Brief communication: Observations of a glacier outburst flood from Lhotse Glacier, Everest area, Nepal

Abstract. Glacier outburst floods with origins from Lhotse Glacier, located in the Everest region of Nepal, occurred on 25 May 2015 and 12 June 2016. The most recent event was witnessed by investigators, which provided unique insights into the magnitude, source, and triggering mechanism of the flood. The field assessment and satellite imagery analysis following the event revealed that most of the flood water was stored englacially and that the flood was likely triggered by dam failure. The flood's peak discharge was estimated to be 210 m3 s−1.

[1]  Evan S. Miles,et al.  Spatial, seasonal and interannual variability of supraglacial ponds in the Langtang Valley of Nepal, 1999–2013 , 2017 .

[2]  Fiona S. Tweed,et al.  A global assessment of the societal impacts of glacier outburst floods , 2016 .

[3]  C. Scott Watson,et al.  The dynamics of supraglacial ponds in the Everest region, central Himalaya , 2016 .

[4]  Duncan J. Quincey,et al.  Estimating the volume of Alpine glacial lakes , 2015 .

[5]  Tobias Bolch,et al.  Response of debris-covered glaciers in the Mount Everest region to recent warming, and implications for outburst flood hazards , 2012 .

[6]  T. Bolch,et al.  Multi-decadal mass loss of glaciers in the Everest area (Nepal Himalaya) derived from stereo imagery , 2011 .

[7]  D. Quincey,et al.  Glacier outburst floods from Ghulkin Glacier, upper Hunza Valley, Pakistan , 2009 .

[8]  D. Benn,et al.  Mechanisms of englacial conduit formation and their implications for subglacial recharge , 2009 .

[9]  Adrian Luckman,et al.  Early recognition of glacial lake hazards in the Himalaya using remote sensing datasets , 2007 .

[10]  John M. Reynolds,et al.  An overview of glacial hazards in the Himalayas , 2000 .

[11]  Andrew G. Fountain,et al.  Water flow through temperate glaciers , 1998 .

[12]  Markus N. Zimmermann,et al.  The 1985 catastrophic drainage of a moraine-dammed lake, Khumbu Himal, Nepal: cause and consequences , 1987 .

[13]  U. Horodyskyj Contributing Factors to Ice Mass Loss on Himalayan Debris-Covered Glaciers , 2015 .

[14]  A. Luckman,et al.  A cut-and-closure origin for englacial conduits in uncrevassed regions of polythermal glaciers , 2009, Journal of Glaciology.

[15]  Adrian Luckman,et al.  Englacial drainage systems formed by hydrologically driven crevasse propagation , 2009 .

[16]  D. Benn,et al.  Structural control of englacial drainage systems in Himalayan debris-covered glaciers , 2007 .

[17]  S. E. Rantz,et al.  Measurement and computation of streamflow: Volume 1, Measurement of stage and discharge , 1982 .