by According to an academic study, the Santiago glaciers (Reuters) chiles are exposed to a higher risk of collapse and landslides due to increasing temperatures and the country’s seismic and volcanic activity.
The study, which was published in the Journal of South American Earth Sciences at the end of May, modeled variables such as the possible sudden emptying of glacier lakes, mud and debris flows, avalanches, landslide or abrupt glacier progress beyond the normal speeds.
“The study showed that around 10 glaciers … were very susceptible to one or more of these main destabilization factors, said geologist Felipe Ugalde from the University of Chile, one of the authors of the study.
This included some glaciers that have the risk of ice rods, others with steep overhangs and some that could be influenced by waning glacier lakes. Others confronted a risk due to volcanic outbreaks in the nation, which is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a belt made of volcanoes and earthquakes.
“Three very susceptible glaciers are the closest to the main emission centers of the San José volcano, which are very susceptible to Lahars,” said Ugalde, referring to volcanic sludge flows that are normally a mixture of water, volcanic ash and rock dams.
The geologist added that the glaciers worldwide withdraw in the heating temperatures, which caused them to lose the mass and become less stable over time.
“When the temperatures are high, water infiltrates either by rain or by a quick melting of the snow cover. This water turns into the base of the glacier and acts as a lubricant,” said Ugalde, adding that the ice is faster in a natural process that is referred to as the cold.
“Ultimately, this is a reaction to the imbalance that glaciers experience the glacier due to increasing average air temperatures even in high mountain areas,” he said.
(Reporting of Reuters TV; writing by Fabian Cambero; Editor of Adam Jourdan and Rod Nickel)
