MAIN CRITERIA DEFINING GLOF RISK ON THE TERRITORY OF ALMATY REGION, KAZAKHSTAN
Zapparov M.R. Kassenov M.K. Raimbekova Z. Auelkhan Y. Abishev B.
2021National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan
News of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Series of Geology and Technical Sciences
2021#6Issue 45077 - 84 pp.
The ongoing retreat of glaciers in the mountainous areas of the Almaty region due to climate change has far-reaching consequences for the formation and expansion of moraine-glacial lakes. Subsequent moraine lake outburst floods (GLOFs) pose a serious threat to life and livelihoods as they can cause catastrophic damage up to hundreds of kilometres downstream. Previous studies have reported the rapid dynamics of moraine lake formation and several notable destructive GLOF events in the Ile Alatau in the past. The results of the distribution regularities study indicate the need for a timely and updated assessment of GLOF susceptibility. In this paper, an updated inventory of high-mountain moraine lakes in the Ile, Kungey, Terskey Alatau and Saryzhaz Ridge was developed based on the data of the Sentinel-2 satellite for 2021 and applying aerial surveys. In addition, the vulnerability of moraine lakes (≥0.045 km2) is determined using a multi-criteria assessment. Moraine lakes are classified into low, medium, high and very high GLOF susceptibility. The result shows the existence of 333 moraine lakes (> 0.001 km2) with a total area of 3.5± 0.8 km2 over the study area in 2021. In addition, out of 64 dangerous moraine lakes (≥0.045 km2) assessed, 15 were identified with very high GLOF susceptibility. We emphasize that a pronounced glacier-lake interaction is likely to increase susceptibility to GLOF. Regular monitoring and more detailed field acquisition is required for these highly outburst moraine lakes. This will contribute to early warning and disaster risk reduction in downstream communities.
GLOF criteria , Lake Inventory , Moraine Lake , mudflow risk
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Department of Hydrogeology, Engineering and Oil and Gas Geology, Satbayev University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
State Agency “KazMudflowProtection”, Ministry of emergency situations, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Department of meteorology and hydrology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Department of Hydrogeology, Engineering and Oil and Gas Geology, Satbayev University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Department of Emergency Situation Prevention, State Agency “KazMudflowProtection”, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Department of Hydrogeology
State Agency “KazMudflowProtection”
Department of meteorology and hydrology
Department of Hydrogeology
Department of Emergency Situation Prevention
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
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