Professor Mathews, outburst floods, and other glaciological disasters

Misfortunes befalling the Granduc mining operation near Stewart, British Columbia, stimulated Professor Mathews' influential scientific contributions on subglacial hydrology. A series of violent floods from glacier-dammed Summit Lake menaced the transportation corridor between the Granduc ore concentrator and a tidewater dock at Hyder, Alaska. This unusual problem motivated the research of Mathews and later of Gilbert, who together laid the foundation for a greater understanding of the physics of outburst floods. The physical model that evolved from their research can be used to predict outburst flood magnitude and to cast light on the hydrology of ancient floods such as those from glacial Lake Missoula.

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Long-period variability in ice-dammed glacier outburst floods due to evolving catchment geometry

10.5194/tc-2021-141 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Amy J. Jenson ◽

Jason M. Amundson ◽

Jonathan Kingslake ◽

Eran Hood

Keyword(s):

Peak Discharge ◽

Water Volume ◽

Flood Hazards ◽

Outburst Flood ◽

Ice Shelf ◽

Outburst Floods ◽

Flood Magnitude ◽

Hydrological System ◽

Basin Geometry ◽

Glacier Flow

Abstract. We combine a glacier outburst flood model with a glacier flow model to investigate decadal to centennial variations in outburst floods originating from ice-dammed marginal basins. Marginal basins form due to retreat and detachment of tributary glaciers, a process that often results in remnant ice being left behind. The remnant ice, which can act like an ice shelf or break apart into a pack of icebergs, limits the basin storage capacity but also exerts pressure on the underlying water and promotes drainage. We find that during glacier retreat there is a strong, nearly linear relationship between flood water volume and peak discharge for individual basins, despite large changes in glacier and remnant ice volumes that are expected to impact flood hydrographs. Consequently, peak discharge increases over time as long as there is remnant ice remaining in a basin, the peak discharge begins to decrease once a basin becomes ice free, and similar size outburst floods can occur for very different glacier volumes. We also find that the temporal variability in outburst flood magnitude depends on how the floods initiate. Basins that connect to the subglacial hydrological system only after reaching flotation yield greater long-term variability in outburst floods than basins that are continuously connected to the subglacial hydrological system (and therefore release floods that initiate before reaching flotation). Our results highlight the importance of improving our understanding of both changes in basin geometry and outburst flood initiation mechanisms in order to better assess outburst flood hazards and impacts on landscape and ecosystem evolution.

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Megafloods and Clovis cache at Wenatchee, Washington

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2016.02.007 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 85 (3) ◽

pp. 430-444 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Richard B. Waitt

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Glacial Lake ◽

Outburst Flood ◽

Grand Coulee

Immense late Wisconsin floods from glacial Lake Missoula drowned the Wenatchee reach of Washington's Columbia valley by different routes. The earliest debacles, nearly 19,000 cal yr BP, raged 335 m deep down the Columbia and built high Pangborn bar at Wenatchee. As advancing ice blocked the northwest of Columbia valley, several giant floods descended Moses Coulee and backflooded up the Columbia past Wenatchee. Ice then blocked Moses Coulee, and Grand Coulee to Quincy basin became the westmost floodway. From Quincy basin many Missoula floods backflowed 50 km upvalley to Wenatchee 18,000 to 15,500 years ago. Receding ice dammed glacial Lake Columbia centuries more—till it burst about 15,000 years ago. After Glacier Peak ashfall about 13,600 years ago, smaller great flood(s) swept down the Columbia from glacial Lake Kootenay in British Columbia. The East Wenatchee cache of huge fluted Clovis points had been laid atop Pangborn bar after the Glacier Peak ashfall, then buried by loess. Clovis people came five and a half millennia after the early gigantic Missoula floods, two and a half millennia after the last small Missoula flood, and two millennia after the glacial Lake Columbia flood. People likely saw outburst flood(s) from glacial Lake Kootenay.

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Estimates of Peak Discharge from the Drainage of Ice-Dammed Ape Lake, British Columbia, Canada

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/s0022143000009278 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 35 (121) ◽

pp. 349-354 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Joseph R. Desloges ◽

David P. Jones ◽

Karl E. Ricker

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Flood Plain ◽

Peak Discharge ◽

Outburst Flood ◽

Flood Peak ◽

Lake Volume ◽

Outburst Floods ◽

Direct Measurements ◽

Instantaneous Discharge ◽

Method Yield

AbstractThe first known occurrence of outburst flooding at Ape Lake, British Columbia, was in October 1984 following the formation of a subglacial tunnel in an ice dam created by Fyles Glacier. Following tunnel closure, the lake refilled in 150 d and then a second outburst flood occurred in August 1986. During both events, 55% of the Apc Lake volume or 46 × 106m3was released in less than 24 h into the 50 km long, ungauged Noeick River, producing an average discharge of 540 m3s−1. Channel and flood-plain erosion, damage to access roads, bridges, a logging camp, and an airstrip were related to the peak or maximum instantaneous discharge. In the absence of direct measurements, and to facilitate planning for future flood events, several independent methods were employed to estimate peak discharge. A modified version of the Clague-Mathews formula and the slope-area method yield consistent estimates which approach 1600 m3s−1near the ice-dam outlet. Attenuation of the flood peak in Noeick River is as high as 25% in the upper 12 km due to channel and flood-plain storage. Results using Clarke’s (1982) physical-based model suggest lower discharges and may be related to the irregular morphology of Ape Lake. Since Fyles Glacier is in continuous retreat, drainage around the margin of the ice dam which began in the summer of 1987 is expected to continue and no further outburst floods are anticipated.

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Estimates of Peak Discharge from the Drainage of Ice-Dammed Ape Lake, British Columbia, Canada

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/s0022143000009278 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 35 (121) ◽

pp. 349-354 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Joseph R. Desloges ◽

David P. Jones ◽

Karl E. Ricker

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Flood Plain ◽

Peak Discharge ◽

Outburst Flood ◽

Flood Peak ◽

Lake Volume ◽

Outburst Floods ◽

Direct Measurements ◽

Instantaneous Discharge ◽

Method Yield

AbstractThe first known occurrence of outburst flooding at Ape Lake, British Columbia, was in October 1984 following the formation of a subglacial tunnel in an ice dam created by Fyles Glacier. Following tunnel closure, the lake refilled in 150 d and then a second outburst flood occurred in August 1986. During both events, 55% of the Apc Lake volume or 46 × 106 m3 was released in less than 24 h into the 50 km long, ungauged Noeick River, producing an average discharge of 540 m3 s−1. Channel and flood-plain erosion, damage to access roads, bridges, a logging camp, and an airstrip were related to the peak or maximum instantaneous discharge. In the absence of direct measurements, and to facilitate planning for future flood events, several independent methods were employed to estimate peak discharge. A modified version of the Clague-Mathews formula and the slope-area method yield consistent estimates which approach 1600 m3 s−1 near the ice-dam outlet. Attenuation of the flood peak in Noeick River is as high as 25% in the upper 12 km due to channel and flood-plain storage. Results using Clarke’s (1982) physical-based model suggest lower discharges and may be related to the irregular morphology of Ape Lake. Since Fyles Glacier is in continuous retreat, drainage around the margin of the ice dam which began in the summer of 1987 is expected to continue and no further outburst floods are anticipated.

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Provenance and Deposition of Glacial Lake Missoula Lacustrine and Flood Sediments Determined from Rock Magnetic Properties

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2014.09.005 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 83 (1) ◽

pp. 166-177 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Michelle Andrée Hanson ◽

Randolph Jonathan Enkin ◽

René William Barendregt ◽

John Joseph Clague

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Properties ◽

Glacial Lake ◽

Sediment Provenance ◽

Outburst Flood ◽

Fine Silt ◽

Oxygen Isotope Stage ◽

Rock Magnetic Properties ◽

Depositional Processes ◽

Magnetic Carriers ◽

Outburst Floods

AbstractRepeated outburst flooding from glacial Lake Missoula, Montana, affected large areas of Washington during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 2 (29–14 ka). We present the first high-resolution rock magnetic results from two sites that are critical to interpreting these outburst floods and that provide evidence of sediment provenance: glacial Lake Missoula, the source of the floods; and glacial Lake Columbia, where floodwaters interrupted sedimentation. Magnetic carriers in glacial Lake Missoula varves are dominated by hematite, whereas those in outburst flood sediments and glacial Lake Columbia sediments are mainly magnetite and titano-magnetite. Stratigraphic variation of magnetic parameters is consistent with changes in lithology. Importantly, magnetic properties highlight depositional processes in the flood sediments that are not evident in the field. In glacial Lake Columbia, hematite is present in fine silt and clay deposited near the end of each flood as fine sediment settled out of the water column. This signal is only present at the end of the floods because the hematite is concentrated in the finer-grained sediment transported from the floor of glacial Lake Missoula, the only possible source of hematite, ~ 240 km away.

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Glacial lake outburst floods as drivers of fluvial erosion in the Himalaya

Science ◽

10.1126/science.aat4981 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 362 (6410) ◽

pp. 53-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Kristen L. Cook ◽

Christoff Andermann ◽

Florent Gimbert ◽

Basanta Raj Adhikari ◽

Niels Hovius

Keyword(s):

Glacial Lake ◽

Outburst Flood ◽

Fluvial Erosion ◽

Outburst Floods ◽

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods ◽

Seismic Records ◽

Glacial Lake Outburst Flood ◽

The Himalaya ◽

Annual Summer

Himalayan rivers are frequently hit by catastrophic floods that are caused by the failure of glacial lake and landslide dams; however, the dynamics and long-term impacts of such floods remain poorly understood. We present a comprehensive set of observations that capture the July 2016 glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in the Bhotekoshi/Sunkoshi River of Nepal. Seismic records of the flood provide new insights into GLOF mechanics and their ability to mobilize large boulders that otherwise prevent channel erosion. Because of this boulder mobilization, GLOF impacts far exceed those of the annual summer monsoon, and GLOFs may dominate fluvial erosion and channel-hillslope coupling many tens of kilometers downstream of glaciated areas. Long-term valley evolution in these regions may therefore be driven by GLOF frequency and magnitude, rather than by precipitation.

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Reason Analysis of the Jiwenco Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) and Potential Hazard on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13163114 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 3114

Author(s):

Shijin Wang ◽

Yuande Yang ◽

Wenyu Gong ◽

Yanjun Che ◽

Xinggang Ma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Image Data ◽

Heavy Precipitation ◽

Glacial Lake ◽

Precipitation Process ◽

Potential Hazard ◽

Outburst Flood ◽

Outburst Floods ◽

Before And After ◽

Glacial Lake Outburst Flood

Glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is one of the major natural disasters in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). On 25 June 2020, the outburst of the Jiwenco Glacial Lake (JGL) in the upper reaches of Nidu river in Jiari County of the QTP reached the downstream Niwu Township on 26 June, causing damage to many bridges, roads, houses, and other infrastructure, and disrupting telecommunications for several days. Based on radar and optical image data, the evolution of the JGL before and after the outburst was analyzed. The results showed that the area and storage capacity of the JGL were 0.58 square kilometers and 0.071 cubic kilometers, respectively, before the outburst (29 May), and only 0.26 square kilometers and 0.017 cubic kilometers remained after the outburst (27 July). The outburst reservoir capacity was as high as 5.4 million cubic meters. The main cause of the JGL outburst was the heavy precipitation process before outburst and the ice/snow/landslides entering the lake was the direct inducement. The outburst flood/debris flow disaster also led to many sections of the river and buildings in Niwu Township at high risk. Therefore, it is urgent to pay more attention to glacial lake outburst floods and other low-probability disasters, and early real-time engineering measures should be taken to minimize their potential impacts.

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Simulation and Assessment of Future Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in the Poiqu River Basin, Central Himalayas

Water ◽

10.3390/w13101376 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 1376

Author(s):

Taigang Zhang ◽

Weicai Wang ◽

Tanguang Gao ◽

Baosheng An

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

Hazard Assessment ◽

Glacial Lake ◽

High Mountain ◽

Glacial Lakes ◽

Central Himalayas ◽

Outburst Floods ◽

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods ◽

Social And Economic Development ◽

Glacial Lake Outburst Flood

A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is a typical glacier-related hazard in high mountain regions. In recent decades, glacial lakes in the Himalayas have expanded rapidly due to climate warming and glacial retreat. Some of these lakes are unstable, and may suddenly burst under different triggering factors, thus draining large amounts of water and impacting downstream social and economic development. Glacial lakes in the Poiqu River basin, Central Himalayas, have attracted great attention since GLOFs originating there could have a transboundary impact on both China and Nepal, as occurred during the Cirenmaco GLOF in 1981 and the Gongbatongshaco GLOF in 2016. Based on previous studies of this basin, we selected seven very high-risk moraine-dammed lakes (Gangxico, Galongco, Jialongco, Cirenmaco, Taraco, Beihu, and Cawuqudenco) to simulate GLOF propagation at different drainage percentage scenarios (i.e., 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%), and to conduct hazard assessment. The results show that, when any glacial lake is drained completely or partly, most of the floods will enter Nepal after raging in China, and will continue to cause damage. In summary, 57.5 km of roads, 754 buildings, 3.3 km2 of farmland, and 25 bridges are at risk of damage due to GLOFs. The potentially inundated area within the Chinese part of the Poiqu River basin exceeds 45 km2. Due to the destructive impacts of GLOFs on downstream areas, appropriate and effective measures should be implemented to adapt to GLOF risk. We finally present a paradigm for conducting hazard assessment and risk management. It uses only freely available data and thus is easy to apply.

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