Have you heard about the incredible event that recently took place in East Greenland? In just over two weeks, more than 3,000 billion liters of water flooded out of an ice-dammed lake, causing quite a stir among scientists. This was the first time such an event had been closely documented, providing valuable insights into the potential havoc that outburst flooding could wreak in other parts of the world.
The incident occurred between September 23 and October 11 at Catalina Lake in Greenland, a proglacial lake blocked by the massive Edward Bailey Glacier. Over the past two decades, water had been accumulating in the lake, reaching a critical point that caused the glacier to lift up. A 25-kilometer long tunnel was naturally carved beneath the ice, carrying an enormous amount of lake water towards Scoresby Sound, the world’s largest fjord. Meanwhile, water levels at Catalina Lake dropped by a staggering 154 meters.
This remarkable event was monitored in real-time using satellite imagery by scientists from the University of Copenhagen’s Niels Bohr Institute. Aslak Grinsted, a climate researcher at the institute, described the energy released by the glacier flood as equivalent to the output of the world’s largest nuclear power plant running at full capacity for 22 days.
Known as a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), such events can be triggered by various natural causes, including water buildup, erosion, heavy snow or rain, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Human-induced climate change, resulting from thawing glaciers due to rising temperatures, can also contribute to GLOF events.
While the recent flooding in East Greenland posed minimal risk to humans due to the sparsely populated area, there are numerous proglacial lakes worldwide that threaten densely populated regions. A study from 2023 estimated that 15 million people are at risk of deadly glacial floods, particularly in countries like India, Pakistan, Peru, and China.
Looking ahead, researchers anticipate witnessing outbursts from even larger ice-dammed lakes as Greenland’s ice sheet continues to retreat. Despite the potential risks, there is a silver lining to these events. The immense energy released by GLOFs has raised the possibility of harnessing them as a source of green energy. The energy released from the Catalina Lake event could have supplied 50 megawatts of electricity, enough for a small town’s needs.
While building the necessary infrastructure to harness this power in Greenland presents challenges, the idea of utilizing these outbursts for energy is certainly intriguing. As Grinsted points out, with the right engineering solutions, there is significant power and energy potential in these natural occurrences.
