Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title Chile's glacial lakes pose newly recognized flood threat. Science, . Degree of recognition International Media name/outlet Science Media type Web Country/Territory United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Date 10 Mar 2017 Description After three grueling days of bushwhacking through Patagonian rainforest last month, a research team finally reached the remote Chileno Valley—and beheld utter devastation. Perhaps twice in the last few years, a 2-kilometer-long lake farther up the valley had unleashed a glacial lake outburst flood: a wall of water that scoured Chileno. The valley is uninhabited. But the destruction there carries an ominous message for settled parts of Chile, including Santiago, the capital, where a glacial lake is perched up a valley from the metropolis. As mountain glaciers retreat in a warming climate, meltwater lakes can burst through unstable ice or moraine barriers. To systematically assess Chile's outburst potential, the team compiled a nationwide inventory of more than 3000 glacial lakes and identified those likely to flood. Producer/Author Jane Palmer URL science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6329/1004 Persons Neil Glasser