Articles | Volume 19, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1085-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1085-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Larger lake outbursts despite glacier thinning at ice-dammed Desolation Lake, Alaska
Natalie Lützow
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam, Potsdam-Golm, 14476, Germany
Bretwood Higman
Ground Truth Alaska, Seldovia, AK, USA
Martin Truffer
Geophysical Institute and Department of Physics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Bodo Bookhagen
Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
Friedrich Knuth
University of Washington, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seattle, WA, USA
Oliver Korup
Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam, Potsdam-Golm, 14476, Germany
Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
Katie E. Hughes
Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, Aotearoa / New Zealand
Marten Geertsema
Ministry of Forests, Prince George, BC, Canada
John J. Clague
Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
Georg Veh
Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam, Potsdam-Golm, 14476, Germany
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Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2983–3000, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2983-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2983-2023, 2023
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Glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a prominent natural hazard, and climate change may change their magnitude, frequency, and impacts. A global, literature-based GLOF inventory is introduced, entailing 3151 reported GLOFs. The reporting density varies temporally and regionally, with most cases occurring in NW North America. Since 1900, the number of yearly documented GLOFs has increased 6-fold. However, many GLOFs have incomplete records, and we call for a systematic reporting protocol.
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Miaomiao Qi, Shiyin Liu, Zhifang Zhao, Yongpeng Gao, Fuming Xie, Georg Veh, Letian Xiao, Jinlong Jing, Yu Zhu, and Kunpeng Wu
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The Cryosphere, 18, 5451–5464, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5451-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5451-2024, 2024
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Water in some glacier environments contains salt, which increases its density and lowers its freezing point, allowing saline water to exist where freshwater cannot. Previous subglacial hydrology models do not consider saline fluid. We model the flow of saline fluid from a subglacial lake through a circular channel at the glacier bed, finding that higher salinities lead to less melting at the channel walls and lower discharge rates. We also observe the impact of increased fluid density on flow.
Ariane Mueting and Bodo Bookhagen
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Naomi E. Ochwat, Ted A. Scambos, Alison F. Banwell, Robert S. Anderson, Michelle L. Maclennan, Ghislain Picard, Julia A. Shates, Sebastian Marinsek, Liliana Margonari, Martin Truffer, and Erin C. Pettit
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On the Antarctic Peninsula, there is a small bay that had sea ice fastened to the shoreline (
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Monika Pfau, Georg Veh, and Wolfgang Schwanghart
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Glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a prominent natural hazard, and climate change may change their magnitude, frequency, and impacts. A global, literature-based GLOF inventory is introduced, entailing 3151 reported GLOFs. The reporting density varies temporally and regionally, with most cases occurring in NW North America. Since 1900, the number of yearly documented GLOFs has increased 6-fold. However, many GLOFs have incomplete records, and we call for a systematic reporting protocol.
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Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) have attracted increased research attention recently. In this work, we review GLOF research papers published between 2017 and 2021 and complement the analysis with research community insights gained from the 2021 GLOF conference we organized. The transdisciplinary character of the conference together with broad geographical coverage allowed us to identify progress, trends and challenges in GLOF research and outline future research needs and directions.
Christian T. Wild, Karen E. Alley, Atsuhiro Muto, Martin Truffer, Ted A. Scambos, and Erin C. Pettit
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Thwaites Glacier has the potential to significantly raise Antarctica's contribution to global sea-level rise by the end of this century. Here, we use satellite measurements of surface elevation to show that its floating part is close to losing contact with an underwater ridge that currently acts to stabilize. We then use computer models of ice flow to simulate the predicted unpinning, which show that accelerated ice discharge into the ocean follows the breakup of the floating part.
Andy Aschwanden, Timothy C. Bartholomaus, Douglas J. Brinkerhoff, and Martin Truffer
The Cryosphere, 15, 5705–5715, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5705-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5705-2021, 2021
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Estimating how much ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica will contribute to sea level rise is of critical societal importance. However, our analysis shows that recent efforts are not trustworthy because the models fail at reproducing contemporary ice melt. Here we present a roadmap towards making more credible estimates of ice sheet melt.
Karen E. Alley, Christian T. Wild, Adrian Luckman, Ted A. Scambos, Martin Truffer, Erin C. Pettit, Atsuhiro Muto, Bruce Wallin, Marin Klinger, Tyler Sutterley, Sarah F. Child, Cyrus Hulen, Jan T. M. Lenaerts, Michelle Maclennan, Eric Keenan, and Devon Dunmire
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We present a 20-year, satellite-based record of velocity and thickness change on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf (TEIS), the largest remaining floating extension of Thwaites Glacier (TG). TG holds the single greatest control on sea-level rise over the next few centuries, so it is important to understand changes on the TEIS, which controls much of TG's flow into the ocean. Our results suggest that the TEIS is progressively destabilizing and is likely to disintegrate over the next few decades.
Melanie Fischer, Oliver Korup, Georg Veh, and Ariane Walz
The Cryosphere, 15, 4145–4163, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4145-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4145-2021, 2021
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Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in the greater Himalayan region threaten local communities and infrastructure. We assess this hazard objectively using fully data-driven models. We find that lake and catchment area, as well as regional glacier-mass balance, credibly raised the susceptibility of a glacial lake in our study area to produce a sudden outburst. However, our models hardly support the widely held notion that rapid lake growth increases GLOF susceptibility.
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Short summary
As the atmosphere warms, thinning glacier dams impound smaller lakes at their margins. Yet, some lakes deviate from this trend and have instead grown over time, increasing the risk of glacier floods to downstream populations and infrastructure. In this article, we examine the mechanisms behind the growth of an ice-dammed lake in Alaska. We find that the growth in size and outburst volumes is more controlled by glacier front downwaste than by overall mass loss over the entire glacier surface.
As the atmosphere warms, thinning glacier dams impound smaller lakes at their margins. Yet, some...