Lake-related hazards: a review for understanding historical glacial and landslide lake outburst floods in the Argentinean Andes

Abstract

The global research community is concerned about the potential impact of Lake Outburst Floods (LOFs) worldwide due to glacier retreat and permafrost melting as a consequence of global climate change. These conditions have led to the formation of new potentially dangerous lakes. Extreme climatic conditions, high topography, and active tectonics highlight the vulnerability of the Andean region. Additionally, the region is exposed to increasing urbanization pressures in mountainous areas. This review presents an updated inventory of LOF events in the Argentinean Andes (31?51° S) as a complete catalog is currently lacking. The main characteristics and hydrodynamic parameters were compiled from the collected historical LOFs, while missing data were estimated in this study. These findings provide insight into the dynamics and outreach of this type of threatening phenomena in the Andean region. Possible triggering mechanisms were investigated to better understand the main causes of LOFs in the Andes. This understanding is crucial for the development of effective prevention and mitigation measures against regional lake-related hazards.