Glacier lakes are a growing potential hazard in the Himalayas and in other mountainous regions. Glaciers have always been a major cause of the formation of lakes but the issue with these newly forming bodies of water is they are being created at high altitudes. Due to the warming of the earth’s climate in recent years, the glaciers that have been residing upon mountain peaks have started to melt and break apart at an alarming rate. The runoff collects in pools which eventually form lake sized bodies of water at the top of mountains. These lakes have not caused any major damage just yet because they are still comfortably contained by their natural dams. As the morphology of the land continues to change over the next few years, either with more melting or other natural events, the lakes could drastically increase their chances of breeching their walls and flowing into the towns at the summit of these mountains.
Lake Imja, at 5,100 meters above the ground, is one such lake and it is the fastest growing glacier lake in Nepal. The local residents know of the growing lake, and were quick to notice its formation when it began only 3 years ago. Scientists have been coming in from around the world to view and do research on this alarming phenomenon but the local residents are rarely asked to be of help and published reports are usually conflicting. They are living in fear and confusion but remain in their community that lays in the path of this potential disaster.
If the waters ever overcome the moraine the lake currently resides in, the flow of water could spread mud and rock up to 100 kilometers and leave houses and fields with a layer of debris as thick as 15 meters. This would be devastating for the town of Dingbosche that sits at the summit and many towns like it.
Recently scientists have been utilizing the local community and their knowledge of the land and water to help with their research. These researchers have been using engineering technologies to study the rate at which this lake is growing and are attempting to predict in what ways the landscape with change over the next few years in an attempt to hypothesize when this hazard will become a full blown disaster.
With this information the local people will hopefully begin to be correctly informed on the glacier lake's changing morphology. If within the next few years the lake rises and/or the landscape containing the lake changes drastically they will have to decide what to do, and how to cater their lives to this ever growing hazard.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/10/glacier-lakes-melt-himalayas
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