Quaternary glacier‐dammed lakes in the mountains of Siberia

Abstract

Abstract The authors investigate the phenomenon of lakes dammed by glacier ice in Southern Siberia, and more specifically groups of such lakes in the Altay and Sayan‐Tuvan Upland. Hundreds of cubic kilometers of meltwater have accumulated in the largest lakes—Chuya‐Kuray, Uymon, Darkhat, and others—at elevations ranging from 1,500 to 2,200 m. The breaching of their ice dams (jökulhlaups) in many cases has resulted in large‐scale natural catastrophes, with millions of cubic meters of floodwaters reaching velocities of 20–40 m/s. The paper investigates the frequency and spatial patterns of Siberian jökulhlaups which are among the most powerful on Earth, and their role in the development of relief, paleohydrology, and the landscapes of Siberia.