The Two Main Mechanisms of Glacier Lake Outburst Flood in Tibet,China

With the global warming,the disasters of Glacier Lake Outburst Flood(GLOF) have taken place frequently in Tibet in recent years and attracted more and more attention.A systematic survey was conducted on the 19 GLOFs in Tibet to study their two main mechanisms.Investigations indicated that all the events occurred in end-moraine lakes,and the outburst occurred partially and instantly.And the breach had the shape of an arc or a trapezoid in overflow outburst and its top width was 3-5 times more than the height.The two main mechanisms of GLOFs in Tibetan end-moraine Lake were overflow and piping,and the overflow mechanism caused by iceberg collapse was dominated in most cases.A formula was proposed to calculate the critical thickness of iceberg tongue that determines the collapse.Granular analysis of the moraine materials revealed that seepage deformation is crucial in the outburst process.Finally,we conducted a case study of the Guangxiecuo Lake to show its possible process of outburst and estimated the peak discharge of the resulted flood.

Coupling Mechanism of Rural Settlements and Mountain Disasters in the Upper Reaches of Min River

Human settlements are the place where human beings live,among which the rural settlements can be regarded as a reflection of human-land relationship in mountain areas because their vertical distribution is greatly influenced by the specific geographical environment and ecological conditions of mountains.Based on field investigation,this paper uses physical,geographical,and ecological theories to make a comprehensive study of rural settlements and mountain disasters in the upper Min River,which is an ecologically fragile area with high-frequency disasters(collapse,landslide,debris flow,etc.) and a minority inhabit district.By applying these modern scientific theories,this paper attempts to shed some light on the relationship between rural settlements and mountain disasters.Consequently,an in-depth understanding of this relationship was achieved as follows:(1) Rural settlements and mountain disasters are mainly distributed in the intercepted flows of water and soil; and both quantity and quality of arable lands in mountains are important indicators of these flows.(2) The Small Watershed Management Project is a complex system of rural settlements and mountain disasters that interacts with and constrains the ecological system.By this project,the human survival will be better guaranteed.Being fundamental for the ecological reconstruction,the coupling mechanism of rural settlements and mountain disasters is not only an engine to promote harmonious development between human and nature,but also a bridge to link them.