Tracking Three Decades of Dramatic Glacial Lake Growth
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- Visualizations by:
- Greg Shirah and
- Helen-Nicole Kostis
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- Written by:
- Ellen T. Gray
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- Scientific consulting by:
- Dan Shugar
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- Produced by:
- Katie Jepson
- View full credits
Music: "Dew" by Matthew Nicholson [PRS], Suki Jeanette Finn [PRS]
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Complete transcript available.
In the largest-ever study of glacial lakes, researchers using a 30-year satellite data record have found that the volume of these lakes worldwide has increased by about 50% since 1990 as glaciers melt and retreat due to climate change.
Glacial lakes are not stable because they are often dammed by ice or glacial sediment called a moraine, which is loose rock and debris that is pushed to the front and sides of glacier. Rather, they can burst their banks or dams, causing massive floods downstream. These kinds of floods from glacial lakes, also known as glacial lake outburst floods, have been responsible for thousands of deaths over the last century, as well as the destruction of villages, infrastructure and livestock.
Until now climate models that translated glacier melt into sea level change assumed that water from glacier melt is instantaneously transported to the oceans, which presented an incomplete picture. Therefore, understanding how much of glacial meltwater is stored in lakes or groundwater underscores the importance of studying and monitoring glacial lakes worldwide.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Visualizers
- Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
- Helen-Nicole Kostis (USRA) [Lead]
- Alex Kekesi (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
- Horace Mitchell (NASA/GSFC)
- Lucas Zurbuchen (GSFC Interns)
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Writer
- Ellen T. Gray (NASA/HQ) [Lead]
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Scientists
- Dan Shugar (University of Calgary) [Lead]
- Jeffrey S. Kargel (Planetary Science Institute)
- Umesh Haritashya (University of Dayton)
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Producer
- Katie Jepson (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) [Lead]
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Narrator
- Katie Jepson (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Communications advisor
- Erin Guiltenane (University of Calgary)
Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Papers used in this visualization
Shugar, DH, Burr, A, Haritashya, UK, Kargel, JS, Watson, CS, Kennedy, MC, Bevington, AR, Betts, RA, Harrison, S, Strattman, K. 2020. Rapid worldwide growth of glacial lakes since 1990. Nature Climate Change. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0855-4
Related Pages
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ID: 4834 Visualization
First Global Survey of Glacial Lakes Shows 30-Years of Dramatic Growth
Read moreData visualization featuring the glacier rich region of the Himalayas, along with many of Earth’s highest peaks. The visualization sequence starts with a wide view of the Tibetan plateau and moves along a hiking path highlighting Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, Mt Nuptse, the Everest Base Camp, the Khumbhu glacier, all the way to Imja Lake. Moving to a top-down view of Imja Lake, a time series of Landsat data unveils its dramatic growth for the period 1989-2019.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. || imja_final_4k.4600_print.jpg (1024x576) [114.8 KB] || imja_final_4k.4600_searchweb.png (320x180) [101.5 KB] || imja_final_4k.4600_web.png (320x180) [101.5 KB] || imja_final_4k.4600_thm.png (80x40) [7.5 KB] || imja_final_HD_1080p60.mp4 (1920x1080) [72.9 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_60p/ (1920x1080) [512.0 KB] || imja_final_HD_1080p60.webm (1920x1080) [19.7 MB] || imja_final_4k_2160p60.mp4 (3840x2160) [215.1 MB] || imja_final_2160p60_prores.mov (3840x2160) [16.9 GB] || frames/3840x2160_16x9_60p/with_cities/ (3840x2160) [512.0 KB] || captions_silent.30013.en_US.srt [43 bytes] ||
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