Haeberli Wilfried
New lakes in deglaciating high-mountain areas: climate-related development and challenges for sustainable use
Project Number: 406140_125997
Research Areas:
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| Hydrosphere (Impacts) |
| Cryosphere (Processes) |
| Water and Water Use |
| High Altitude |
Disciplines:
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| hydrology, limnology, glaciology |
| geomorphology |
| Social geography and Ecology |
| Economics |
| Legal sciences |
Keywords:
climate change, high mountain regions, lakes, hydropower, landscape protection, water rights
Abstract:
Lakes as a consequence of melting glaciers: opportunities and risks In the Alps, melting glaciers rapidly lead to the creation of new lakes. This entails new opportunities and risks. We need to know where and when new lakes are formed, what their properties are, whom they belong to and who is responsible for them. Background: Realistic climate scenarios predict that glaciers will, to a large extent, disappear from the Alps during the 21st century. In high-mountain areas, glaciers are already rapidly disappearing today. This results in numerous new lakes which can be attractive for tourism, useful for the production of hydroelectric power and of interest for flood protection. However, because the stability of their environment is diminished, these lakes also constitute a hazard which needs to be taken seriously. Dealing with this combination of opportunities and risks is a scientific but also an economic and political challenge. Objectives and methods A foundation for the assessment of future opportunities and risks associated with the new lakes will be created. Questions such as deglaciation, landscape development, the behaviour of the lakes and the appearance of hazards such as flash floods and mudflows will be treated. Hydraulic engineering aspects such as storage capacity and hydroelectric potential of the lakes, protection measures against floods, the influence of bed load volume as well as ecological aspects will also be examined. In the region of the Rhône glacier or the Bernina massif for example, the researchers will examine how the lakes are perceived, what enhanced value they might have for tourism, what costs are to be expected and what benefits these lakes might bring about. Legal questions pertaining to property, responsibility and liability will also be clarified. The views of political authorities, hydroelectric power companies as well as nature and landscape organizations will be integrated by means of workshops. Significance: The project will build a basis for an optimized, diverse and sustainable use of new lakes in high mountain regions and will describe possible protective measures. It will launch and facilitate a systematic and long-term planning process. This is particularly important because the concessions for hydroelectric power production will expire in the coming decades and will need to be renewed. The methods and results from this project will also be made available to other mountainous regions.
Source of Information: NF Import 2010
Last update: 3/28/17
Source of data: ProClim- Research InfoSystem (1993-2024)
Update the data of project: CH-406140_125997
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