Answered: 5. Collaborate to find out what…

Applications and Investigations in Earth Science (9th Edition)

9th Edition

ISBN:9780134746241

Author:Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Dennis G. Tasa

Publisher:Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Dennis G. Tasa

Chapter1: The Study Of Minerals

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 1LR

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Question

5. Collaborate to find out what measures have been
met in Nepal and in Switzerland to reduce the dangers
posed by glacial lake outbursts (M 11 and M 12).

Transcribed Image Text:М 11 How did people react in Switzerland? In reaction to these catastrophic events, flood preven- tion was introduced in Switzerland. The measures proved large volumes of water could collect again. “Such a po- to be successful during a period of glacier growth in the 1970s and early 1980s. New problems, however, devel- oped when glacier thinning started to accelerate again. cause its complete disappearance. As a consequence, tentially hazardous development would be without his- torical precedent but could be identified at an early stage with the help of an adequate observation system," says Haeberli. For instance, at this stage the glacial lake at the Triftgletscher is controlled by cameras, sending their im- ages day and night to a monitoring station in Zurich. Since 2010, the maximum height of the Grindelwald glacier can be regulated because a two kilometre long sloping tunnel was installed to drain the excess water. Preventive measures had to be applied anew to avoid the development of dangerous situations. A hazard miti- gation scheme was developed with the authorities, the Community of Saas Balen, the Canton of Valais and the Swiss Confederation. "Finally, we had to drain one of the lakes completely as it became increasingly dangerous", remembers Andreas Kääb, specialist in the observation of glacial hazards and chair of the International Working Group on Glacier and Permafrost Hazards in Mountains. "The lake was a real beauty. Its disappearance left our research team with mixed feelings of relief and regret". At the moment, there is no immediate risk from the remain- ing lakes for the communities situated downstream. The levels of the lakes were lowered by channels, ditches and even gates that can be regulated. A continued or even ac- celerated warming, however, could thin the tongue of the Gruben glacier beyond available experience or could even "All in all, the damaging events at the Gruben glacier in- curred costs of around 20 million Swiss francs. However, the costs for monitoring, field investigations, etc. would be less than 10% of the damage sum." To forecast when and how a GLOF event will take place is difficult and needs detailed and multi-disciplinary investigations of the to- tal environment of the lakes and associated factors in the surroundings as a whole. The Swiss living in one of the world's most intensively studied mountainous region have sufficient organisational and financial options avail- able for potential further measures. (Source: Horstmann, B. (2004): Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in Nepal and Switzerland. New Threats due to Climate Change. Germanwatch, Bonn, p.7f., altered, supplemented.) М 12 How did people react in Nepal? An early warning system was already installed at Tsho Rolpa Lake in 1998 in order to warn the population when critical levels are reached. However, this warning system which restricted research expeditions by foreign experts for a long time. The result is that there are several gaps in the measurement data for Nepal. And the glaciers in the mountainous regions of Southern Asia are also very underrepresented in global statistics. no longer works because of a failure to carry out mainte- nance work and because of the theft of important techni- cal components. And even when it was working, most people did not pay any attention to warnings, as there were a great number of false alarms. The installation and maintenance of modern satellite and radio-supported early warning systems would be highly expensive. The World Bank already provided US$ 1 million to install the now defective system. The government of the Netherlands has also co-financed projects in Nepal, for example, to create an open canal that led Tsho Rolpa Lake to sink by 3 m which, however, is not nearly enough according to Progress in mapping the dangers has happened, however, as modern remote studies from outside using satellites can also be carried out for Nepal. Hazard maps initiat- ed by the government are limited almost completely to Kathmandu Valley, which is economically important and densely populated. In addition, hardly any data exists for glacial lakes that are particularly dangerous because they are concealed or not visible to the eye. Local organisations have introduced several measures in close cooperation with NGOS in order to reduce the dangers. However, technical equipment at the moraine dam cannot completely rule out the risk of a glacial lake outburst flood, but only reduce it. The population also estimates. The lack of links to the infrastructure and the difficult geological profile pose a considerable problem for gla- ciological studies. What is more, from 1815 to 1945, Nepal was subject to an entry ban for travellers from outside, does not consider the technical measures to be sufficient- ly effective. Furthermore, people are of the opinion that

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