Articles | Volume 25, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-3559-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-3559-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
23 Sep 2025
Research article |
| 23 Sep 2025
| 23 Sep 2025
The Parraguirre ice–rock avalanche 1987, semi-arid Andes, Chile – a holistic revision
Institut für Geographie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
David Farías-Barahona
Department of Geography, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Institut für Geographie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
Thomas Bruckner
Institut für Geographie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
Lucia Scaff
Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile
Martin Mergili
Institut für Geographie und Raumforschung, Universität Graz, Graz, Austria
Santiago Montserrat
Advanced Mining Technology Center, AMTC, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Humberto Peña
Diagua: Derecho e Ingeniería del Agua Consulting, Santiago, Chile
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We present a new way to detect snowmelt using daily cycles in streamflow driven by solar radiation. Results show that warmer sites have earlier and more intermittent snowmelt than colder sites, and the timing of early snowmelt events is strongly correlated with the timing of streamflow volume. A space-for-time substitution shows greater sensitivity of streamflow timing to climate change in colder rather than in warmer places, which is then contrasted with land surface simulations.
Christian Zangerl, Annemarie Schneeberger, Georg Steiner, and Martin Mergili
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2461–2483, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2461-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2461-2021, 2021
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The Köfels rockslide in the Ötztal Valley (Austria) represents the largest known extremely rapid rockslide in metamorphic rock masses in the Alps and was formed in the early Holocene. Although many hypotheses for the conditioning and triggering factors were discussed in the past, until now no scientifically accepted explanatory model has been found. This study provides new data and numerical modelling results to better understand the cause and triggering factors of this gigantic natural event.
Guoxiong Zheng, Martin Mergili, Adam Emmer, Simon Allen, Anming Bao, Hao Guo, and Markus Stoffel
The Cryosphere, 15, 3159–3180, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3159-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3159-2021, 2021
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This paper reports on a recent glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) event that occurred on 26 June 2020 in Tibet, China. We find that this event was triggered by a debris landslide from a steep lateral moraine. As the relationship between the long-term evolution of the lake and its likely landslide trigger revealed by a time series of satellite images, this case provides strong evidence that it can be plausibly linked to anthropogenic climate change.
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Short summary
The 1987 Parraguirre ice–rock avalanche developed into a devastating debris flow, causing the loss of many lives and inflicting severe damage near Santiago, Chile. Here, we revise this event, combining various observational records with modelling techniques. In that year, important snow cover coincided with persistent warm periods in spring. We also put forward upward corrections for the trigger and flood volumes involved in this debris flow. Finally, temporary river damming was key for the flow ferocity.
The 1987 Parraguirre ice–rock avalanche developed into a devastating debris flow, causing the...
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