements, but they also have the potential for catastrophic drainage, so‐called glacier lake outburst floods. In order to assess the hazard potential of glacier lakes, interacting processes in complex and dynamic environments need to be considered and understood. Today, most situations are beyond historical precedence, but experiences from past events and new model approaches offer valuable tools for assessing the hazard potential of glacier lakes. Different possibilities for mitigation and adaptation exist to lower the risk of glacier lake outburst floods.