Lake Cachet 2 (47°12' S, 73°15' W, 422 m a.s.l.) is a proglacial lake of 4 km2 located on the eastern margin of the Northern Patagonia Icefield (3,953
km2, Rivera et al., 2007), which is dammed on its southern margin by Colonia Glacier. Until April 2008 there was no historical evidence of catastrophic
flooding of this lake. In 2008 three sudden drainage events occurred at Lake Cachet 2 (April 6-7; October 7-8 and 21-22 December). During each event the
flood wave traveled down Colonia River to the confluence with Baker River, then affected Baker River to a distance of up to 25 km upstream from the confluence
and downstream all the way to its mouth on the Pacific Ocean fjords at Caleta Tortel (100 km to the southwest), transporting abundant sediments.
1.智利巴塔哥尼亚高原的河河水忽然增加,淹没两岸(river tsunami)。作者用 5 行文字描述了,淹没两岸的情景,不赘述。说到当地有一家远足旅行公司,带队到 Colonia Glacier,在 Northern Patagonian Ice Field 发现神秘水源涌出。水源来自于当地 Lake Cachet II,因为这个冰川直接融化了。Lake Cachet II (冰川)大小 3 平方公里(2
square mile),几小时内,瞬间变成 2亿立方米的水,被称为“glacial lake outburst flood, GLOF (冰化致洪)”。因为 Colonial Glacier 冰川融化率增加,使得河水上涨(swell the lake),迫使人们挖开一条隧道,用于排水(drain the lake)。因为 Cachet II 2008年消失之后,这个经常水漫金山的湖水,大约消失了 6 次。
3.虽然说“冰川致洪”这件事没有发生得更加频繁,但是,冰川融化之后,有可能流到全世界任何一户人家家里。例如,一些大约有几个足球场大小的厚冰板,撞到山上的冰川,使得冰掉入自然公园的湖里,造成水灾。水灾到什么程度呢?洪水高达 76 英尺,淹没了 4 个城镇,毁坏了 50 户人家,冲坏水工厂,使得 6 万个人没有水供应。依据 NASA
Goddard Institute for Space Studies,冰川问题是“全球气候变暖”的脚后跟问题。