Articles | Volume 16, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1333-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1333-2022
Brief communication
 | 
12 Apr 2022
Brief communication |  | 12 Apr 2022

Brief communication: An approximately 50 Mm3 ice-rock avalanche on 22 March 2021 in the Sedongpu valley, southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Chuanxi Zhao, Wei Yang, Matthew Westoby, Baosheng An, Guangjian Wu, Weicai Wang, Zhongyan Wang, Yongjie Wang, and Stuart Dunning

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Cited articles

An, B., Wang, W., Yang, W., Wu, G., Guo, Y., Zhu, H., Gao, Y., Bai, L., Zhang, F., and Zeng, C.: Process, mechanisms, and early warning of glacier collapse-induced river blocking disasters in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, Sci. Total Environ., 816, 151652, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151652, 2021 
Bolch, T., Shea, J. M., Liu, S., Azam, F. M., Gao, Y., Gruber, S., Immerzeel, W. W., Kulkarni, A., Li, H., and Tahir, A. A.: Status and change of the cryosphere in the extended Hindu Kush Himalaya region, in: The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment, Springer International Publishing, Cham, Germany, 209–255, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_7, 2019. 
Chen, C., Zhang, L., Xiao, T., and He, J.: Barrier lake bursting and flood routing in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in October 2018, J. Hydrol., 583, 124603, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.124603, 2020. 
China Meteorological Data Service Centre (CMDSC): https://data.cma.cn/, last access: 20 May 2021. 
Ekström, G. and Stark, C. P.: Simple scaling of catastrphic landslide dynamics, Science, 339, 1416–1419, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1232887, 2013. 
Short summary
On 22 March 2021, a ~ 50 Mm 3 ice-rock avalanche occurred from 6500 m a.s.l. in the Sedongpu basin, southeastern Tibet. It caused temporary blockage of the Yarlung Tsangpo river, a major tributary of the Brahmaputra. We utilize field investigations, high-resolution satellite imagery, seismic records, and meteorological data to analyse the evolution of the 2021 event and its impact, discuss potential drivers, and briefly reflect on implications for the sustainable development of the region.