Rapid Changes
Meltwater can be an indication of abrupt climate change. An instance of a large meltwater body is the case of the region of a tributary of Bindschadler Ice Stream, West Antarctica where rapid vertical motion of the ice sheet surface has suggested shifting of a subglacial water body.
It can also destabilize glacial lakes leading to sudden floods, and destabilize snowpack causing avalanches. Dammed glacial meltwater from a moraine-dammed lake that is released suddenly can resulted in the floods that created the granite chasms in Purgatory Chasm State Reservation.
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