A glacier lake outburst flood brought disaster to Juneau, the capital of Alaska. The flooding damaged a number of buildings and wore down the bank so quickly that lots of people had actually to be left. The city provided a state of emergency in action to the disaster. But whats maybe much more sensational is that up until just recently, this phenomenon was believed to be very not likely in the location.
Yep, its climate change
While the process itself is not unexpected, the scale of it is sensational.
This event has been ravaging for the local community, but according to an earlier study from this year, over 15 million people are under danger because of this kind of glacial melt. With Hawaii burning and glacial floods in Alaska, its a shocking reminder that climate change isnt a problem for the future. Its affecting everybody now.
As is constantly the case, its tough to pin environment modification to individual occasions. As scientists so frequently point out, this is exactly the type of occasion you expect to see with climate modification.
As the glacier melts, water collects in a lake grimly called Suicide Basin. Before environment change started to speed up, the glacier was regularly trapping water in the basin, acting as a dam.
When a glacial dam outburst happens, it can result in a devastating flood downstream. This sudden release of water often brings with it big amounts of sediment, rock, and other debris, creating a damaging and powerful force that can ravage landscapes, facilities, and neighborhoods in its course. This phenomenon, in some cases also described by the Icelandic word jökulhlaup, is made more typical by environment heating.
A glacier lake outburst flood brought catastrophe to Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Ironically, Mendenhall Glacier, located about 13 miles from Juneau, is one of the citys most popular attractions. Overall, the Mendenhall Glacier has retreated approximately 2.5 miles considering that its most recent maximum throughout the Little Ice Age in the mid-1700s.
“We didnt even think that this was possible,” Aaron Jacobs, a senior service hydrologist for the National Weather Service, tells ABC News Julia Jacobo.
Glacial lakes form when glaciers melt, and the water is typically included by ice or a terminal moraine (a natural dam made from unconsolidated rock and debris deposited by a glacier). In time, the lake will fill with water and if the ice or moraine damming the lake is unsteady or weak, it can unexpectedly fail, launching a big volume of water.
Paradoxically, Mendenhall Glacier, situated about 13 miles from Juneau, is one of the citys most popular attractions. The breathtaking, 3,000-year-old mass has been progressively pulling back due to the fact that of climate change. Overall, the Mendenhall Glacier has actually pulled back roughly 2.5 miles given that its newest optimum throughout the Little Ice Age in the mid-1700s.
Before it declines entirely it can do things like this.
This is from the Mendenhall River Floods in Alaska.This happened over a span of six hours. Can you envision enjoying that happen to your home knowing theres absolutely nothing that can save it? pic.twitter.com/VGxXMFlWqI— Ryan Shead (@RyanShead) August 6, 2023
In a joint post for the Juneau Empire, geologist Cathy Connor and Geophysicist Roman Motyka, both professors of the University of Alaska stated “weather warming paired with ice loss through iceberg calving are the factors the Mendenhall Glacier is shrinking and pulling away.”
” This is uncharted territory,” Jacobs tells the Juneau Empires Clarise Larson and Mark Sabbatini. “Weve never had it this high before.”
The flooding was brought on by a glacial dam outburst.
As the glacier melts, water collects in a lake grimly called Suicide Basin. Before environment modification started to speed up, the glacier was consistently trapping water in the basin, acting as a dam. Given that 2011, this basin has actually had routine surges of water called glacial lake outburst floods. This time the dam had a significant break, sending water rising towards the city.