Posted on 02/07/2023 8:25:51 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Glaciers around the world are melting at an alarming rate, and are leaving massive pools of water in their wake. The meltwater fills the depression left behind by the glacier, forming what's known as a glacial lake.
As temperatures get warmer and more pieces of the glacier melt away, the lake rises — and living downstream from one could be incredibly dangerous. If the lake rises too high or the surrounding land or ice gives way, the lake could burst, sending water and debris rushing down mountains.
This phenomenon is called a glacial lake outburst, and according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, the roughly 15 million people around the globe that live within 30 miles of a glacial lake are at risk. More than half of them are concentrated in just four countries — India, Pakistan, Peru and China.
It's the first study that looks specifically at the potential impact of glacial lake outbursts, which experts say cannot be overstated.
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"These glacial dams are no different to constructed dams," Robinson told CNN. "If you take the Hoover Dam, for instance, you've got a massive lake behind it, but if you suddenly remove the Hoover Dam, that water has to go somewhere, and it's going to come cascading down a valley in massive flood waves."
These floods happen with little to no warning. Previous glacial lake outbursts have killed thousands of people and destroyed property and critical infrastructure. The Cordillera Blanca in Peru is one hot spot for this dangerous phenomenon. Since 1941, the mountain range has experienced more than 30 glacier disasters from avalanches to glacial lake outbursts that have claimed more than 15,000 lives, researchers found.
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(Excerpt) Read more at channel3000.com ...
Sam was my first thought.
Only the Vax (and ALL the boosters) can save them.
I’d like to see another grand canyon.
Pretty much what scoured out the. Columbia River basin. Took much of what is now the scablands in eastern Washington and moved it down the Columbia River, into the ocean and the Willamette River drainage. That was from the Ice Age ice sheet, though.
We need to take this super cereal. This kind of devastation was documented by the destruction of the town of Beaverton in the documentary “two days before the day after tomorrow”
Also, just thinking about glaciers can cause Myocarditis.
More gloom and doom from the terribly aware crowd.
It's a big killer as a liquid, solid or gas.
How’s the fishing?
Fear porn is the new order. Women. And wussy men.
I remember one hunting season when I got soaked with that stuff. Uncontrollable shivers. I’m with you...ban it!
Surf’s up.
Signal Word is Caution.
Hazardous stuff.
Oh this is a great tingling feeling in the leg of Bill Gates.
Coldest ever in the USA, -108 F Wind chill on Mt Washington last Friday. Any mention of that in the article? In 300 years we will all be dead!
FAKE NEWS!
What’s a million Chinese?
The geologic history of my scout camp (Wolfeboro — Stanislaus River CA) is just such an event. The glaciers were from the ice age and they retreated making a lake and then the dam broke and the lake became a sand flat and later a logepole pine forest and finally a tall pine forest and an ideal Scout summer camp. I loved that experience and part of the camp nature was to educate us as to this history. Good for the Scouts BSA.
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