Scientists study deadly Tibet avalanche, prevent second disaster

By Shi Yi
In a research paper soon to be published in the Journal of Glaciology, a team of Chinese and European glaciologists fear the two recent Tibetan glacier collapses may be only the beginning. As temperatures and precipitation levels rise, the local herders, accustomed to living out in the open, are finding themselves at greater risk of natural disasters.

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The first collapse spurred the team of Chinese and European researchers to work together to determine the cause. After a thorough analysis of satellite data, they correctly predicted the second avalanche.

Silvan Leinss, a researcher at the Institute for Environmental Engineering at Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich in Switzerland and one of the members of the international team, told Sixth Tone that he and other researchers discovered that the first collapse could be traced back to snow melting in September 2015. The upper part of the glacier moved downstream at a rapid rate, and researchers interpreted this as an early warning sign before the disaster. The second glacier had a similar movement before its eventual collapse.

The team’s findings were passed on to the Tibetan government, who gave orders to evacuate the herders and close roads in the area in order to minimize casualties.