SIMULATION OF FLOOD WAVES FROM OUTBURST OF GLACIER-DAMMED LAKE

On the upper watershed of the Mendoza River, at elevations higher than 4,000 m above sea level and close to the Argentine-Chilean border, a group of glaciers associated with winter snowfall give birth to runoff main sources. The so-called Grande del Nevado del Plomo glacier, periodically produces a surge and an ice dam that confines the Plomo river valley and forms a glacier-dammed lake. The outflow of the ice dam and the routing of flood waves down-valley are studied by means of hydrologic and hydraulic mathematical simulation for the purposes of flood-wave forecasting, the operation of a real-time hydrologic alert system, and determination of inundation maps, as well as the study of the impact on diversion dams, bridges, roads, and railroads along the river.