[MCN] Glacial Lake Missoula deja vu, at smaller scale, in the Andes

[Lance Olsen]

NASA Earth Observatory  December 23, 2016

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=89298&src=eoa-iotd

EXCERPT

"Glacial lakes are basically big water storage tanks," said Simon 
Cook, lead author of the study and a glaciologist at Manchester 
Metropolitan University. If these high-mountain water towers 
collapse, all their contents could come tumbling down, dislodging 
boulders and causing rivers to break their banks. Like an avalanche, 
a glacial flood can scour a valley bottom and wash away entire 
villages.

While the immediate damage would be devastating, the long-term impact 
is also worrisome, Cook said. In the dry season, glaciers provide as 
much as 30 percent of water to La Paz, Bolivia. In late 2016, 
officials instituted permanent water rations due to a severe drought. 
According to Al Jazeera, water taps in La Paz sometimes go dry for 60 
hours at a time. The disappearance of high-mountain, glacial water 
sources could deal an additional blow to the city's residents, Cook 
said.

As climate change brings longer wet and dry spells, the stability of 
mountain glaciers and their lakes becomes more important. If 
widespread glacier loss occurs in the Andes, La Paz and cities like 
it would have to look to other water sources to meet their needs, 
"instead of drip-feeding populations downstream with water during the 
dry season." said Cook.

References and Related Reading

Al Jazeera (2016, November 20) Water rationing introduced as Bolivia 
drought worsens.

Cook, S. J. et al. (2016, October 20) Glacier change and glacial lake 
outburst flood risk in the Bolivian Andes . Cryosphere. 10 (5194), 
2399-2413.

NASA Earth Observatory (2015, July 27) Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Near Almaty.

NASA Earth Observatory (2011, March 11) Glacial Lakes of Patagonia.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=89298&src=eoa-iotd
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