Glacier generated floods
Destructive floods result from drainage of glacier-dammed lakes and sudden release of water stored within glaciers. There is a good basis - both empirical and theoretical - for predicting the magnitude of floods from ice-dammed lakes, although some aspects of flood initiation need to be better understood. In contrast, an understanding of floods resulting from release of internally stored water remains elusive, owing to lack of knowledge of how and where water is stored and to inadequate understanding of the complex physics of the temporally and spatially variable subglacial drainage system.Destructive floods result from drainage of glacier-dammed lakes and sudden release of water stored within glaciers. There is a good basis - both empirical and theoretical - for predicting the magnitude of floods from ice-dammed lakes, although some aspects of flood initiation need to be better understood. In contrast, an understanding of floods resulting from release of internally stored water remains elusive, owing to lack of knowledge of how and where water is stored and to inadequate understanding of the complex physics of the temporally and spatially variable subglacial drainage system.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 1997 |
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Title | Glacier generated floods |
Authors | J. S. Walder, A. G. Fountain |
Publication Type | Article |
Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Series Title | Destructive water: water-caused natural disasters, their abatement and control. Proc. international conference, California, 1996 |
Index ID | 70019284 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |