Glaciers in high mountains can dam lakes, some of which burst out suddenly, posing a hazard to human settlements downstream. To better understand long-term changes of these floods, Dr. Georg Veh and researchers at the University of Potsdam and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) have studied whether and to what extent the activity of these glacial lakes has changed in recent decades. In their study, published in the journal Nature, they show that outburst floods from ice-dammed lakes have become smaller worldwide since 1900, occur earlier in the year and originate from higher elevations.
Glaciers can accumulate water from precipitation and glacial melt at their margins, occasionally becoming unstable. ...
