Articles | Volume 15, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2983-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2983-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Data description article
| 
12 Jul 2023
Data description article |
| 12 Jul 2023
| 12 Jul 2023
A global database of historic glacier lake outburst floods
Natalie Lützow
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of
Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
Georg Veh
Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of
Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
Oliver Korup
Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of
Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
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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.
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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
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.
Glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a prominent natural hazard, and climate change may...
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