Glacial lake outburst floods (Glofs) in the cordillera huayhuash, peru: Historic events and current susceptibility

0533213 - ÚVGZ 2021 RIV CH eng J - Journal Article
Bat’ka, J. - Vilímek, V. - Štefanová, E. - Cook, S. J. - Emmer, Adam
Glacial lake outburst floods (Glofs) in the cordillera huayhuash, peru: Historic events and current susceptibility.
Water. Roč. 12, č. 10 (2020), č. článku 2664. E-ISSN 2073-4441
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT(CZ) LO1415
Institutional support: RVO:86652079
Keywords : Andes * Cordillera Huayhuash * Glacial lakes * GLOF susceptibility * GLOFs * Moraine-dammed lakes * Peru
OECD category: Water resources
Impact factor: 3.103, year: 2020
Method of publishing: Open access
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/10/2664

The aim of this paper is to create a glacial lake inventory for the Cordillera Huayhuash in Peru and to evaluate the susceptibility of lakes to the generation of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Using high-resolution satellite images, we undertook qualitative and quantitative analysis of lake type, characteristics and distribution, and placed our findings within the context of existing Peru-wide lake inventories. We also mapped and analyzed past GLOFs, revealing a total of 10 GLOFs and 4 ambiguous events, most of which have not been reported before. We found that past GLOFs usually occurred as a result of moraine dam breach during the proglacial stage of lake evolution. Further, we used our lake inventory to evaluate GLOF susceptibility of all lakes larger than 20,000 m2 . Of 46 evaluated lakes, only two lakes (Lake Tsacra and Lake W014) are currently susceptible to generating a GLOF, which would most likely be through dam overtopping resulting from a flood originating in smaller lakes located upstream. The future perspectives of lake evolution and implications for GLOF hazard management are discussed in light of the post-Little Ice Age glacier ice loss as well as in the context of extensive related research undertaken in the nearby Cordillera Blanca.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0314540