New lakes in deglaciating high-mountain regions – opportunities and risks

Abstract

In connection with the ongoing disappearance of glaciers in cold mountains, a great number of new lakes come into existence. The sites and approximate formation time of such potential new lakes can be realistically modelled. This provides an important knowledge base for planning the management of at least the larger ones among such lakes. New water bodies can markedly increase the hazard and risk potential for down-valley areas in the long term, especially in relation to impact/flood waves triggered by rock/ice avalanches from the steep icy peaks surrounding them. However, they also offer opportunities for use in connection with tourism, water supply and hydropower production. Legal regulations and aspects of landscape protection and nature conservation have to be thereby carefully considered. Possible synergies and conflicts exist; they can be anticipated at an early stage by a matrix-type analysis of interrelations between the different perspectives involved. A corresponding inter-and transdisciplinary study was performed for the currently glacierized areas of the Swiss Alps. The results of this study may serve as an example for dealing with the consequences of rapid climate-induced changes in other populated regions with rugged icy mountains, such as the Peruvian Cordilleras or the Himalaya-Karakoram region.

Compiling an Inventory of Glacier-Bed Overdeepenings and Potential New Lakes in De-Glaciating Areas of the Peruvian Andes: Approach, First Results, and Perspectives for Adaptation to Climate Change

“…[2]). More sophisticated procedures can be applied in case of locally-or regionally-enhanced interest.…”

“…Such planning is necessary in view of options for sustainable use of water resources but especially also for risk reduction. Integrative-holistic system consideration relating to the emerging new landscapes with their heavily disturbed geoand ecosystems especially helps with making the best use of possible options and synergies concerning flood protection, hydropower production, water supply and/or landscape protection [2]. The now-available knowledge base about possible future lakes, however, is still far from being perfect and must be understood as a first-order approximation.…”

“…As a consequence, high-mountain glacier landscapes are transforming into new landscapes of rocks, debris, sparse vegetation, and numerous lakes ( Figure 1). The latter are interesting for tourism, hydropower production, and water supplies [2]. They can, however, also be amplifiers of hazards and risks, especially in connection with impact/flood waves triggered by rock/ice avalanches from glacially de-buttressed slopes and slowly destabilizing icy peaks [3,4].…”

Rapid decline of snow and ice in the tropical Andes – Impacts, uncertainties and challenges ahead

“…This kind of single-option resource for industries, energy production, water supplies, and livelihoods must be addressed and replaced by multi-purpose strategies that can provide a more robust form of adaptation. In some cases, regulating glacial lakes can generate co-benefits in terms of disaster risk reduction, water resource management and energy production (Haeberli et al, 2016), but the legal, social, cultural and political constraints for implementation are considerable.…”

GLOFs in the WOS: bibliometrics, geographies and global trends of research on glacial lake outburst floods (Web of Science, 1979–2016)

“…It was determined that almost three quarters of all GLOF research items (n = 651; 73.0 %) have their geographical focus in 11 of the pre-defined hotspots of GLOF occurrence, of which 32 items (3.6 %) are characterized as multiregionally focused (e.g. Worni et al, 2014;Haeberli et al, 2016). However, the actual number of research items with a certain geographical focus is slightly higher (> 80 %) when considering items that are geographically focused on regions outside the 11 hotspots of GLOF occurrence, such as Altai/Siberia (21 items; e.g.…”