Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Simulating Impacts of Ice Storms on Forest Ecosystems
Published on: June 30, 2020
Periodic outburst floods from an ice-dammed lake in East Greenland
Aslak Grinsted1, Christine S Hvidberg2, Néstor Campos3
1Centre for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark. ag@glaciology.net.
Abstract:
We report evidence of four cycles of outburst floods from Catalina Lake, an ice-dammed lake in East Greenland, identified in satellite imagery between 1966-2016. The lake measures 20-25 km2, and lake level drops 130-150 m in each event, corresponding to a water volume of 2.6-3.4 Gt, and a release of potential energy of 1016 J, among the largest outburst floods reported in historical times. The drainage cycle has shortened systematically, and the lake filling rate has increased over each cycle, suggesting that the drainage pattern is changing due to climate warming with possible implications for environmental conditions in Scoresbysund fjord.
More Related Videos
13:38Laser-Induced Fluorescence Emission L.I.F.E. as Novel Non-Invasive Tool for In-Situ Measurements of Biomarkers in Cryospheric Habitats
Published on: October 26, 2019
09:06Removal of Exogenous Materials from the Outer Portion of Frozen Cores to Investigate the Ancient Biological Communities Harbored Inside
Published on: July 3, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Global Climate Change
Responses to Drought and Flooding
Design Example: Analyzing Capacity Contours for Flood Risk Assessment
States of Water
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
The Water Cycle
Ecological Disturbance