The accelerated loss of glacial cover in the Cordillera Blanca in Áncash, Peru, exposes the underlying rocks with high concentrations of sulfides from the Chicama Formation to oxidation and leaching processes, generating acid rock drainage (ARD) in glacial and periglacial areas. These are transported by surface runoff, contaminating the surface water with high concentrations of metals and sulfates, as well as increasing the acidity, which poses a risk to human health and the ecosystem. Therefore, the risk indices for human health due to metal contamination were evaluated at 19 surface water sampling points distributed in the Río Negro sub-basin. Hydrochemical analyses revealed average metal concentrations in the following order: Fe (28.597 mg/L), Al (3.832 mg/L), Mn (1.085 mg/L), Zn (0.234 mg/L), Ni (0.085 mg/L), Co (0.053 mg/L), Li (0.036 mg/L), Cu (0.005 mg/L), and Pb (0.002 mg/L). T...

This article describes the landslide risk assessment of the Rampac Grande rural community in the Peruvian Andes, where an unexpectedly fast-moving landslide claimed fatalities in 2009. The study site represents a socially, culturally, and geologically challenging environment that limits applicable technical solutions for landslide risk reduction and demands a high level of community participation in all risk reduction steps. The performed landslide surface movement monitoring and slope stability calculations showed that the studied slopes are very close to failure. Therefore, the detailed hazard assessment was combined with field investigations of household vulnerabilities to perform a qualitative risk assessment in the zone around the 2009 catastrophic landslide. Results show that the high vulnerability, rather than the very high hazard, is responsible for assigning houses to the high-r...

Este estudio modela el impacto de un escenario de Inundación Repentina de Lago Glaciar (GLOF) en el lago Parón, ubicado en la Cordillera Blanca, Perú, utilizando un novedoso procedimiento topográfico y geológico de múltiples fases. La Cordillera Blanca ha experimentado un rápido deshielo impulsado por el cambio climático, lo que ha dado lugar a la formación de nuevos lagos glaciares y al aumento del volumen de lagos existentes, algunos de los cuales representan un peligro significativo debido al riesgo de GLOF. El lago Parón es uno de estos casos críticos, ya que su cercanía al glaciar Hatunraju lo hace vulnerable a las avalanchas de hielo, que podrían generar ondas de impulso capaces de iniciar la erosión de la presa morrénica natural. Según el modelo, en el peor de los escenarios, una avalancha de hielo podría hacer que el GLOF llegue a la ciudad de Caraz en 36 a 42 mi...