Quaternary geology, tectonics and distribution of palaeo- and present fluvio/glacio lacustrine deposits in Ladakh, NW Indian Himalaya—a study based on field observations

Phartiyal, Binita; Sharma, Anupam; Upadhyay, Rajeev; Ram-Awatar, None; Sinha, Anshu K.

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.09.004

Cited by 96 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Denudation rates estimated from cosmogenic 10 Be inventories are low despite the steep alpine topography (Dortch et al, 2011;Dietsch et al, 2014;Munack et al, 2014), so that the Transhimalayan ranges of Ladakh and Zanskar host some of the oldest glacial landforms in the Himalaya-Tibet orogen Hedrick et al, 2011). Massive staircases of river-derived fill terraces (Fort et al, 1989;Clift and Giosan, 2014) located up to 400 m above present river levels, together with stacks of lake sediments and local landslide and fan deposits (Hewitt, 2002;Phartiyal et al, 2005; 2013), testify to major alternating cut-and-fill cycles in the upper Indus catchment (Blöthe et al, 2014). Some of these prominent sediment bodies are between 100 and 530 ka old Blöthe et al, 2014;Scherler et al, 2014), and demonstrate the longevity of valley fills in the rain shadow of the Higher Himalayas.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Recycling of Pleistocene valley fills dominates 135 ka of sediment flux, upper Indus River

Munack

Blöthe

Fülöp

et al. 2016

Quaternary Science Reviews

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Rivers draining the semiarid Transhimalayan Ranges at the western Tibetan Plateau margin underwent alternating phases of massive valley infill and incision in Pleistocene times. The effects of these cut-and-fill cycles on millennial sediment fluxes have remained largely elusive. We investigate the timing and geomorphic consequences of headward incision of the Zanskar River, a tributary to the Indus, which taps the >250-m thick More Plains valley fill that currently plugs the endorheic high-altitude basins of Tso Kar and Tso Moriri. In situ 10Be exposure dating and topographic analyses show that a phase of valley infill gave way to net dissection and the NW Himalaya's first directly dated stream capture in late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6, ∼135 ka ago. Headwaters of the Indus are currently capturing headwaters of the Sutlej, and rivers have eroded >14.7 km3 of sediment from the Zanskar headwaters since, mobilising an equivalent of ∼8% of the Indus' contemporary sediment storage volume from only 0.3% of its catchment area. The resulting specific sediment yields are among the rarely available rates averaged over the 105-yr timescale, and surpass 10Be-derived denudation rates from neighbouring catchments three-to tenfold. We conclude that recycling of Pleistocene valley fills has fed Transhimalayan headwaters with more sediment than liberated by catchment denudation, at least since the last glacial cycle began. This protracted release of sediment from thick Pleistocene valley fills might bias estimates of current sediment loads and long-term catchment denudation. Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Recycling of Pleistocene valley fills dominates 135 ka of sediment flux, upper Indus River

Munack

Blöthe

Fülöp

et al. 2016

Quaternary Science Reviews

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“…Zanskar and Ladakh have been reported as seismically active zones within the Himalaya (Kotlia et al 1997;Valdiya 2002;Phartiyal et al 2005), although there has been no report of high magnitude earthquake events. Given the numerous faults in the vicinity of Keylong Serai, it is highly probable that some of these faults are active and that seismic shaking associated with an early Holocene event was the main trigger mechanism for the collapse of this mountain.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are few other palaeoenvironmental records for this area; a core from Tso Kar, which is only 20 km from the rock avalanche, does not appear to have a Holocene record (Bhattacharyya 1989;Phartiyal et al 2005). While reservations may apply to the validity of radiocarbon dates in the latter paper because of a hard-water effect due to the abundance of carbonate rocks within the lake catchment, cosmogenic dates on terraces and debris flow activity in Tangtse, Ladakh are thought to confirm increased humidity of the climate at this time (Brown et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Keylong Serai rock avalanche, NW Indian Himalaya: geomorphology and palaeoseismic implications

et al. 2007

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This paper describes the geomorphology of rock avalanche deposits that resulted from a major mountain slope failure at Keylong Serai on the north slope of the Indian High Himalaya, an area of high altitude desert. Cosmogenic 10 Be exposure ages of the widespread deposits indicate their formation 7,510±110 years BP. Proxy records for this region of the Himalaya imply a similar dry climatic regime to the present day at this time, suggesting that precipitation was an unlikely trigger for this rock avalanche. An alternative mechanism associated with rock-wall stress relaxation is also unlikely, given the earlier timing of deglaciation in this area. Given the enormous volume of debris generated by this event, the most likely trigger for this mountain collapse and resultant rock avalanche is high ground acceleration during a great earthquake (M>8). It is proposed that rock avalanches can be used to extend the limited palaeoseismic record and improve information on the recurrence interval of great earthquakes within the Himalaya arc.

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“…In arid, tectonically active mountain belts (e.g. Ladakh, India), extensive lake sediments may be preserved for over 10 4 yr (Phartiyal et al, 2005). Lake deposits up to c. 1 million years old may be found in the monsoon-influenced Kathmandu basin, Nepal Himalaya (Sakai et al, 2006).…”

Section: Types Of Sediment Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment Cascades in Active Landscapes

Davies

Korup²

2010

Sediment Cascades

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Quaternary geology, tectonics and distribution of palaeo- and present fluvio/glacio lacustrine deposits in Ladakh, NW Indian Himalaya—a study based on field observations

Cited by 96 publications

References 24 publications

Recycling of Pleistocene valley fills dominates 135 ka of sediment flux, upper Indus River

Recycling of Pleistocene valley fills dominates 135 ka of sediment flux, upper Indus River

The Keylong Serai rock avalanche, NW Indian Himalaya: geomorphology and palaeoseismic implications

Sediment Cascades in Active Landscapes

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