Glacial Debris Flow Blockage Event (2018) in the Sedongpu Basin of the Yarlung Zangbo River, China: Occurrence Factors and Its Implications

Baojuan Huai, Minghu Ding, Songtao Ai, Weijun Sun, Yetang Wang and Jiajia Gao
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Baojuan Huai: College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China
Minghu Ding: State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Songtao Ai: Chinese Antarctic Centre of surveying and Mapping, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
Weijun Sun: College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China
Yetang Wang: College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China
Jiajia Gao: Tibet Institute of Plateau Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Lhasa 850000, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: In this paper, the glacial debris flow blockage event, on 17 October 2018, in the Sedongpu basin of the Yarlung Zangbo River is taken as an example to analyse the occurrence and development of glacier hazards in this region. Multi-sources including remote sensing products, DEM, earthquake records and meteorological data were used to analyse the characteristics and mechanism of glacier hazards. The Elmer/Ice dynamic model was chosen to simulate the glacial surface velocity. It was found that topography and climate background determine that the hazard happens periodically. Based on the meteorological records of the Linzhi station, the warming rate was greater than 0.40 °C/10a during the period 1960–2017. The short-term heavy rainfall with daily values of 9.3 mm before the blockage event was also regarded as a factor. Both heavy rain and earthquake were triggering factors of the ice avalanche that led to the glacial debris flow. The glacier surface velocity of the Dongpu glacier simulated by Elmer/Ice model can reach 19 cm/d. This study has extensive applicability significance in glacier hazard mitigation under a changing climate.

Keywords: glacier hazards; ice avalanches; river blockage; climate change; Sedongpu basin; Yarlung Zangbo River (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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