Abstract
A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is a phenomenon that is widely known by researchers because such an event can wreak havoc on the natural environment as well as on manmade infrastructure. Therefore, a GLOF risk assessment is necessary, especially within river basins with hydropower plants, and may lead to a tremendous amount of socioeconomic loss if not done. However, due to the subjective and objective limitations of the available GLOF risk assessment methods, we have proposed a new and easily applied method with a wider application and without the need for adaptation changes in accordance with the subject area, which also allows for the repeated use of this model. In this study, we focused our efforts on the Upper Arun Hydroelectric Project (UAHEP) in the Arun River Basin, and we (1) identified 49 glacial lakes with areas greater than 0.1 km2; (2) geographically represented and analyzed these 49 glacial lakes for the period of 1990–2018; (3) analyzed the correlation between the temperature and precipitation trends and the occurrence of recorded GLOF events in the region; (4) proposed a new method based on the documented affected lengths and volumes derived from historical GLOF events to identify 4 potentially critical lakes; and (5) evaluated the discharge profiles using widely used empirical methods and further discussed the physical properties, triggering factors, and outburst probability of the critical lakes. To achieve these objectives, a series of intensive and integrated desk studies, data collections, and GLOF simulations and analyses were performed.
Highlights
The Himalayas are an abundant resource of water and have a relatively poor socioeconomic status; this region has been greatly utilized for hydropower projects to help alleviate power loss and poverty
Before any hydroelectric plant is built in this glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF)-hazard-prone region, a GLOF risk analysis is of crucial importance [15]
This methodology resulted in a new GLOF risk assessment model which was applied to identify potentially critical glacial lakes
Summary
The Himalayas are an abundant resource of water and have a relatively poor socioeconomic status; this region has been greatly utilized for hydropower projects to help alleviate power loss and poverty. Tsho) in the Central Himalayas destroyed downstream hydropower stations, roads, and bridges; killed hundreds of people; and caused millions of dollars in economic losses [16] Such GLOFs are hazardous to resident safety, properties, infrastructure (e.g., hydropower, mining, roads, and bridges), agriculture husbandry, pasturelands, forests, tourism, and socioeconomic systems in downstream regions because of their potential to cause catastrophic breaching [4,10,17]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
