The timing and extent of Quaternary glaciation of Stok, northern Zanskar Range, Transhimalaya, of northern India

Orr, Elizabeth N.; Owen, Lewis A.; Murari, Madhav K.; Saha, Sourav; Caffee, Marc W.

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.05.031

Cited by 27 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 71 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…(Owen and Sharma, ; Naithani et al ., ; Ahmad et al ., , Burbank et al ., ; Srivastava, ; Singh et al ., ). Gangotri glacier has retreated ~30 km upstream over the past ~60 ka (Owen and Sharma, ; Burbank et al ., ), the ELA rising in elevation from 4095 ± 295 to 5160 ± 160 m a.s.l., providing an ΔELA of 1065 ± 295 m. Glacial studies across the Tethyan Himalaya of northern India (Dortch et al ., ; Orr et al ., , ) and the Tibetan plateau (Heyman, ) document maximum ΔELAs between 240−290 and 280−494 m, respectively; the magnitude of Gangotri glacier retreat over this timescale stands in stark contrast to these. This rate of recession has yet to be determined in Garhwal, where local glacial stages record ΔELAs < 100 m within the past 1 ka, compared to an ΔELA of 465 ± 100 m for Gangotri glacier.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…). This approach has been successfully applied in Ladakh, northern India (Dortch et al ., ; Orr et al ., , ; Saha et al ., ) and the Karakoram (Seong et al ., ), reflecting accurate estimates of the ELAs. Our study adopts methods strongly recommended by Porter (), whereby the mean ELA of a glacial stage also provides an estimation of the snowline altitude (SA).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Rates of rockwall slope erosion in the upper Bhagirathi catchment, Garhwal Himalaya

Orr

Owen

Saha

et al. 2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rockwall slope erosion is defined for the upper Bhagirathi catchment using cosmogenic Beryllium‐10 (10Be) concentrations in sediment from medial moraines on Gangotri glacier. Beryllium‐10 concentrations range from 1.1 ± 0.2 to 2.7 ± 0.3 × 104 at/g SiO2, yielding rockwall slope erosion rates from 2.4 ± 0.4 to 6.9 ± 1.9 mm/a. Slope erosion rates are likely to have varied over space and time and responded to shifts in climate, geomorphic and/or tectonic regime throughout the late Quaternary. Geomorphic and sedimentological analyses confirm that the moraines are predominately composed of rockfall and avalanche debris mobilized from steep relief rockwall slopes via periglacial weathering processes. The glacial rockwall slope erosion affects sediment flux and storage of snow and ice at the catchment head on diurnal to millennial timescales, and more broadly influences catchment configuration and relief, glacier dynamics and microclimates. The slope erosion rates exceed the averaged catchment‐wide and exhumation rates of Bhagirathi and the Garhwal region on geomorphic timescales (103−105 years), supporting the view that erosion at the headwaters can outpace the wider catchment. The 10Be concentrations of medial moraine sediment for the upper Bhagirathi catchment and the catchments of Chhota Shigri in Lahul, northern India and Baltoro glacier in Central Karakoram, Pakistan show a tentative relationship between 10Be concentration and precipitation. As such there is more rapid glacial rockwall slope erosion in the monsoon‐influenced Lesser and Greater Himalaya compared to the semi‐arid interior of the orogen. Rockwall slope erosion in the three study areas, and more broadly across the northwest Himalaya is likely governed by individual catchment dynamics that vary across space and time. © 2019 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rates of rockwall slope erosion in the upper Bhagirathi catchment, Garhwal Himalaya

Orr

Owen

Saha

et al. 2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Rowan (2016); Solomina et al (2016), and Xu and Yi (2014) summarise the glacial chronology and thereby constrain the timing, extent and frequency of glacier fluctuations. Studies from neighbouring regions suggest one (Sharma and Owen, 1996;Barnard et al, 2004a;Deswal et al, 2017) or two (Owen et al, 1996(Owen et al, ,1997(Owen et al, , 2001Taylor and Mitchell, 2000;Barnard et al, 2004b;Orr et al, 2018Orr et al, , 2017 episodes of glacier advance during the LIA period. In terms of the timing, studies suggest glacier expansion at $800 years BP and $200 years BP in the Upper Chandrabhaga basin and Zanskar (Owen et al, 1996(Owen et al, , 1997(Owen et al, , 2001Taylor and Mitchell, 2000;Orr et al, 2017Orr et al, , 2018; during 200-300 years BP in NW Garhwal (Sharma and Owen, 1996;Barnard et al, 2004a); during 600-140 years BP in the Gori Ganga basin (Barnard et al, 2004b); and at $150 years BP in the Miyar Basin (current study area) (Deswal et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Glacio-archaeological evidence of permanent settlements within a glacier end moraine complex during 980-1840 AD: The Miyar Basin, Lahaul Himalaya, India

Saini

Sharma

Deswal³

et al. 2019

Anthropocene

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study presents glacio-archaeological evidence from the Miyar basin, Lahaul Himalaya, that points towards the former presence of a well settled agricultural society, within a glacier end moraine complex. Three high altitude villages (Tharang, Phundang and Patam, now in ruins) with elaborate irrigation networks thrived within the end moraine complex of Tharang glacier at 3700 m a.s.l. Evidence exists in the form of dilapidated houses which had an organised internal space, chronologically constrained by radiocarbon (14 C) dating. These settlements occupied the end moraine complex between 980 and 1840 CE, thereby encompassing the majority of Little Ice Age period (1300-1600 CE), as defined elsewhere. The existence of settlements along with an irrigation system and associate fields at $3700-3800 m a.s.l. for almost $860 years during the late 10 th to early 19 th centuries suggests more favourable climatic (warm) conditions that at present. By contrast, present habitation is restricted to areas below $3500 m a.s.l. However, the slope controlled irrigation system also suggests moisture stressed conditions during the 980-1840 CE period, similar to present. The available temperature and snowfall proxies for the region support our proposed timing, and suggest favourable climatic conditions for the survival of these settlements.

show abstract

“…f Local glacial stages from the northwestern end of the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen. Gopal: Saha et al (2018); Stok: Orr et al (2017), andSaha et al (2018); Amda: Orr et al (2018), andSaha et al (2018); Karzok and Mentok: Hedrick et al (2014) and Saha et al, (2018); Hamtah: Saha et al (2018). g Regional glacial stages from Saha et al (2018).…”

Section: Study Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The arid/semiarid climatic setting of the Ladakh region is largely responsible for the preservation of very old landforms and sediment deposits (>400 ka; Hedrick et al, 2011;Orr et al, 2017Orr et al, , 2018Owen et al, 2006) and slow rates of landscape change (<0.07 ± 0.01 mm/a; Dietsch et al, 2015;Dortch et al, 2011a). The investigated Gopal, Stok, and Amda catchments are three north-facing transverse catchments in the high-altitude desert landscapes of the northern Zanskar Range in Ladakh that retain small valley glaciers (Figures 2 and 3; Table 1).…”

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

Rockwall Slope Erosion in the Northwestern Himalaya

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rockwall slope erosion is an important component of alpine landscape evolution, yet the role of climate and tectonics in driving this erosion remains unclear. We define the distribution and magnitude of periglacial rockwall slope erosion across 12 catchments in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in the Himalaya of northern India using cosmogenic 10Be concentrations in sediment from medial moraines. Beryllium‐10 concentrations range from 0.5 ± 0.04 × 104 to 260.0 ± 12.5 × 104 at/g SiO2, which yield erosion rates between 7.6 ± 1.0 and 0.02 ± 0.004 mm/a. Between ∼0.02 and ∼8 m of rockwall slope erosion would be possible in this setting across a single millennium, and >2 km when extrapolated for the Quaternary period. This erosion affects catchment sediment flux and glacier dynamics, and helps to establish the pace of topographic change at the headwaters of catchments. We combine rockwall erosion records from the Himalaya of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand in India and Baltistan in Pakistan to create a regional erosion data set. Rockwall slope erosion rates progressively decrease with distance north from the Main Central Thrust and into the interior of the orogen. The distribution and magnitude of this erosion is most closely associated with records of Himalayan denudation and rock uplift, where the highest rates of change are recorded in the Greater Himalaya sequences. This suggests that tectonically driven uplift, rather than climate, is a first order control on patterns of rockwall slope erosion in the northwestern Himalaya. Precipitation and temperature would therefore come as secondary controls.

show abstract

The timing and extent of Quaternary glaciation of Stok, northern Zanskar Range, Transhimalaya, of northern India

Cited by 27 publications

References 71 publications

Rates of rockwall slope erosion in the upper Bhagirathi catchment, Garhwal Himalaya

Rates of rockwall slope erosion in the upper Bhagirathi catchment, Garhwal Himalaya

Glacio-archaeological evidence of permanent settlements within a glacier end moraine complex during 980-1840 AD: The Miyar Basin, Lahaul Himalaya, India

Rockwall Slope Erosion in the Northwestern Himalaya

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About