Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a severe hazard in the Himalayas. Glacial lake expansion and the corresponding volume increase play major roles in GLOFs as well as climate change. Furthermore, mass movement and dam conditions play a major role in the GLOF initiation process. Recently, because of global warming, glacial lakes in the central Himalayas have been expanding rapidly. Owing to a lack of systematic assessment and meticulous field surveys, people living downstream are at great risk of GLOFs. Comprehensive investigations and assessment of the relationships among lake expansion, lake dam conditions, and GLOF risk are urgently needed. In this study, we surveyed Jialong Co, a typical end-moraine dammed lake in Poiqu River in the central Himalayas by using Landsat and Sentinel satellite images from the past 32 years, field work, and depth measurements using an unmanned surface vessel on August 28, 2020. The results showed that Jialong Co had experienced slow-quick-slow expansion, increasing in area from 0.13 +/- 0.03 to 0.60 +/- 0.02 km(2). The lake bathymetric map revealed that the lake volume was (3.75 +/- 0.38) x 10(7) m(3) in 2020. Lake expansion occurred in the area from which the mother glacier retreated, indicating a close connection between the lake and its mother glacier and revealing that topography controlled the lake expansion process. Furthermore, thorough field work revealed that outlet dynamics and external water erosion are vulnerable elements in the disaster chain that initiate and affect the GLOF hazard of Jialong Co. Overall, this case study could help scholars understand the expansion mechanism of end-moraine dammed lakes and aid in hazard assessment of glacial lakes in the central Himalayas. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is one of the major natural disasters in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). On 25 June 2020, the outburst of the Jiwenco Glacial Lake (JGL) in the upper reaches of Nidu river in Jiari County of the QTP reached the downstream Niwu Township on 26 June, causing damage to many bridges, roads, houses, and other infrastructure, and disrupting telecommunications for several days. Based on radar and optical image data, the evolution of the JGL before and after the outburst was analyzed. The results showed that the area and storage capacity of the JGL were 0.58 square kilometers and 0.071 cubic kilometers, respectively, before the outburst (29 May), and only 0.26 square kilometers and 0.017 cubic kilometers remained after the outburst (27 July). The outburst reservoir capacity was as high as 5.4 million cubic meters. The main cause of the JGL outburst was the heavy precipitation process before outburst and the ice/snow/landslides entering the lake was the direct inducement. The outburst flood/debris flow disaster also led to many sections of the river and buildings in Niwu Township at high risk. Therefore, it is urgent to pay more attention to glacial lake outburst floods and other low-probability disasters, and early real-time engineering measures should be taken to minimize their potential impacts.