Determining the Events in a Debris Flow Disaster Chain at Badwat Glacier and Disaster Analysis
Publisher: CPJRC
time: 2021-09-29
As an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an important and only land passage between China and Pakistan. Along the route of CPEC, the section from Kashi to Thakot passes through the development area of cryosphere elements (such as glaciers and ice lakes) with active structures, high elevation and harsh environment. According to recent studies, the glaciers of the Karakoram-Hindu Kush mountains became abnormal and the area of glacial lakes has expanded significantly, increasing the risk of glacial lake outbursts. These natural disasters greatly threaten the construction of point-like and linear projects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and their effectiveness after completion. Therefore it is of great urgency to investigate and analyze the distribution, events and impact of natural disasters in the cryosphere along the route.
The team of Ding Yongjian, a Researcher of the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China-Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Sciences, applied high-resolution remote sensing imagery combined with field survey to conduct remote sensing and disaster analysis for the Badswat glacier debris flow in the upper reaches of GILGIT in the Karakoram-Hindu Kush mountains. The results showed that: ① the outburst of Badswat Glacier Lake started from the glacier flood upstream, which was strengthened and then produced a glacial debris flow and dammed the Immit River, resulting in the rapid expansion of Lake Badswat from 0.16km2 to 0.53 km2; ② the glacial debris flow destroyed the country roads nearby, and inundated 40 houses and some farmland with the expansion of Badswat Lake; ③ rapid movement of the glacier occurred in certain areas after the event. Through field survey, the researchers analyzed the material source of the glacial debris flow, and believed that the lateral moraines of the glacier were the source of the debris flow.
The findings have provided evidence support for the event process of glacier flood - glacial debris flow and glacial lake outburst flood as well as glacier-related hazards analysis, and further deepened our understanding on the chains of events of Karakoram-Hindu Kush Glacier disasters as well as disaster-inducing features. Shangguan Donghui is the first author of the thesis. This research was funded by the International Cooperation Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The findings were published in Remote Sensing with the title "Determining the Events in a Glacial Disaster Chain at Badswat Glacier in the Karakoram Range Using Remote Sensing".
Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/6/1165
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