Glacier Retreat in Eastern Himalaya Drives Catastrophic Glacier Hazard Chain

作者：Yao Li, Yifei Cui, Xie Hu, Zhong Lu, Jian Guo, Yu Wang, Hao Wang, Shuofan Wang, Xinzhi Zhou · 发表于：Geophysical Research Letters · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1029/2024gl108202 · 被引用次数：73 · 研究领域：Cryospheric studies and observations、Winter Sports Injuries and Performance、Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics

Abstract Cryospheric responses to climate warming include glacier retreat, altitude‐dependent thermal instability, and abundant meltwater, which increase the frequency of catastrophic glacier hazard chain (CGHC) events. Here we investigated the formation mechanism of a special CGHC event in 2018, in the Sedongpu Glacier, Eastern Himalayas, China. Based on the multi‐source remote sensing, seismic signal analysis, and numerical simulation, we conducted long‐term retrospective analysis and co‐event process reconstruction. The results show that the event could be divided into two phases. First, the hanging glacier with a volume of 8.5 × 10 6 m 3 collapsed onto the downstream trunk glacier. Next, ∼1.17 × 10 8 m 3 eroded materials from the impacted glacier transformed into debris flow and traveled downstream 8 km. During the cascading process, ice‐rock avalanche momentum and glacier velocity are key factors in determining CGHC formation and eventual volume. Our study helps better understand the domino effects of the CGHC disaster.