Earth:Lake Merzbacher
| Lake Merzbacher | |
|---|---|
 Lake Merzbacher after outburst | |
  Lake Merzbacher  Lake Merzbacher | |
| Coordinates | [ ⚑ ] : 42°12′N 79°52′E / 42.2°N 79.867°E |
| Lake type | Glacier lake |
| rivers, streams, precipitation">Primary inflows | Glaciers |
| rivers, streams, evaporation">Primary outflows | Engilchek River |
| Basin countries | Kyrgyzstan |
| Surface elevation | 3,304 metres (10,840 ft) |
Lake Merzbacher (Kyrgyz: Мерцбахер көлү) is a moraine glacier lake located in east Kyrgyzstan between the north and south Engilchek Glaciers in the Tien Shan Mountains.[1] It is often called the "Disappearing Lake" because it drains every year as the ice melts, often causing a glacial lake outburst flood.[2] The lake was named after a German explorer, Gottfried Merzbacher, who led an expedition in the area in 1903.[1][3] An ice dam prevents the lake from draining through the majority of the year. However, when a hole finally melts through the dam, the lake drains within three days.[3] When this happens, the lake's discharge can be up to 1000 m3 a second which causes destruction of infrastructure and creates major flooding downstream.[1] It goes through this cycle of appearing, expanding and then draining annually.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bormudoi, A; Shabunin, A; Hazarika, M; Zaginaev, V; Samarakoon, L. Studying the outburst of the Merzbacher lake of Inylchek glacier, Kyrgyzstan with Remote Sensing and field data. https://www.academia.edu/3194847. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- ↑ "The Merzbacher Lake". http://triptokyrgyzstan.com/en/destinations/places/merzbacher-lake. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Curwood, Steve. "Almanac/Merzbacher Lake". http://loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=03-P13-00032&segmentID=4. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
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