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Superintendent Tomie Lee has issued an advisory for park visitors
planning to be in the Dundas Bay area. This advisory cautions against
camping, hiking, boating, or kayaking in the western arm of Dundas
Bay due to a possible flooding event that could occur in this arm
of the bay at any time.
esearchers,
who are studying the natural phenomenon of catastrophic water releases
from glacial lakes in Southeast Alaska and Canada, have advised
park officials that a sudden release of water from Abyss Lake, located
on the southeastern edge of the Brady Glacier north of Dundas Bay,
may be imminent.
atastrophic
outburst floods from glacially- dammed lakes are known as a "Jokulhlaups".
These events have occurred in Abyss lake recently in the summers
of 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2005. The results of this massive
and often unexpected outflow of water, has caused flooding downstream
of the Oscar River which empties into the western arm of Dundas
Bay. In past events, large numbers of uprooted trees (some more
than 80 years old), vegetation, and a large amount of sediment were
deposited into the waters of Dundas Bay in a very short period of
time.
hile
scientists are unable to predict exactly when the water may be released
from the lake, they have noted that the water level in the lake
has been rising and was observed on Aug. 3, 2006 to be seven to
eight meters from overflowing the lake basin. Based on past releases
of the lake, it is expected that a substantial volume of the lake's
water could be released at any time posing a real hazard to life
and property downstream in the western arm of Dundas Bay.
For
that reason, park officials are warning the public to stay out of
the area until it is indicated that the flood potential has passed.
For the most up- to- date information on the status of this area,
contact the park's Visitor Information Station at 907- 697- 2627.
Source: Sheri Barry, GLBA
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& Disclaimer
Author:Jane
Tranel
Last modified on: December 12, 2003
www.nps.gov/akso
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