Galongcuo glacial lake is the largest high-risk glacial lake in the Boqu River Basin of Tibet. Since the 1980s, its feeding glacier has retreated by 1.2 km2, resulting in a 2.78-fold expansion of the lake area. Its storage capacity has reached 3.82×108 m3, with a lake area growth rate of 1.06 km2 per decade, indicating a steadily increasing risk of outburst. To investigate the evolution characteristics of the outburst flood, this study used 12.5 m resolution topographic data and multi-temporal remote sensing imagery. Using the MASSFLOW simulation software and the MacCormack-TVD finite difference method, the flood evolution process under different storage capacity scenarios for Galongcuo was simulated. By analyzing the propagation characteristics of the outburst flood downstream, a quantitative risk assessment was conducted. The results indicate that: Under different storage scenarios, the peak discharge of the outburst flood gradually attenuates along the downstream flow path, with relatively small variations despite fluctuations in terrain. Due to the substantial elevation drop, the outburst flood intensely erodes the channel bed and banks, incorporating loose sediments into the flood. This leads to its gradual transformation into a high-sediment concentration flow—a dilute debris flow. Under a full-breach scenario, the floodwaters would inundate Nyalam County, with an average water depth of 45 m and a flow velocity reaching 17 m/s. Moreover, the fluid severely scours the toe zones of potential landslide groups in the Zhangmu Township area, with erosion depths reaching up to 26 m, thereby posing a high risk of triggering large-scale secondary disasters.
Jiang Liang
,
Ren Siyu
,
Zhai Shengqiang
,
Mao Dandong
,
Xiong Junsong
. Study on the Evolution Characteristics of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in Galongcuo Lake, Tibet[J]. Chinese Journal of Underground Space and Engineering, 2025
, 21(S2)
: 921
-932
.
DOI: 10.20174/j.JUSE.2025.S2.46
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