Adam Emmer

Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz | KFU Graz · Cascade | The mountain processes and mountain hazards group, Institute of Geography and Regional Science

Research on glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) – specific low-frequency, high-magnitude floods originating in glacial lakes, including jökulhlaups – is well justified in the context of glacier ice loss and glacial lake evolution in glacierized areas all over the world. Increasing GLOF research activities, which are documented by the increasing nu...

Mountains are the water towers of the world, supplying a substantial part of both natural and anthropogenic water demands1,2. They are highly sensitive and prone to climate change3,4, yet their importance and vulnerability have not been quantified at the global scale. Here, we present a global Water Tower Index, which ranks all water towers in term...

Climate change, glacier retreat and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are intertwined. The Cordillera Blanca in Peru has one of the world's longest GLOF records and here we assess the evolution of glacial lakes in the region between 1948 and 2017 and investigate the links to documented GLOFs. We also model future lake evolution under two climate...

On 7 Feb 2021, a catastrophic mass flow descended the Ronti Gad, Rishiganga, and Dhauliganga valleys in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India, causing widespread devastation and severely damaging two hydropower projects. Over 200 people were killed or are missing. Our analysis of satellite imagery, seismic records, numerical model results, and eyewitness vid...

Assessing the extent to which glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are increasing in frequency in modern times and whether their incidence is driven by anthropogenic climate change requires historical context. However, progress on this issue is hampered by incomplete GLOF inventories, especially in remote mountain regions. Here, we exploit high-res...

Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are among the most concerning consequences of retreating glaciers in mountain ranges worldwide. GLOFs have attracted significant attention amongst scientists and practitioners in the past few decades, with particular interests in the physical drivers and mechanisms of GLOF hazard, and socioeconomic and other hum...

Mountain regions of the world face unprecedented climate-induced changes and associated sustainable development challenges. Retreating glaciers, degrading permafrost and rapid mass movements on the one hand and glacier-related disasters, on the other hand, are the sentinels of these phenomena. In this study, we focus our attention on the Makalu Bar...

Mountains of the world are fragile eco-and geo-systems that currently face rapid and unprecedented changes associated with global climate change, as well as the expansion of (and exploitation by) societies (Huss et al., 2017; Immerzeel et al., 2020). The retreat and thinning of glaciers, formation of glacial lakes, degradation of mountain permafros...

In this study, we examine glacier retreat and associated processes in the Lejiamayu valley, central Cordillera Blanca, Peru (9.27 • S; 77.48 • W) since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Based on detailed mapping of well-preserved moraines, we reconstruct glacier extent during the LGM, the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR) and the Little Ice Age (LIA), be...

We analyze and reconstruct a recent glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) process chain on 26 June 2020, involving the moraine-dammed proglacial lake – Jinwuco (30.356∘ N, 93.631∘ E) in eastern Nyainqentanglha, Tibet, China. Satellite images reveal that from 1965 to 2020, the surface area of Jinwuco has expanded by 0.2 km2 (+56 %) to 0.56 km2 and subs...

Glacier recession in response to climate warming has resulted in an increase in the size and number of glacial lakes. Glacial lakes are an important focus for research as they impact water resources, glacier mass balance, and some produce catastrophic glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Glaciers in Peru have retreated and thinned in recent decade...

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) are amongst the most common and high-magnitude natural hydrological disasters in high-mountain regions that have resulted in severe casualties and socioeconomic losses over the last century. Here, we integrate various data and methods to analyse and reconstruct the GLOF process chain involving the moraine-dammed...

Sudden release of water retained in a glacial lake can produce a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), which is among the most effective geomorphic agents in mountain regions during the time of glacier ice loss. Extreme GLOFs imprint in relief with specific landforms (e.g. failed moraine dams, outwash fans) which can be used to document their occurre...

The Teesta basin in Sikkim Himalaya hosts numerous glacial lakes in the high altitude glacierized region, including one of the largest and the fastest-growing South Lhonak Lake. While these lakes are mainly located in remote and unsettled mountain valleys, far-reaching glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) may claim lives and damage assets up to ten...

Extensive road construction works were recently undertaken in the remote eastern part of the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca, aiming at better connecting isolated mountain communities with regional administrative centres. In the Río Lucma catchment, approximately 47 km of roads were constructed between 2015 and 2018, triggering several landslides that a...

Climate change is resulting in mass loss and the retreat of glaciers in the Andes, exposing steep valley sides, over-deepened valley bottoms, and creating glacial lakes behind moraine dams. Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) present the biggest risk posed by glacier recession in Peru. Understanding the characteristics of lakes that have failed in...

Glacial lakes represent a threat for the populations of the Andes and numerous disastrous glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) occurred as a result of sudden dam failures or dam overtoppings triggered by landslides such as rock/ice avalanches into the lake. This paper investigates a landslide-triggered GLOF process chain that occurred on February 2...

Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) represent one of the most serious hazard and risk in deglaciating high mountain regions worldwide and the need for GLOF hazard and risk assessment is apparent. As a consequence, numerous region- and nation-wide GLOF assessment studies have been published recently. These studies cover large areas and consider hun...

We analyze and reconstruct a recent Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) process chain on 26 June 2020, involving the moraine-dammed proglacial lake Jinwuco (30.356°N, 93.631°E) in eastern Nyainqentanglha, Tibet, China. Satellite images reveal that from 1965 to 2020, the surface area of Jinwuco has expanded by 0.2 km2 (+56%) to 0.56 km2, and subseque...

Climate change adaptation planning is of high urgency in cities due to expected climate change impacts. Ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation (EbAs) are considered highly efficient in enhancing sustainable resilience of cities; however, incorporation of EbA measures into the decision-making process has not been fully achieved at the individual c...

Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are sudden pulses of meltwater and sediment from lakes dammed by moraines, glacier ice, or located in bedrock overdeepenings. GLOFs had some of the highest flood volumes, discharges, sediment transport rates, and runouts from freshwater floods in Earth's history. GLOFs can cause substantial erosion, aggradation,...

The aim of this paper is to create a glacial lake inventory for the Cordillera Huayhuash in Peru and to evaluate the susceptibility of lakes to the generation of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Using high-resolution satellite images, we undertook qualitative and quantitative analysis of lake type, characteristics and distribution, and placed...

Evidence of observed negative impacts on natural and human systems from anthropogenic climate change is increasing. However, human systems in particular are dynamic and influenced by multiple drivers and hence identifying an anthropogenic climate signal is challenging. Here we analyze the case of lake Palcacocha in the Andes of Peru, which offers a...

The Kinzl Glacier is a unique dendritic-type glacier of the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca and is surrounded by well-developed Little Ice Age (LIA) moraines. Based on field observations and analysis of historical photographs (since 1932) and remotely sensed images (since 1948), we interpret distinct mechanisms of landslides in these moraines and link t...

The Little Ice Age (LIA) occurred between CE 1250 and 1850 and is considered a period of moderate cold conditions, especially recorded in the northern hemisphere. Numerous recent studies provide robust evidence of glacier advances worldwide during the LIA and a dramatic retreat since then. These studies combined investigation of moraine records, pa...

Abstract. Evidence of observed negative impacts on natural and human systems from anthropogenic climate change is increasing. However, human systems in particular are dynamic and influenced by multiple drivers, and hence identifying an anthropogenic climate signal is challenging. Here we analyze the case of lake Palcacocha in the Andes of Peru whi...

Climate change has led to the formation of numerous high-altitude lakes of glacial origin in the Himalaya. Safed Lake is one of the largest glacial lakes, located at an elevation 4882 m a.s.l. in the state of Uttarakhand, central Himalaya, India. A temporal analysis of the lake surface using satellite imagery shows that the lake has grown more than...

The Cordillera Blanca in Peru has been the scene of rapid deglaciation for many decades. One of numerous lakes formed in the front of the retreating glaciers is the moraine-dammed Lake Palcacocha, which drained suddenly due to an unknown cause in 1941. The resulting Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) led to dam failure and complete drainage of Lake...

Abstract Geoenvironmental Disasters - an open access journal of the International Consortium on Geo-disaster Reduction (ICGdR) - is being published since 2014. This contribution aims at characterising 115 papers published in the first five volumes of the journal (2014–2018) and outlining some future perspectives. It is shown what research topics (t...

The Cordillera Blanca in Perú has been the scene of rapid deglaciation for many decades. One of numerous lakes formed in the front of the retreating glaciers is the moraine-dammed Lake Palcacocha, which drained suddenly due to an unknown cause in 1941. The resulting Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) led to dam failure and complete drainage of Lake...

The most heavily glacierized tropical range in the world — the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca — has been losing ice since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA). In this study, the decline of the Churup glacier (9°28′18″ S; 77°25′02″ W) and associated processes were documented employing multi-proxy approach including the analysis of remotely sensed images...

Nature and Science—the top ranked, high impact multidisciplinary scientific journals with considerably low acceptance rate below 10%. As such, publication in these is considered to be a “Holy Grail” in disseminating ground-breaking scientific results. With marginal and permanently decreasing share, solo author articles (SAAs) represent rare categor...

Youtube.com has become one of the most popular places to share videos on the Internet, storing a large amount of audiovisual materials. People all over the world can upload their videos and watch videos of others. The research potential of this information source has received increasing popularity across scientific disciplines. In this contribution...

This contribution aims to reveal patterns of research on natural hazards worldwide, based on the analysis of the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science database. A set of 588,424 research items published between 1900 and 2017 is analyzed, covering different types of natural hazards. Two categories of natural hazards are distinguished in this study: (i)...

Changing high-mountain environments are characterized by destabilizing ice, rock or debris slopes connected to evolving glacial lakes. Such configurations may lead to potentially devastating sequences of mass movements (process chains or cascades). Computer simulations are supposed to assist in anticipating the possible consequences of such phenome...

Despite recent research identifying a clear anthropogenic impact on glacier recession, the effect of recent climate change on glacier-related hazards is at present unclear. Here we present the first global spatio-temporal assessment of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) focusing explicitly on lake drainage following moraine dam failure. These flo...

Almost forty glacial lakes have been remediated in the Cordillera Blanca since the 1940s by implementing different types of structural measures to prevent (mitigate) glacial lake outburst floods. These are: (1) open cuts; (2) artificial dams; (3) tunnels; and their combinations. The first part of the paper provides an overview and description of th...

Outburst floods originating in moraine-dammed lakes represent a significant geomorphological process as well as a specific type of threat for local communities in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru (8.5°–10° S; 77°–78° W). An exceptional concentration of catastrophic floods has been reported from the Cordillera Blanca in the first half of 20th Century (19...

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Despite recent research identifying a clear anthropogenic impact on glacier recession, the effect of recent climate change on glacier-related hazards is at present unclear. Here we present the first global spatio-temporal assessment of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) focusing explicitly on lake drainage following moraine dam failure. These flo...

The Sustainable Development Goals have placed integrated resources management, such as integrated water resource management, at the heart of their targets. The upcoming “International Decade for Action—Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028 has highlighted the importance of promoting efficient water usage at all levels, taking into account t...

Climatic changes alter the climate system, leading to a decrease of glacier mass volumes and swelling glacial lakes. This study provides a new inventory of glacial and high-altitude lakes for Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, and evaluates the susceptibility of lakes to Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). By using satellite data of high spatial resolution...

Global warming in high mountain areas has led to visible environmental changes as glacial retreat, formation and evolution of moraine dammed lakes, slope instability, and major mass movements. Landslide dams and moraine dams are rather common in the Cordillera Blanca Mountains Range, Peru, and have caused large damages and fatalities over time. The...

Research and dissemination activities of the World Centre of Excellence on Landslide Risk Reduction (WCoE), located in Prague, Czech Republic, entitled “Landslide risk assessment and development guidelines for effective risk reduction” focus on the strengthening of landslide risk reduction efforts defined through the Sendai partnership and the Inte...

Despite the fact that landslide-dammed lakes represent less common lake type (n = 23; 2.6% share) in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru, these entities require appropriate scientific attention, because: (i) significantly influence geomorphological processes (erosion-accumulation interactions) at the catchment spatial scale; (ii) act as a natural water r...

The origin and evolution of Iskanderkul Lake are studied in relation to geomorphic hazards within a broader area of interest. It is shown that the giant Kchazormech rockslide with its volume of masses of approximately 1 km3 entirely blocked the Iskanderdarja river valley, likely in the Middle Holocene, impounding thus the palaeolake of Iskanderkul....

Glacier retreat is considered to be one of the most obvious manifestations of recent and ongoing climate change in the majority of glacierized alpine and high-latitude regions throughout the world. Glacier retreat itself is both directly and indirectly connected to the various interrelated geomorphological/hydrological processes and changes in hydr...

A unified database of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) has been created for analysis and future natural hazard evaluations. The data from individual case studies fill the database at a primary level, while the regional and global scales are more suitable for evaluating the information. There is enhanced research activity in this topic worldwide...

Studies focusing on moraine deposits which slide into glacial lakes are scarce, even though they can trigger impact waves responsible for generating glacial lake outburst floods. We focused on landslides in lateral moraines as possible triggers. Detailed geomorphological, geophysical, and satellite radar interferometric investigations of the Palcac...

An inventory of the lakes within the Cordillera Blanca of Peru was made based on manual analysis of high resolution optical images and was verified during field surveys. In total, 882 lakes were detected, classified and described by several qualitative and quantitative characteristics. The majority of the lakes were characterised as moraine-dammed...

Climate-induced environmental changes are triggering the dynamic evolution of high-mountain lakesworldwide, a phenomenon that has to be monitored in terms of lake outburst hazards.We analyzed the spatial distribution and recent temporal development of high-mountain lakes in a study area of 6139 km2, covering the central European Alps over most of t...

This article deals with the 2010 glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) which happened in the Chucchún Valley in the Cordillera Blanca (Peru). The volume of the ice and rock fall from Mt. Hualcán was estimated to be about 500,000 m3 and the detachment zone was identified between 5,450 and 5,600 m a.s.l. Basic landforms and processes (e.g. stream erosio...

This article brings new insight into the recent evolution and degradation of the bent Jatunraju glacier in the northern part of the Cordillera Blanca, Peru. Analysis of topographical maps and historical aerial photos covering a period of 66 years and a field survey performed in June 2013 and May 2014 helped to describe the geomorphological setting...

This paper presents a new and easily repeatable method for assessing the susceptibility of glacial lakes to outburst floods (GLOFs) within the Peruvian region of the Cordillera Blanca. The presented method was designed to: (a) be repeatable (from the point of view of the demands on input data), (b) be reproducible (to provide an instructive guide f...

The Cordillera Blanca (Ancash region, Peru) is the most heavily glacierized tropical range in the world. Due to the global climate change, the retreat and thinning of most of the glaciers has recently increased. Rapid geomorphic changes, especially direct and indirect slope movements, are closely connected with the changing environment. Glacier ret...

This article summarises activities and preliminary results of the International Programme on Landslides Project no. 179 "Database of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs)". This project is planned for 3years (2013-2015); the main objectives of the first year are (1) to create an online database and (2) to select collaborating partners. A survey of e...

This paper presents a new and easily repeatable objective method for assessing the potential hazardousness of glacial lakes within the Peruvian region of Cordillera Blanca (excluding ice-dammed lakes, which do not reach significant volumes in this region). The presented method was designed to meet four basic principles, which we considered as being...