Project case studies
Examples of commercial and research projects undertaken by the RGSL glacial hazards team are listed below. For more information, project summaries can be downloaded through the pdf links listed.
- Glacial inventory of Bhutan
Bhutan has a large, but largely untapped, potential for hydropower generation. RGSL was appointed to review whether glaciers and glacial lakes could hinder the development of this resource.
- Tsho Rolpa glacial lake
outburst floods risk reduction project, Nepal
RGSL was involved in the assessment and remediation of the glacial lake, Tsho Rolpa, in the Rolwaling Himal, Nepal, from 1994. In a race against time, the lake was partially drawn down by 3.5 m in 2000. See RGSL's project summary for more details [540k pdf].
- Machu Picchu vulnerability
study, Peru
In 1998 a debris flow from Salcantay Mountain led to the flooding and burial of a nearby hydropower plant. RGSL and its associates provided a team of experts in glacial hazard assessment and engineering geology to help with the vulnerability study for the new hydropower installation.
- Basha Daimer
Dam pre-feasibility study, Pakistan
Surging glaciers, ice-dammed lakes and catastrophic floods with run-out distances in excess of 1000 km. Pakistan has some of the most dynamic and isolated glacial environments in the world, yet remote-sensing data helped RGSL assess the risks to this large dam development.
- Feasibility Study of Upper Tama Koshi Hydroelectric Project:
Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) Risk Assessment Study
RGSL provided a complete catchment-wide risk assessment for the proposed hydropower installation. The hazard history and the relative probability of future outbursts from all glacial lakes were examined from the latest satellite imagery.
- Development of glacial
hazard and risk minimisation protocols in rural environments
Protocols for glacial hazard assessment and management were developed in this three-year, commercial research project. Study areas included the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, and the Khumbu Himal, Nepal. This project has its own web page, or download a project summary [908k pdf].
- KTP
remote-sensing project
Remote sensing is becoming an increasingly popular tool for hazard assessment and monitoring. In a joint research project with the Centre for Glaciology Aberystwyth University, UK, RGSL developed advanced techniques and guidelines [776k pdf]
