increased late pleistocene erosion rates during fluvial aggradation in the garhwal himalaya northern india the response of surface processes to climatic forcing is fundamental for understanding the impacts of climate change on landscape evolution in the himalaya most large rivers feature prominent fill terraces that record an imbalance between sediment supply and transport capacity presumably due to past fluctuations in monsoon precipitation and or effects of glaciation at high elevation here we present volume estimates chronological constraints and 10 be derived paleo erosion rates from a prominent valley fill in the yamuna catchment garhwal himalaya to elucidate the coupled response of rivers and hillslopes to pleistocene climate change although precise age control is complicated due to methodological problems the new data support formation of the valley fill during the late pleistocene and its incision during the holocene we interpret this timing to indicate that changes in discharge and river transport capacity were major controls compared to the present day late pleistocene hillslope erosion rates were higher by a factor of 2 4 but appear to have decreased during valley aggradation the higher late pleistocene erosion rates are largely unrelated to glacial erosion and could be explained by enhanced sediment production on steep hillslopes due to increased periglacial activity that declined as temperatures increased alternatively erosion rates that decrease during valley aggradation are also consistent with reduced landsliding from threshold hillslopes as a result of rising base levels in that case the similarity of paleo erosion rates near the end of the aggradation period with modern erosion rates might imply that channels and hillslopes are not yet fully coupled everywhere and that present day hillslope erosion rates may underrepresent long term incision rates

embedding reach scale fluvial dynamics within the caesar cellular automaton landscape evolution model abstract we introduce a new computational model designed to simulate and investigate reach scale alluvial dynamics within a landscape evolution model the model is based on the cellular automaton concept whereby the continued iteration of a series of local process rules governs the behaviour of the entire system the model is a modified version of the caesar landscape evolution model which applies a suite of physically based rules to simulate the entrainment transport and deposition of sediments the caesar model has been altered to improve the representation of hydraulic and geomorphic processes in an alluvial environment in channel and overbank flow sediment entrainment and deposition suspended load and bed load transport lateral erosion and bank failure have all been represented as local cellular automaton rules although these rules are relatively simple and straightforward their combined and repeatedly iterated effect is such that complex non linear geomorphological response can be simulated within the model examples of such larger scale emergent responses include channel incision and aggradation terrace formation channel migration and river meandering formation of meander cutoffs and transitions between braided and single thread channel patterns in the current study the model is illustrated on a reach of the river teifi near lampeter wales uk

wave current bottom shear stresses and sediment resuspension in cleveland bay australia the bottom sediment resuspension is an important process in cleveland bay north australia hydrodynamics and suspended sediment concentrations ssc were measured from january to april 1993 during this field work two high sediment resuspension events were observed an iterative method of calculating the bottom shear stress under wave current motion has been applied using the calculated bottom shear stresses the resuspension mechanisms of bottom sediment in cleveland bay has been investigated by analysing data collected during two periods in january and march 1993 swell has been found to be the most important factor in sediment suspensions for both high ssc events wind waves have little effect on ssc levels tidal currents are too weak to stir up bottom sediment particles into the flow but affect the detailed ssc structure by tidal convection the critical shear stress for sediment resuspension in cleveland bay is about 2 0 n m2

nature and timing of large landslides in the himalaya and transhimalaya of northern india four large landslides each with a debris volume 10 6 m 3 in the himalaya and transhimalaya of northern india were examined mapped and dated using 10 be terrestrial cosmogenic radionuclide surface exposure dating the landslides date to 7 7 1 0 ka darcha 7 9 0 8 ka patseo 6 6 0 4 ka kelang serai and 8 5 0 5 ka chilam comparison of slip surface dips and physically reasonable angles of internal friction suggests that the landslides may have been triggered by increased pore water pressure seismic shaking or a combination of these two processes however the steepness of discontinuities in the darcha rock slope suggests that it was more likely to have started as a consequence of gravitationally induced buckling of planar slabs deglaciation of the region occurred more than 2000 years before the darcha patseo and kelang serai landslides it is unlikely that glacial debuttressing was responsible for triggering the landslides the four landslides their causes potential triggers and mechanisms and their ages are compared to 12 previously dated large landslides in the region fourteen of the 16 dated landslides occurred during periods of intensified monsoons seismic shaking however cannot be ruled out as a mechanism for landslide initiation because the himalaya has experienced great earthquakes on centennial to millennial timescales the average holocene landscape lowering due to large landslides for the lahul region which contains the darcha patseo and kelang serai landslides is w0 12 mm yr previously published large landslide landscape lowering rates for the himalaya differ significantly furthermore regional glacial and fluvial denudation rates for the himalaya are more than an order of magnitude greater this difference highlights the lack of large landslide data lack of chronology problems associated with single catchment large landslide based calculations and the need for regional landscape lowering determinations over a standardized time period

a late quaternary catastrophic flood in the lahul himalayas impressive flood deposits are described resulting from a catastrophic lake outburst in the upper chandra valley in the lahul himalaya northern india reconstructions of the former glacial lake glacial lake batal and the discharges were undertaken using landforms and sediment data the glacial dam burst released 1 496 km3 of water in 0 72 days with peak discharges of between 21 000 and 27000 m3 s at batal dating by osl suggests the flood occurred ca 36 9 if 8 4 to 43 4 2 10 3 ka ago this cataclysmic flood was responsible for major resedimentation and landscape modification within the chandra valley journal of quaternary suence

climate control on erosion distribution over the himalaya during the past 100 ka sediment samples from a 50 m long core representing 100 ka of deposition taken from the ganga plain on the campus of the indian institute of technology kanpur were analyzed for sr and nd isotope compositions both 87 sr 86 sr and nd vary significantly with depth in the core 0 72701 0 76708 and 14 4 to 16 6 respectively within the range for silicate rocks of the higher and the lesser himalaya the variations in the isotope compositions reflect variations in the mixing proportion of sediments from the higher and lesser himalaya the two major sediment sources to the ganga the opposite trends in 87 sr 86 sr and nd depth profiles further confirm this hypothesis the isotope profiles exhibit two major excursions ca 20 ka and ca 70 ka ago coinciding with periods of precipitation minima and larger glacial cover these excursions are the result of a decrease in the proportion of sediment from the higher himalaya due to a decrease in monsoon precipitation and an increase in glacial cover that are in turn caused by lower solar insolation this study highlights the significant influence of climate on erosion in the himalaya

uplift and convergence along the himalayan frontal thrust of india along the himalayan thrust front in northwestern india terrace deposits exposed 20 to 30 m above modern stream level are interpreted to have been uplifted by displacement on the underlying himalayan frontal thrust a radiocarbon age limits the age of the terrace to 1665 215 calendar bc 3663 215 radiocarbon years before present yielding a vertical uplift rate of 6 9 1 8 mm yr in combination with published studies constraining the dip of the himalayan frontal thrust fault to about 30 in the study area the observed uplift rate equates to horizontal shortening across the himalayan frontal thrust of 11 9 3 1 mm yr and the slip rate of the himalayan frontal thrust of 13 8 3 6 mm yr this is similar to previously reported rate estimates along the himalayan arc based on displacement of older plio miocene age rocks or the much shorter records of geodesy and historical seismicity the similarity is consistent with the idea that convergence across the himalayan front has occurred at a relatively steady rate through time the seismic expression of this deformation includes several great m 8 historical earthquakes which due to lack of surface rupture during those events have been attributed to their occurrence on blind thrusts yet the occurrence of a possible fault scarp in the field area indicates that past earthquakes have been sufficiently large to rupture to the surface and produce coseismic scarps these observations suggest a potential for earthquakes along the himalayan frontal thrust larger than those observed historically

cellular modelling of river catchments and reaches advantages limitations and prospects the last decade has witnessed the development of a series of cellular models that simulate the processes operating within river channels and drive their geomorphic evolution their proliferation can be partly attributed to the relative simplicity of cellular models and their ability to address some of the shortcomings of other numerical models by using relaxed interpretations of the equations determining fluid flow cellular models allow rapid solutions of water depths and velocities these can then be used to drive usually conventional sediment transport relations to determine erosion and deposition and alter the channel form the key advance of using these physically based yet simplified approaches is that they allow us to apply models to a range of spatial scales 1 100 km 2 and time periods 1 100 years that are especially relevant to contemporary management and fluvial studies however these approaches are not without their limitations and technical problems this paper reviews the findings of nearly 10 years of research into modelling fluvial systems with cellular techniques principally focusing on improvements in routing water and how fluvial erosion and deposition including lateral erosion are represented these ideas are illustrated using sample simulations of the river teifi wales a detailed case study is then presented demonstrating how cellular models can explore the interactions between vegetation and the morphological dynamics of the braided waitaki river new zealand finally difficulties associated with model validation and the problems prospects and future issues important to the further development and application of these cellular fluvial models are outlined 2007 elsevier b v all rights reserved

simplified process modeling of river avulsion and alluvial architecture connecting models and field data abstract modeling is an invaluable tool for studying sedimentary basin filling and for understanding depositional processes with long recurrence intervals including channel avulsion simplified modeling approaches such as cellular models and process analogue experiments are particularly useful for efficiently exploring alternative hypotheses and evaluating first order controls on river avulsion and alluvial architecture here we review the history and current state of the art in simplified avulsion and alluvial architecture models with a particular focus on how results and insights from these models can be incorporated into field and subsurface studies and vice versa simplified avulsion and alluvial architecture models have proliferated in the past decade providing a wide variety of models to serve as a basis for future coupled field modeling studies we compare features of leading models and discuss avenues for effectively pairing model capabilities with hypotheses and field data outstanding questions highlighted by recent modeling efforts include 1 what thresholds control avulsion initiation in different systems 2 how do floodplain processes and topography influence avulsion dynamics and alluvial architecture 3 what factors determine where avulsion channels stabilize answering these questions will require targeted modeling efforts coupled to data from ancient systems hence our model comparison emphasizes features that can be used to choose or design fit for purpose models and we outline how quantitative data useful for model selection and validation can be obtained from modern systems and ancient deposits matching model goals with targeted questions and model parameters and predictions with quantitative field data will help tighten communication between field and model oriented sedimentary geologists facilitating advances in our understanding of river avulsion and alluvial architecture

experimental measurement of the relative importance of controls on shoreline migration abstract shoreline position in sedimentary rocks is a sensitive recorder of the interplay of several controlling factors the most important of these are thought to be the stratigraphic trinity eustatic sea level subsidence and sediment supply in ancient rock sequences it is generally difficult to disentangle the effects of these variables here we analyze the relative influence of sea level subsidence sediment supply and other controlling variables on shoreline migration in an experimental basin equipped with a subsiding floor the experiment used a linear hinge type subsidence profile for which the rate was kept constant in time constant overall sediment supply and base level variation on two time scales that were first applied separately and then superimposed although base level was the only controlling variable that was externally varied in time the base level changes induced changes in other variables indirectly e g by changing the partitioning of sediment between the fluvial and offshore segments of the system we examine the relative importance of measured direct and indirect changes in all the governing variables through the use of a moving boundary equation for shoreline migration when measured values are used for all the variables in the equation shoreline migration rate throughout the run can be predicted with a maximum r2 of 0 92 starting with this optimal prediction of the observed shoreline behavior we successively replace variables in the equation with their run averaged values degrading the prediction the relative loss of prediction accuracy as each variable is replaced is a measure of the importance of that variable in accounting for the observed shoreline migration by this measure base level is the most important variable followed in turn by sediment supply to the foreset geometry of the foreset and the average subsidence rate over the foreset from the shoreline migration equation we also derive a quantitative version of the a s ratio often applied in sequence stratigraphy the new formulation reduces to a form comparable to the traditional descriptive a s ratio if changes in foreset slope gain or loss of sediment to the fluvial system and spatial variation in subsidence rate are all negligible

significant effect of sediment cohesion on delta morphology delta morphology is thought to be controlled by factors such as river discharge tides and waves numerical modelling shows that sediment cohesion also strongly influences the development of a delta s characteristics the morphologies of the world s deltas are thought to be determined by river discharge tidal range and wave action 1 more recently sea level rise 2 3 and human engineering4 have been shown to shape delta evolution the effects of factors such as sediment type and the overall amount of sediment carried by rivers are considered secondary4 5 6 in particular the role of sediment cohesion which is controlled by sediment size and type of vegetation is unclear here we use a numerical flow and transport model7 8 9 10 to show that sediment cohesiveness also strongly influences the morphology of deltas we find that holding all other factors constant highly cohesive sediments form bird s foot deltas with rugose shorelines and highly complex floodplains whereas less cohesive sediments result in fan like deltas with smooth shorelines and flat floodplains in our simulations sediment cohesiveness also controls the number of channels that form within the deltas and the average angle of bifurcation of those channels as vegetation generally acts as a cohesive agent we suggest that deltas that formed before the expansion of land plants in the devonian period should show fan like characteristics a finding consistent with the limited data from the sedimentological record11

no late quaternary strike slip motion along the northern karakoram fault abstract models that treat long term evolution of the tibetan orogen in terms of interactions between rigid blocks require the right slip karakoram fault that bounds the western margin of the tibetan plateau to be a long lived stable high slip rate feature while the southern portion of the fault clearly remains active recent work has proposed that the northern half of the karakoram fault is currently inactive new field observations and geochronologic results from the northern end of the karakoram fault system confirm this interpretation and provide the first quantitative data on the minimum age for the termination of slip in the southeast pamir gravel that yields a u series age of 198 5 ka on secondary carbonate caps a non deformed strath terrace that extends across the main strand of the karakoram fault the secondary achiehkopai fault strand is overlain by undisturbed hangdi glacial stage 24 6 ka deposits and dabudar glacial stage penultimate glacial cycle 150 ka or older deposits which lack observable lateral displacement or deformation together these observations show that the northern portion of the karakoram fault system has not accommodated any detectable strike slip deformation since at least 24 6 ka and most likely since 200 ka or more these results show that the karakoram fault system no longer forms a continuous discrete kinematic boundary at the western margin of the tibetan plateau this suggests that even long 500 km strike slip faults within orogenic belts are inherently unstable features consistent with models of continental collision zones involving relatively weak crust and distributed deformation

relationships between right lateral shear along the karakoram fault and metamorphism magmatism exhumation and uplift evidence from the k2 gasherbrum pangong ranges north pakistan and ladakh the karakoram fault is a major nw se aligned dextral strike slip fault that has accommodated minor extrusion of thickened tibetan crust since the mid miocene controversy exists as to whether the fault is lithospheric in scale resulting in synkinematic metamorphism and granite melting or whether it is an upper crustal fault cutting through earlier metamorphic and granitic rocks structural metamorphic and geochronological data from the karakoram fault show that 1 metamorphism and granite genesis occurred prior to strike slip shearing meaning that u pb zircon and monazite ages from deformed granites cannot be used as proxies for dating strike slip shearing only as a maximum age constraint on initiation of ductile shearing 2 sheared miocene leucogranites along the fault are equivalent to the baltoro granite batholith offset 40 150 km along the fault and show a strain gradient from high ductile strain to undeformed away from the fault 3 40 ar 39 ar and fission track ages of k2 orthogneisses and gasherbrum diorite show that rocks adjacent to the fault cooled during cretaceous to mid tertiary time and were not reset during shearing indicating that shear heating was not important 4 the gasherbrum diorite adjacent to the fault has never been at depths greater than 6 km since the early cretaceous and less than 3 km of material has been eroded off since then we conclude that the karakoram fault has had no significant influence on regional metamorphism or melting at least at levels exposed today and is restricted to the upper middle crust

contrasting patterns of early twenty first century glacier mass change in the himalayas glaciers are among the best terrestrial climate indicators an important water resource in mountains1 2 and a major contributor to global sea level rise3 4 in the hindu kush karakoram himalaya region hkkh a paucity of appropriate glacier data has prevented a comprehensive assessment of current regional mass balance5 however there are indirect evidences of a complex pattern of glacial responses5 8 in reaction to heterogeneous climate change signals9 here we provide the first coherent data set of detailed glacier thickness changes over the hkkh during 2003 2009 by combining satellite laser altimetry and a global elevation model in the eastern central and south western parts of the hkkh glacier wastage is widespread with regional thinning rates up to 0 66 0 09 m a 1 in the jammu kashmir region conversely in the karakoram glaciers are close to balance with only a slight thinning of 0 07 0 04 m a 1 regionally averaged thinning rates under debris mantled ice are similar to those of clean ice despite insulation by debris covers the 2003 2008 specific mass balance for our hkkh study region is 0 21 0 05 m a 1 water equivalent we significantly less negative than the global average of 0 7 m a 1 we for glaciers and ice caps4 10 this difference is mainly an effect of the balanced glacier mass budget in the karakoram the corresponding hkkh sea level contribution is 0 035 0 009 mm a 1 amounting to 1 of the present day sea level rise11 our 2003 2008 mass budget of 12 8 3 5 gt a 1 is more negative than recent satellite gravimetry based estimates of 5 6 gt a 1 over 2003 2010 ref 12 for the mountain catchments of the indus and ganges basins13 the glacier imbalance contributes 3 5 and 2 0 respectively to the annual average river discharge13 and up to 10 for the upper indus basin14

the role of the indian summer monsoon and the mid latitude westerlies in himalayan glaciation review and speculative discussion new dates for late quaternary glaciations in the himalayas show that during the last glacial cycle glaciations were not synchronous throughout the region rather in some areas glaciers reached their maxima at the global glacial maximum of c 18 20 ka bp whereas in others glaciers were most extensive at c 60 30 ka bp comparison of these data with palaeoclimatic records from adjacent regions suggest that on millennial timescales himalayan glacier fluctuations are controlled by variations in both the south asian monsoon and the mid latitude westerlies

exhumation and incision history of the lahul himalaya northern india based on u th he thermochronometry and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide methods abstract low temperature apatite u th he ahe thermochronology on vertical transects of leucogranite stocks and 10 be terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide tcn surface exposure dating on strath terraces in the lahul himalaya provide a first approximation of long term 10 4 10 6 years exhumation rates for the high himalayan crystalline series hhcs for northern india the ahe ages show that exhumation of the hhcs in lahul from shallow crustal levels to the surface was 1 2 mm a and occurred during the past 2 5 ma bedrock exhumation in lahul fits into a regional pattern in the hhcs of low temperature thermochronometers yielding plio pleistocene ages surface exposure ages of strath terraces along the chandra river range from 3 5 to 0 2 ka two sites along the chandra river show a correlation between tcn age and height above the river level yielding maximum incision rates of 12 and 5 5 mm a comparison of our ahe and surface exposure ages from lahul with thermochronometry data from the fastest uplifting region at the western end of the himalaya the nanga parbat syntaxis illustrates that there are contrasting regions in the high himalaya where longer term 10 5 10 7 years erosion and exhumation of bedrock substantially differ even though holocene rates of fluvial incision are comparable these data imply that the orogen s indenting corners are regions where focused denudation has been stable since the mid pliocene however away from these localized areas where there is a potent coupling of tectonic and surface processes that produce rapid uplift and denudation plio pleistocene erosion and exhumation can be characterized by disequilibrium where longer term rates are relatively slower and shorter term fluvial erosion is highly variable over time and distance the surface exposure age data reflect differential incision along the length of the chandra river over millennial time frames illustrate the variances that are possible in himalayan river incision and highlight the complexity of himalayan environments

cosmogenic radionuclide dating of glacial landforms in the lahul himalaya northern india defining the timing of late quaternary glaciation the timing of glaciation in the lahul himalaya of northern india was ascertained using the concentrations of cosmogenic 10be and 26al from boulders on moraines and drumlins and from glacially polished bedrock surfaces five glacial stages were identified sonapani i and ii kulti batal and chandra of these cosmogenic exposure ages were obtained on samples representative of the batal and kulti glacial cycles stratigraphical relationships indicate that the sonapani i and ii are younger no age was obtained for the chandra glacial advance batal glacial stage deposits are found throughout the valley indicating the presence of an extensive valley glacial system during the kulti stage glaciers advanced ca 10 km beyond their current positions moraines produced during the batal stage ca 12 15 5 ka are coeval with the northern hemisphere late glacial interstadial bolling allerod deglaciation of the batal glacial stage was completed by ca 12 ka and was followed by the kulti glacial stage during the early holocene at ca 10 11 4 ka on millennial time scales glacier oscillations in the lahul himalaya apparently reflect periods of positive mass balance coincident with times of increased insolation during these periods the south asian summer monsoon strengthened and or extended its influence further north and west thereby enhancing high altitude summer snowfall copyright 2001 john wiley sons ltd

topography of inland deltas observations modeling and experiments 1 the topography of inland deltas is influenced by the water sediment balance in distributary channels and local evaporation and seepage rates in this letter a reduced complexity model is applied to simulate inland delta formation and results are compared with the okavango delta botswana and with a laboratory experiment we show that water loss in inland deltas produces fundamentally different dynamics of water and sediment transport than coastal deltas especially deposition associated with expansion contraction dynamics at the channel head these dynamics lead to a systematic decrease in the mean topographic slope of the inland delta with distance from the apex following a power law with exponent 0 69 0 02 where the data for both simulation and experiment can be collapsed onto a single curve in coastal deltas on the contrary the slope increases toward the end of the deposition zone

spatially variable response of himalayan glaciers to climate change affected by debris cover the present state and future evolution of himalayan glaciers has been controversial an analysis of remotely sensed frontal changes and surface velocities from glaciers in the greater himalaya between 2000 and 2008 shows large regional variability in the responses of himalayan glaciers to climate change

natural and human induced landsliding in the garhwal himalaya of northern india after the march 28 1999 garhwal earthquake 338 active landslides including 56 earthquake induced landslides were mapped in a 226 km 2 study area in the garhwal himalaya northern india these landslides mainly comprised shallow failures in regolith and highly weathered bedrock involving avalanches slides and flows the total volume of active 33 landslide debris in the region was estimated to be 1 3 million m including 0 02 million m 2 of the total volume moved during and within a few days of the earthquake the denudation produced by the active landsliding within the study area is equivalent to a maximum landscape lowering of 5 7 mm if active landsliding persists for a duration of between 1 and 10 years then denudation due to landsliding is in the order of 0 6 6 mm a y1 approximately two thirds of the landslides in this region were initiated or accelerated by human activity mostly by the removal of slope toes at road cuts suggesting that human activity is accelerating denudation in this region three ancient catastrophic landslides each involving 1 million m 3 of debris were identified and two were dated to the early middle holocene using cosmogenic radionuclide 10 be and 26 al cosmogenic radionuclide 10 be and 26 al were also used to date strath terraces along the alaknanda river in lower garhwal himalaya to provide an estimate of 4m m a y1 for the rate of regional denudation throughout the holocene natural landsliding therefore contributes 5 50 of the overall denudation in this region and is important as a formative process in shaping the landscape q 2001 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

complexity in a cellular model of river avulsion abstract we propose a new model of river avulsion that emphasizes simplicity self organization and unprogrammed behavior rather than detailed simulation the model runs on a fixed cellular grid and tracks two elevations in each cell a high elevation representing the channel levee top and a low one representing the channel bottom the channel aggrades in place until a superelevation threshold for avulsion is met after an avulsion is triggered a new flow path is selected by steepest descent based on the low values of elevation flow path depends sensitively on floodplain topography particularly the presence of former abandoned channels several behavioral characteristics emerge consistently from this simple model 1 a tendency of the active flow to switch among a small number of channel paths which we term the active channel set over extended periods leading to clustering and formation of multistory sand bodies in the resulting deposits 2 a tendency for avulsed channels to return to their previous paths so that new channel length tends to be generated in relatively short segments and 3 avulsion related sediment storage and release leading to pulsed sediment output even for constant input each of these behaviors is consistent with observations from depositional river systems a single valued threshold produces a wide variety of avulsion sizes and styles larger nodal avulsions are rarer because pre existing floodplain topography acts to steer flow back to the active channel channel stacking pattern is very sensitive to floodplain deposition this work highlights the need to develop models of floodplain evolution at large time and space scales to complement the improving models of river channel evolution

landslides triggered by the 8 october 2005 kashmir earthquake abstract the 8 october 2005 kashmir earthquake triggered several thousand landslides these were mainly rock falls and debris falls although translational rock and debris slides also occurred in addition a sturzstrom debris avalanche comprising 80 million m3 buried four villages and blocked streams to create two lakes although landsliding occurred throughout the region covering an area of 7500 km2 the failures were highly concentrated associated with six geomorphic geologic anthropogenic settings including natural failures in 1 highly fractured carbonate rocks comprising the lowest beds in the hanging wall of the likely earthquake fault 2 tertiary siliciclastic rocks along antecedent drainages that traverse the hazara kashmir syntaxis 3 steep 50 slopes comprising precambrian and lower paleozoic rocks 4 very steep 50 lower slopes of fluvially undercut quaternary valley fills and 5 ridges and spur crests the sixth setting was associated with road construction extensive fissuring in many of the valley slopes together with the freshly mobilized landslide debris constitutes a potential hazard in the coming snowmelt and monsoon seasons this study supports the view that earthquake triggered landslides are highly concentrated in specific zones associated with the lithology structure geomorphology topography and human presence

timing and climatic drivers for glaciation across semi arid western himalayan tibetan orogen abstract mapping and forty seven new 10 be ages help define the timing of glaciation in the ladakh and pangong ranges in northwest india five new local glacial stages are defined for the ladakh range from oldest to youngest these include the ladakh 4 glacial stage at 81 20 ka the ladakh 3 glacial stage not dated the ladakh 2 glacial stage at 22 3 ka the ladakh 1 glacial stage not dated and the ladakh cirque glacial stage at 1 8 0 4 ka three local glacial stages are defined for the pangong range which include the pangong 2 glacial stage at 85 15 ka the pangong 1 glacial stage at 40 3 ka and the pangong cirque glacial stage at 0 4 0 3 ka the new 10 be ages are combined with 645 recalculated 10 be ages from previous studies to develop the first regional framework of glaciation across the dryland regions of the greater himalaya transhimalaya pamir and tian shan at the western end of the himalayan tibetan orogen nineteen regional glacial stages are recognized that are termed semi arid western himalayan tibetan stages swhts these include swhts 9 at 311 32 ka swhts 7 at 234 44 ka tentative swhts 6 at 146 18 ka swhts 5e at 121 11 ka swhts 5a at 80 5 ka swhts 5a at 72 8 ka swhts 4 at 61 5 ka swhts 3 at 46 4 ka swhts 2f at 30 3 ka swhts 2e at 20 2 ka swhts 2d at 16 9 0 7 ka swhts 2c at 14 9 0 8 ka swhts 2b at 13 9 0 5 ka swhts 2a at 12 2 0 8 ka swhts 1e at 8 8 0 3 ka tentative swhts 1d at 6 9 0 2 ka tentative swhts 1c at 3 8 0 6 ka swhts 1b at 1 7 0 2 ka and swhts 1a at 0 4 0 1 ka regional glacial stages older than 21 ka are broadly correlated with strong monsoons swhts that are 21 ka or younger have smaller uncertainties and broadly correlate with global ice volume given by marine oxygen isotope stages and northern hemisphere climatic events oldest dryas older dryas younger dryas roman humid period and little ice age

delta allometry growth laws for river deltas 1 under projected scenarios of sea level rise subsidence and sediment starvation many deltas around the world are expected to drown delta growth dynamics which determine the ability of a delta to adapt to these changes are poorly understood due to the difficulty of measuring change in slowly evolving landscapes we use time series imagery of experimental numerical and field scale deltas to derive four laws that govern the growth of river dominated deltas land area grows at a constant rate in the absence of relative sea level change while wetted area keeps pace maintaining a constant wetted fraction over the delta surface scaling of edge lengths versus areas suggests delta shorelines are nonfractal even though the channel network is fractal consequently channel edge length which provides critical habitat grows more rapidly than delta area these laws provide a blueprint for delta growth that will aid in delta restoration and help predict how existing deltas will evolve

quaternary lacustrine deposits in a high energy semi arid mountain environment karakoram mountains northern pakistan impressive quaternary lacustrine deposits are present as terrace remnants through out the karakoram mountains northern pakistan they are mainly the result of damming of drainage systems during glacial advances or by catastrophic mass movement deposits the longevity of most lakes is relatively short in the order of years to tens of yeaa but sedimentation rates are extremely high as a consequence of the high sediment loads within the rivers this results in deposits that frequently exceed 10 rn in thickness the sediments comprise dominantly planar bedded massive and less commonly planar laminated silts comprising detrital quartz brml of qwtermry science feldspar mica calcite chlorite and illite a facies model for lacustrine sedimentation in a high energy semi arid high mountain region is presented using case studies from a glacially dammed palaeolake glacial lake gilgit and a debris flow dammed palaeolake lake serat the rapid deposition and absence of organic material restricts the usefulness of these lacustrine sediments as proxies for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction but they are helpful in reconstructing the former extent of glaciers and illustrating the importance of high magnitude low frequency events such as landsliding as formative processes contributing to the evolution of the karakoram land scape

hillslope glacier coupling the interplay of topography and glacial dynamics in high asia 1 high asian glacial landscapes have large variations in topographic relief and the size and steepness of snow accumulation areas associated differences in glacial cover and dynamics allow a first order determination of the dominant processes shaping these landscapes here we provide a regional synthesis of the topography and flow characteristics of 287 glaciers across high asia using digital elevation analysis and remotely sensed glacier surface velocities glaciers situated in low relief areas on the tibetan plateau are mainly nourished by direct snowfall have little or no debris cover and have a relatively symmetrical distribution of velocities along their length in contrast avalanche fed glaciers with steep accumulation areas which occur at the deeply incised edges of the tibetan plateau are heavily covered with supraglacial debris and flow velocities are highest along short segments near their headwalls but greatly reduced along their debris mantled lower parts the downstream distribution of flow velocities suggests that the glacial erosion potential is progressively shifted upstream as accumulation areas get steeper and hillslope debris fluxes increase our data suggest that the coupling of hillslopes and glacial dynamics increases with topographic steepness and debris cover the melt lowering effect of thick debris cover allows the existence of glaciers even when they are located entirely below the snow line however slow velocities limit the erosion potential of such glaciers and their main landscape shaping contribution may simply be the evacuation of debris from the base of glacial headwalls which inhibits the formation of scree slopes and thereby allows ongoing headwall retreat by periglacial hillslope processes we propose a conceptual model in which glacially influenced plateau margins evolve from low relief to high relief landscapes with distinctive contributions of hillslope processes and glaciers to relief production and decay

evidence for holocene megafloods down the tsangpo river gorge southeastern tibet lacustrineandalluvialterracesandsedimentsrecordtheextentofatleasttwoholoceneglaciallydammedlakesimmediatelyupstreamofthe tsangpo rivergorge at the eastern syntaxis of the himalaya the larger lake covered 2835 km 2 with a maximum depth of 680 m and contained an estimated 832 km 3 of water the smaller lake contained an estimated 80 km 3 of water radiocarbon dating of wood and charcoal yielded conventional radiocarbon ages of 8860 f 40 and 9870 f 50 14 c yr b p for the higher set of lake terraces and 1220 f 40 and 1660 f 40 14 cy r b p forsedimentsfromthelowerterraces catastrophicfailureoftheglacialdamsthatimpoundedthelakeswouldhavereleasedoutburstfloods down the gorge of the tsangpo river with estimated peak discharges of up to 1 to 5 10 6 m 3 s 1 the erosive potential represented by the unit stream power calculated for the head of the gorge during such a catastrophic lake breakout indicates that post glacial megafloods down the tsangpo river were likely among the most erosive events in recent earth history d 2004 university of washington all rights reserved

quantitative metrics that describe river deltas and their channel networks 1 densely populated river deltas are losing land at an alarming rate and to successfully restore these environments we must understand the details of their morphology toward this end we present a set of five metrics that describe delta morphology 1 the fractal dimension 2 the distribution of island sizes 3 the nearest edge distance 4 a synthetic distribution of sediment fluxes at the shoreline and 5 the nourishment area the nearest edge distance is the shortest distance to channelized or unchannelized water from a given location on the delta and is analogous to the inverse of drainage density in tributary networks the nourishment area is the downstream delta area supplied by the sediment coming through a given channel cross section and is analogous to catchment area in tributary networks as a first step we apply these metrics to four relatively simple fluvially dominated delta networks for all these deltas the average nearest edge distances are remarkably constant moving down delta suggesting that the network organizes itself to maintain a consistent distance to the nearest channel nourishment area distributions can be predicted from a river mouth bar model of delta growth and also scale with the width of the channel and with the length of the longest channel analogous to hack s law for drainage basins the four delta channel networks are fractal but power laws and scale invariance appear to be less pervasive than in tributary networks thus deltas may occupy an advantageous middle ground between complete similarity and complete dissimilarity where morphologic differences indicate different behavior

a revised chronology for mississippi river subdeltas radiocarbon measurements by accelerator mass spectrometry relating to three of the four late holocene mississippi river subdeltas yielded consistent results and were found to differ by up to 2000 carbon 14 years from previously inferred ages these geological dataare in agreement with archaeological carbon 14 data and stratigraphic ages based on ceramic seriation and were used to develop a revised chronologic framework which has implications for prehistoric human settlement patterns coastal evolution and wetland loss and sequence stratigraphic interpretations

delta channel networks 1 a graph theoretic approach for studying connectivity and steady state transport on deltaic surfaces river deltas are intricate landscapes with complex channel networks that self organize to deliver water sediment and nutrients from the apex to the delta top and eventually to the coastal zone the natural balance of material and energy fluxes which maintains a stable hydrologic geomorphologic and ecological state of a river delta is often disrupted by external perturbations causing topological and dynamical changes in the delta structure and function a formal quantitative framework for studying delta channel network connectivity and transport dynamics and their response to change is lacking here we present such a framework based on spectral graph theory and demonstrate its value in computing delta s steady state fluxes and identifying upstream contributing and downstream nourishment areas and fluxes from any point in the network we use this framework to construct vulnerability maps that quantify the relative change of sediment and water delivery to the shoreline outlets in response to possible perturbations in hundreds of upstream links the framework is applied to the wax lake delta in the louisiana coast of the u s and the niger delta in west africa in a companion paper we present a comprehensive suite of metrics that quantify topologic and dynamic complexity of delta channel networks and via application to seven deltas in diverse environments demonstrate their potential to reveal delta morphodynamics and relate to notions of vulnerability and robustness

the delta connectome a network based framework for studying connectivity in river deltas abstract many deltas including the mississippi river delta have been losing land at fast rates compromising the safety and sustainability of their ecosystems knowledge of delta vulnerability has raised global concern and stimulated active interdisciplinary research as deltas are densely populated landscapes rich in agriculture fisheries oil and gas and important means for navigation there are many ways of looking at this problem which all contribute to a deeper understanding of the functioning of coastal systems one aspect that has been overlooked thus far yet fundamental for advancing delta science is connectivity both physical how different portions of the system interact with each other as well as conceptual pathways of process coupling in this paper i propose a framework called delta connectome for studying connectivity in river deltas based on different representations of a delta as a network after analyzing the classic network representation as a set of nodes e g bifurcations and junctions or regions with distinct physical or statistical behavior and links e g channels i show that from connectivity considerations the delta emerges as a leaky network that continuously exchanges fluxes of matter energy and information with its surroundings and evolves over time i explore each network representation and show through several examples how quantifying connectivity can bring to light aspects of deltaic systems so far unexplored and yet fundamental to understanding system functioning and informing coastal management and restoration this paper serves both as an introduction to the delta connectome framework as well as a review of recent applications of the concepts of network and connectivity to deltaic systems within the connectome framework

has focused denudation sustained active thrusting at the himalayan topographic front the geomorphic character of major river drainages in the himalayan foothills of central nepal suggests the existence of a discrete west northwest trending break in rock uplift rates that does not correspond to previously mapped faults the 40 ar 39 ar thermochronologic data from detrital muscovites with provenance from both sides of the discontinuity indicate that this geomorphic break also corresponds to a major discontinuity in cooling ages samples to the south are proterozoic to paleozoic whereas those to the north are miocene and younger combined these observations virtually require recent pliocene holocene motion on a thrust sense shear zone in the central nepal himalaya 20 30 km south of the main central thrust field observations are consistent with motion on a broad shear zone subparallel to the fabric of the lesser himalayan lithotectonic sequence the results suggest that motion on thrusts in the toe of the himalayan wedge may be synchronous with deeper exhumation on more hinterland structures in central nepal we speculate that this continued exhumation in the hinterland may be related to intense sustained erosion driven by focused orographic precipitation at the foot of the high himalaya

dynamic behavior of suspended sediment concentrations in a shallow lake perturbed by episodic wind events field experiments were conducted in lake balaton a large surface area 600 km2 but shallow mean depth 3 2 m lake in hungary to quantify the resuspension and deposition of bottom sediment due to episodic storm events measurements were made of windspeed and direction surface waves mean water velocity and suspended sediment concentration during significant wind events the computed bottom stress due to surface waves dominated that due to the mean current and therefore surface waves were assumed to be the major cause of sediment resuspension a simple model for the depth averaged suspended sediment concentration based on surface wave height was calibrated with about 10 h of data collected during one storm event and verified against 15 d of data collected at the same site the success of the suspended sediment model which assumes that the bottom sediment was noncohesive is surprising since the bottom material was composed predominantly of sediment in the clay and fine silt size ranges this fit may indicate the presence of a thin surface layer of loosely bound sediment that is continuously involved in resuspension the suspended sediment model could easily be integrated into a water quality model e g to predict light attenuation provided that lateral transport is negligible or it could be used to provide the bottom boundary condition for a more general suspended sediment transport model in which advective transport is included due to their small fall velocities finegrained particles i e those in the silt and clay size ranges are transported easily by flows an understanding of the dynamic behavior of these particles is particularly important in shallow lakes and estuaries since there they may repeatedly settle to the bot

growth and drainage of supraglacial lakes on debris mantled ngozumpa glacier khumbu himal nepal ablation of debris mantled glaciers in nepal has resulted in the formation of several potentially unstable moraine dammed lakes some of which constitute serious hazards ngozumpa glacier khumbu himal has undergone significant downwasting in recent decades and is believed to lie close to the threshold for moraine dammed lake formation the debris mantled ablation area of the glacier is studded with numerous supraglacial lakes the majority of which occupy closed basins with no perennial connections to the englacial drainage system perched lakes perched lakes can undergo rapid growth by subaerial and water line melting of exposed ice faces and calving subaerial and subaqueous melting beneath thick 1 m debris mantles is comparatively insignificant although lake expansion can contribute substantially to ablation of the glacier perched lakes cannot continue to grow indefinitely but are subject to rapid drainage once a connection is made to englacial conduits the level of one of the lakes on the ngozumpa however is controlled by the altitude of a spillway through the lateral moraine of the glacier this lake underwent only limited growth in the period 1998 2000 but is likely to experience monotonic growth if glacier mass balance continues to be negative

timing and mechanisms of central himalayan exhumation discriminating between tectonic and erosion processes the ability to deduce exhumation mechanisms from thermochronological data is hampered by the fact that assumptions on the thermal state of the lithosphere have to be made additional argumentation is generally required to discriminate between erosion controlled and tectonically induced exhumation this problem can be overcome by studying the spatial distribution of zircon and apatite u th he and fission track data in this work the variation of four different low temperature isotopic systems generating age trends along a sampling line is used to infer mechanisms of quaternary exhumation in the central high himalayan metamorphic belt observed zircon age trends with southwards increasing cooling ages from 0 5 to 1 7 ma are attributed to tectonically induced exhumation the uniform apatite cooling ages clustered c 0 5 ma are attributed to erosion

southward extrusion of tibetan crust and its effect on himalayan tectonics the tibetan plateau is a storehouse of excess gravitational potential energy accumulated through crustal thickening during india asia collision and the contrast in potential energy between the plateau and its surroundings strongly influences the modern tectonics of south asia the distribution of potential energy anomalies across the region derived from geopotential models indicates that the himalayan front is the optimal location for focused dissipation of excess energy stored in the plateau the modern pattern of deformation and erosion in the himalaya provides an efficient mechanism for such dissipation and a review of the neogene geological evolution of southern tibet and the himalaya shows that this mechanism has been operational for at least the past 20 million years this persistence of deformational and erosional style suggests to us that orogens like other complex systems can evolve toward steady state configurations maintained by the continuous flow of energy the capacity of erogenic systems to self organize into temporally persistent structural and erosional patterns suggests that the tectonic history of a mountain range may depend on local energetics as much as it does on far field plate interactions

near surface expression of early to late holocene displacement along the northeastern himalayan frontal thrust at marbang korong creek arunachal pradesh india we present the results of a paleoseismic trench investigation of an 8 m scarp at the mouth of marbang korong creek 27 58 26 0700 n 95 13 42 3000 e within the meizoseismal area of the 1950 assam earthquake along the northeast himalayan frontal thrust hft of india structural stratigraphic and growth stratigraphy relations observed in the trench are interpreted to indicate that expression of the scarp is due to uplift and folding of near surface sediments in response to hft displacement that reaches near the surface yet below the 5 m depth of the trench exposure the most recent contribution to scarp growth dates to fault displacement post 2009 cal yr b p it remains a matter of speculation whether or not the most recent event deformation is a result of the great 1950 assam earthquake that is reported on the basis of intensity data online material high resolution trench log 5 and table summarizing results and inputs of radiocarbon analysis of detrital charcoal samples

bedrock incision rock uplift and threshold hillslopes in the northwestern himalayas the topography of tectonically active mountain ranges reflects a poorly understood competition between bedrock uplift and erosion dating of abandoned river cut surfaces in the northwestern himalayas reveals that the indus river incises through the bedrock at extremely high rates 2 12 mm yr 1 in the surrounding mountains the average angles of hillslopes are steep and essentially independent of erosion rate suggesting control by a common threshold process in this rapidly deforming region an equilibrium is maintained between bedrock uplift and river incision with landsliding allowing hillslopes to adjust efficiently to rapid river down cutting

nature and timing of quaternary glaciation in the himalayan tibetan orogen abstract much effort has been made in recent years to define the timing and extent of quaternary glaciation throughout the himalayan tibetan orogen these studies are challenging because of the logistical and political inaccessibility of the region and the inherent problems associated with the application of numerical dating techniques nevertheless the studies are providing abundant evidence for significant glacial advances throughout the last several glacial cycles and are beginning to accurately define the extent and timing of glaciation in selected regions studies are showing that himalayan tibetan glaciers in arid regions during the last glacial cycle reached their maximum extent early in the cycle and that global last glacial maximum glacier advances were significantly less extensive however along the more monsoonal influenced greater himalaya there is increasing evidence to suggest that glaciation was more extensive later in the last glacial cycle but this has yet to be fully assessed in addition the new studies are showing that throughout most himalayan tibetan regions significant glacier advances occurred during the lateglacial and early holocene with minor advances in some regions during the mid holocene the still relatively poor chronological control in the himalayan tibetan orogen however makes it difficult to construct correlations across the region and with regions elsewhere in the world this in turn makes it hard to assess the relative importance of the different climatic mechanisms that force glaciation across the himalayan tibetan orogen and to quantify paleoclimate change in this high altitude subtropical region the lateglacial and holocene glacial records however are particularly well preserved in several himalayan tibetan regions glacial successions such as these have the greatest potential to be examined in detail using newly developing numerical dating and geomorphic and sedimentologic methods to derive high resolution terrestrial records of glaciation that will help in paleoclimatic reconstruction for high altitude subtropical regions

glacier and landslide feedbacks to topographic relief in the himalayan syntaxes despite longstanding research on the age and formation of the tibetan plateau the controls on the erosional decay of its margins remain controversial pronounced aridity and highly localized rock uplift have traditionally been viewed as limits to the dissection of the plateau by bedrock rivers recently however glacier dynamics and landsliding have been argued to retard headward fluvial erosion into the plateau interior by forming dams and protective alluvial fill here we report a conspicuous clustering of hundreds of natural dams along the indus and the tsangpo rivers where these cross the himalayan syntaxes the indus is riddled by hundreds of dams composed of debris from catastrophic rock avalanches forming the largest concentration of giant landslide dams known worldwide whereas the tsangpo seems devoid of comparable landslide dams in contrast glacial dams such as river blocking moraines in the headwaters of both rivers are limited to where isolated mountain ranges intersect the regional snowline we find that to first order high local topographic relief along both rivers corresponds to conspicuously different knickzones and differences in the type and potential longevity of these dams in both syntaxes glacier and landslide dams act as a negative feedback in response to fluvial dissection of the plateau margins natural damming protects bedrock from river incision and delays headward knickpoint migration thereby helping stabilize the southwestern and southeastern margins of the tibetan plateau in concert with the effects of upstream aridity and localized rock uplift

timing and style of late quaternary glaciation in the eastern hindu kush chitral northern pakistan a review and revision of the glacial chronology based on new optically stimulated luminescence dating abstract glacial landforms and sediments provide evidence for two late quaternary major glaciations in the eastern hindu kush new optically stimulated luminescence osl dating was undertaken to define the timing of these glaciations and associated sediment deposition the drosh glacial was defined by osl dating to have occurred during marine isotopic stage 3 producing an extensive valley glaciation that extended to an altitude of 1300 m above sea level asl in the main valley with an equilibrium line altitude ela depression of 1200 m the pret glacial produced a valley glaciation that extended to an altitude of 1670 m asl in the main valley with an ela depression of 1000 m the new osl dating suggests that this glacial stage probably represents several glacial advances that occurred during the latter part of the last glacial moraines representing two minor glacial advances the shandur and barum glacial stages were also recognized near the contemporary glaciers these probably formed during the middle late holocene and little ice age respectively this study and comparisons with adjacent regions suggest that there was limited glaciation during the global last glacial maximum lgm in the hindu kush deglaciation in the mountain ranges of the himalayas and the consequent meltwater discharge into the adjacent seas was negligible immediately after the global lgm and it was therefore of minor importance as a forcing factor for global climate change during the end of the last glacial cycle however our studies show that glaciation and particularly deglaciation is important in controlling the deposition of thick valley fills and the landscape evolution of the high mountain environments

estimating local bed shear stress from velocity observations replicate velocity observations using conventional equipment under typical field conditions are used to evaluate the precision of different methods for estimating local boundary shear stress from velocity measurements the bed shear velocity u can be estimated within 3 using the depth averaged velocity in the vertically averaged logarithmic velocity profile to be accurate this method is limited to relatively simple flow geometries which may be expected to have the appropriate velocity structure estimates of u made using a single near bed velocity observation are less precise by a factor of 3 because of the larger uncertainty associated with a single observation accuracy of this method requires appropriate flow conditions only near the bed so it may be applied in a wider range of flow conditions including spatially variable flow estimates of u from the slope of the near bed velocity profile are the least precise and require the most restrictive flow conditions for accuracy but offer the advantage that they may be made without independent knowledge of the bed roughness different methods for estimating roe should be useful in judging the precision of estimates made under similar conditions these estimates of precision together with considerations of convenience and model accuracy provide the basis for select ing the most appropriate or advantageous method for different conditions and purposes

oblique stepwise rise and growth of the tibet plateau two end member models of how the high elevations in tibet formed are i continuous thickening and widespread viscous flow of the crust and mantle of the entire plateau and ii time dependent localized shear between coherent lithospheric blocks recent studies of cenozoic deformation magmatism and seismic structure lend support to the latter since india collided with asia 55 million years ago the rise of the high tibetan plateau likely occurred in three main steps by successive growth and uplift of 300 to 500 kilometer wide crustal thrust wedges the crust thickened while the mantle decoupled beneath gently dipping shear zones did not sediment infilling bathtub like of dammed intermontane basins formed flat high plains at each step the existence of magmatic belts younging northward implies that slabs of asian mantle subducted one after another under ranges north of the himalayas subduction was oblique and accompanied by extrusion along the left lateral strike slip faults that slice tibet s east side these mechanisms akin to plate tectonics hidden by thickening crust with slip partitioning account for the dominant growth of the tibet plateau toward the east and northeast

late quaternary holocene landscape evolution of a monsoon influenced high himalayan valley gori ganga nanda devi ne garhwal the garhwal himalaya provides an excellent natural laboratory in which to examine landscape evolution in a monsoon influenced high mountain environment geomorphic and sedimentological analysis and 10be cosmogenic radionuclide crn surface exposure dating of moraines fans and river and strath terraces in the gori ganga valley of nanda devi ne garhwal indicate that fans and river terraces developed rapidly by debris flow and flood processes during periods of deglaciation these phases of high sediment transfer occurred at 1 2 4 5 and 7 8 ka fan incision rates subsequent to major times of resedimentation after each glacial advance are between 19 and 57 mm year this contrasts with bedrock incision rates based on mid holocene strath terraces of 5 mm year these rates indicate that despite episodes of rapid denudation and resedimentation linked to glacial activity in this region the background rates of denudation are similar to those for other regions of the himalaya averaging several millimeters per year furthermore these data show the importance of climatic controls on landscape evolution and suggest a strong monsoonal control on the dynamics of earth surface processes in this region

fluvial fan deltas linking channel processes with large scale morphodynamics 1 alluvial fan deltas are built by aggrading and avulsing river channels a numerical model of flow and sediment transport in channels is combined with a condition for channel avulsion to describe evolution of the fan surface the model combines elements of two recent approaches 1 diffusional models of depositional basin filling which describe the evolution of overall morphology and 2 cellular models of channel evolution which provide simplified descriptions of channel dynamics here the cellular formulation is used simply as a template for discretizing a standard set of equations describing flow and sediment transport within channels the basic formulation is thus grid invariant and the results are in actual rather than arbitrary time and length scales the model captures the interaction between microscale channel morphodynamics including converging and diverging flow and avulsion and morphodynamics at the macroscale fan it provides a starting point for the study of a wide range of topics including the three dimensional stratigraphy of fan delta deposits and the response of fan deltas to engineering activities

modeling river delta formation a model to simulate the time evolution of river delta formation process is presented it is based on the continuity equation for water and sediment flow and a phenomenological sedimentation erosion law different delta types are reproduced by using different parameters and erosion rules the structures of the calculated patterns are analyzed in space and time and compared with real data patterns furthermore our model is capable of simulating the rich dynamics related to the switching of the mouth of the river delta the simulation results are then compared with geological records for the mississippi river

chronology and climatic implications of late quaternary glaciations in the goriganga valley central himalaya india abstract goriganga valley which is located in the transition zone between the dry steppe of the tibetan plateau in the north and the sub humid himalayan climate in the south has preserved four events of glaciation with decreasing magnitude the oldest stage i glaciation is represented by a 12 5 km long discontinuous diamictite ridge which terminates north of rilkot 3100 m asl the stage ii glaciation is represented by sub rounded and partially eroded lateral moraines and terminates around martoli village 3240 m asl the stage iii and iv glacial moraines are sharp crested unstable and terminate proximal to the present day glacier at 3640 m asl and 3740 m asl respectively the stage ii moraines have been optically dated between 25 2 ka and 22 1 ka implying that glacier expanded during the global last glacial maximum lgm this is contrary to the suggestion that during last glacial maximum lgm glaciation was limited in extent due to weak indian summer monsoon ism in the monsoon dominated regions of the himalaya we ascribe the lgm glaciations to a combination of the lowered temperature and enhanced mid latitude westerlies following the lgm glaciation goriganga valley experienced two major pulses of deglaciation the older event is dated between 16 and 12 ka and is coeval with the initiation of the ism whereas the younger events 10 8 ka represent the early to mid holocene strengthened ism the stage iii and iv glaciations which terminated proximal to the modern glacier are speculated to occur during the mid holocene and little ice age lia respectively

fluvial and marine controls on combined subaerial and subaqueous delta progradation morphodynamic modeling of compound clinoform development 1 fluviodeltaic systems commonly display a compound clinoform geometry that consists of a subaerial subaqueous delta couplet the extent of subaqueous delta development varies significantly and in modern systems is a function of fluvial input and basin hydrodynamics we present a model of fluviodeltaic progradation in which the repeated occurrence of characteristic terrestrial floods and large coastal storms drives fluvial and shallow marine morphodynamics respectively we couple fluvial and shallow marine sediment dynamics via the surf zone which we collapse to a shock condition and treat as a moving boundary with steady sediment supply and sea level and simple basin geometry our model naturally develops prograding deltas with compound clinoform geometries the subaerial delta grows via fluvial aggradation and shoreface progradation whereas the subaqueous delta expands through foreset progradation with only minor topset aggradation the interplay of fluvial input with the wave current field controls the basic partitioning of sediment between subaerial and subaqueous deltas and by extension the compound clinoform geometry increasing the frequency or magnitude of coastal storms decreasing flood frequency or discharge and reducing grain size all increase the fraction of sediment delivered to the shallow marine environment and the extent of subaqueous delta progradation relative to subaerial delta development our model which emphasizes the intrinsic coupling of fluvial and shallow marine sediment dynamics and downplays the importance of allogenic fluctuations can explain many of the first order morphologic features of natural delta systems including significant lateral separation of the shoreline and clinoform rollover and differing rates of subaerial and subaqueous delta progradation

landscape response to deglaciation in a high relief monsoon influenced alpine environment langtang himal nepal abstract significant glacial fluctuations and rapid paraglacial reworking of glacigenic sediments characterize the middle and late holocene of the langtang khola valley central nepal himalaya geomorphic mapping and beryllium 10 cosmogenic radionuclide crn dating of moraines and paraglacial fans were undertaken to test the existing paraglacial fan terrace and moraine chronologies the new dating compares favorably with prior studies that utilized radiocarbon adding additional support to the assumption that fan and terrace formation are strongly linked to deglaciation fan and terrace denudation rates are so rapid in this region averaging 33 mm yr that no depositional landforms older than 5 ka are preserved within 250 m of the valley floor in this region high rates of denudation during the late quaternary are driven by a combination of rapid tectonic uplift numerous glacial fluctuations and intense weathering driven by an active monsoon climate extensive reworking of glacigenic sediments in langtang during the latter half of the holocene is consistent with studies completed in other areas of the himalaya that are strongly influenced by the monsoon

integrated research on mountain glaciers current status priorities and future prospects abstract mountain glaciers are sensitive probes of the local climate and thus they present an opportunity and a challenge to interpret climates of the past and to predict future changes furthermore glaciers can constitute hazards including glacier outburst floods changes in the magnitude and timing of runoff in the mountains and adjacent regions and through worldwide loss of glacier ice a global rise in sea level to understand and ultimately to predict the dynamics and nature of climate and associated glacial and hydrological changes requires an integrated approach with communication and collaboration among glaciologists glacial geologists atmospheric scientists geomorphologists geochronologists and tectonists current strategies of research are evolving towards integrating research on mountain glaciers to address key scientific socio economic and political issues given the rapid birth and growth of new technologies and tools with which to study glaciers and glacial landscapes this community stands poised to address many of these challenges in the near future the key challenges that must be met soon include 1 determining the spatial temporal pattern of fluctuations of mountain glaciers from the last glacial cycle through the present 2 relating historical and past fluctuations in glaciers to variability in the primary features of ocean atmospheric circulation 3 identifying important but poorly understood processes controlling the motion and erosion of glaciers 4 developing and expanding the application of numerical models of glaciers 5 modeling the evolution of mountain landscapes in the face of repeated glaciation 6 examining the climate and the balance of energy and mass at the surface of glaciers 7 characterizing the role of intrinsic climate variability on glacier variations and 8 predicting the distribution sizes and nature of glaciers in the future while these ambitious goals are achievable and the research tools exist success will require significant bridging between the existing research communities involved and ambitious integration of research on mountain glaciers

coupling of rock uplift and river incision in the namche barwa gyala peri massif tibet geodynamic modeling demonstrates the strong potential for erosion to influence the pattern and style of deformation in active mountain belts but field studies yield conflicting views on the importance of erosion in influencing orogenesis here we compare patterns in river power inferred excess fluvial transport capacity topographic relief precipitation and mineral cooling ages to assess the coupling between surface erosion and rock uplift within the vicinity of the namche barwa gyala peri massif an active antiformal structure within the eastern himalayan syntaxis our rich and dense data set reveals a tight spatial correspondence of fluvial incision potential high relief and young cooling ages the spatial coincidence is most easily explained by a sustained balance between rock uplift and denudation driven by river incision over at least the last 1 m y the yarlung tsangpo brahmaputra river is the largest and most powerful river in the himalaya and two lines of evidence point to its active role in the dynamic interaction of local erosion rock uplift thermal weakening of the lithosphere and deformation 1 whereas along the rest of the himalayan front high relief and high rock uplift rates are essentially continuous the high relief and rapid exhumation in the syntaxis is restricted to a bull s eye pattern exactly where the largest river in the himalaya the yarlung tsangpo brahmaputra has the most energy per unit area available to erode its channel and transport sediment 2 the location of rapid incision on the yarlung tsangpo brahmaputra has been pinned for at least 1 m y and without compensatory uplift of the namche barwa gyala peri massif during this time the river would have eroded headward rapidly incising deeply into tibet

simulation of birdfoot delta formation with application to the mississippi delta 1 recently seybold et al 2007 proposed a reduced complexity model which simulates the process of delta formation on geological time scales it includes subaerial and subaqueous growth in a three dimensional framework in this paper we apply this model to the formation of a river dominated delta and compare the model dynamics with observations of the formation of the balize lobe of the mississippi river delta the model generates both subaerial and subaqueous channels and lateral levee formations as well as a profile morphology with steep drop offs and a flat delta surface which is similar to natural ones we show that the dimensionless parameters of the model may be consistently rescaled to match the balize lobe this means that after rescaling the water flows the subaerial geometry and time the deposited subaqueous lobe volume the sediment and water flows the age as well as the sediment capture ratio match the observed data finally we use detrended fluctuation analysis to show that the modeled long term dynamics of the delta formation process shows a complex temporal correlation structure a characteristic time scale separates periods of consistent delta growth by gradual sediment deposition at the mouths of distributary channels from periods during which random large scale channel avulsions lead to rapid change and the formation of new channels and subaqueous dominated deposition

mechanics of river mouth bar formation implications for the morphodynamics of delta distributary networks 1 in this paper we use observational data and numerical modeling to present a new explanation for the formation of river dominated delta networks observational data from deltas throughout the world show that distributary channel widths depths and lengths decrease nonlinearly with successive bifurcations trends in width and depth are an outcome of hydraulic geometry scaling the trend in channel length is a consequence of delta growth analyses of serial maps show that the positions of bifurcations are the fossilized locations of river mouth bars also called middle ground and distributary mouth bar in front of old delta channel mouths therefore the trend in channel length can be explained through the mechanics of river mouth bar formation and evolution we use delft3d a coupled hydrodynamic and morphodynamic model to simulate the process of river mouth bar formation within an expanding turbulent jet in front of distributary channel mouths our results describe in detail the formation and evolution of a river mouth bar system and demonstrate that the distance to the river mouth bar is proportional to jet momentum flux and inversely proportional to grain size therefore channel length decreases down delta because with each successive bifurcation the jet momentum flux decreases these results can be used to predict the future evolution of river dominated deltas and can be used to aid in hydrocarbon exploration of these depositional environments

a unifying framework for shoreline migration 1 multiscale shoreline evolution on sedimentary coasts 1 a unifying framework for shoreline migration is presented which synthesizes problems from coastal engineering geomorphology and stratigraphy into a common quantitative basis consideration of characteristic problems from these fields reveals that multiscale shoreline evolution problems naturally break into three classes on the basis of the morphologic unit of evolution shoreface bed versus shoreline planform versus stratigraphic shoreline trajectory shoreline evolution models correspondingly break into morphodynamic morphokinematic and hybrid approaches a generalized shoreline continuity equation is derived the shoreline exner equation which subsumes equilibrium profile models commonly used in geomorphology and engineering and provides a natural framework for interpreting shoreline trajectories preserved in the sedimentary record the shoreline exner equation provides a rigorous basis for geometric and moving boundary models which have significant untapped potential for shoreline migration problems recent advances in computational methods for evolving interface problems make hybrid models particularly attractive for problems of large scale planform shoreline dynamics such as delta evolution

crustal channel flows 2 numerical models with implications for metamorphism in the himalayan tibetan orogen 1 results from a thermal mechanical model ht1 that includes midcrustal channel flow are compatible with many features of the himalayan tibetan system radioactive self heating and rheological weakening of thickened model orogenic crust lead to the formation of a hot low viscosity midcrustal channel and a broad plateau channel material corresponding to the greater himalayan sequence ghs flows outward from beneath the plateau in response to topographically induced differential pressure at the plateau flank it is exhumed by focused surface denudation and juxtaposed with cooler newly accreted material corresponding to the lesser himalayan sequence lhs the model channel is bounded by coeval thrust and normal sense ductile shear zones interpreted to represent the main central thrust mct zone and south tibetan detachment system respectively inverted metamorphism associated with the model mct zone results from distributed ductile shear along the mct and extrusion of the hot channel a variety of model p t t path styles resembling those observed in the ghs and lhs are produced for points traveling through contrasting tectonic regimes that coexist in different parts of the model predicted times of peak metamorphism cooling and erosion of metamorphic facies are generally compatible with observations although model ghs cooling ages are too young the times of m1 and m2 metamorphic events observed in the ghs correspond to model times of maximum burial and maximum heating respectively the results highlight the need to integrate tectonics and metamorphism in continental collision models and demonstrate the importance of lateral transport of both heat and material in large hot orogens

rates and magnitudes of paraglacial fan formation in the garhwal himalaya implications for landscape evolution the development of paraglacial fans studied in the upper bhagirathi valley garhwal himalaya northern india relates to the retreat of the gangotri glacier over the last 200 years these fans demonstrate the speed by which mass movement and fluvial processes may lead to the modification and readjustment of the himalayan landscapes during deglaciation the paraglacial fans in this region grew within approximately 100 years of deglaciation and there after were modified by small debris flows and entrenched by fluvial incision on the basis of the preservation of moraines which were deposited during the last glacial total resedimentation of glacial sediments by mass movement and fluvial processes is estimated to occur over approximately 100 000 years in this region a knowledge of the magnitude and frequency of development of paraglacial fans is essential for hazard mitigation and management in himalayan environments where glaciers are presently retreating and are likely to retreat in the near future if global warming occurs

terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating of the oldest glacial successions in the himalayan orogen ladakh range northern india terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating of moraine boulders and alluvial fan sediments define the timing of five glacial advances over at least the last five glacial cycles in the ladakh range of the transhimalaya the glacial stages that have been identified are the indus valley glacial stage dated at older than 430 ka the leh glacial stage occurring in the penultimate glacial cycle or older the kar glacial stage occurring during the early part of the last glacial cycle the bazgo glacial stage at its maximum during the middle of the last glacial cycle and the early holocene khalling glacial stage the exposure ages of the indus valley moraines are the oldest observed to date throughout the himalayan orogen we observe a pattern of progressively more restricted glaciation during the last five glacial cycles likely indicating a progressive reduction in the moisture supply necessary to sustain glaciation a possible explanation is that uplift of himalayan ranges to the south and or of the karakoram mountains to the west of the region may have effectively blocked moisture supply by the south asian summer monsoon and mid latitude westerlies respectively alternatively this pattern of glaciation may reflect a trend of progressively less extensive glaciation in mountain regions that has been observed globally throughout the pleistocene

a semi empirical approach for estimation of bed shear stress in a tailings pond wind driven waves and currents exert shear stress on the bed of a tailings pond a semi empirical approach for estimating this bed shear stress is presented in this paper for the first time in a mine tailings storage facility the current induced component of the bed shear stress was obtained using 1 200 khz acoustic doppler current profiler measurements of in situ currents and a log law fit to the mean velocity profiles while the wave induced portion was calculated using empirical wave hindcasting equations the total bed shear stress was obtained by non linear addition of wave and current components using a wave current interaction approach the study was conducted in the middle cell of the shebandowan tailings storage facility northern ontario canada the measured currents facilitated the visualization of the complex near bed circulatory flow pattern in the pond the estimated combined wave current bed shear stress varied from 0 0006 to 0 16 pa with an average value of 0 028 pa the results also showed that linear addition of bed shear stresses due to waves and currents could underestimate the total bed shear stress a comparison of the results of the present work to those of previous studies suggests that it is more reliable to obtain current induced bed shear stress from field measurements than to estimate it from empirical equations

geomorphology how tibet might keep its edge the stability of the margins of the himalayan tibetan mountain belt constitutes a puzzle repeated damming of major tibetan rivers by glaciers so controlling river erosion is a possible explanation much attention has focused on how and when the tibetan plateau formed but far less research has been done on the controls on river incision into the plateau itself oliver korup and david montgomery address this issue which also relates to the question of why the tibetan plateau is still there at all despite hosting one of the deepest gorges on earth the plateau edge is extremely well defined and according to widely accepted stream power theory should be heavily dissected by one of asia s most powerful rivers the yarlung tsangp or yarlung zangbo korup and montgomery propose that the southeastern edge of the plateau was preserved in part by the presence of glaciers that were large enough during the holocene to stall aggressive river downcutting along the plateau margin

earthquake recurrence and rupture dynamics of himalayan frontal thrust india the black mango fault is a structural discontinuity that transforms motion between two segments of the active himalayan frontal thrust hft in northwestern india the black mango fault displays evidence of two large surface rupture earthquakes during the past 650 years subsequent to 1294 a d and 1423 a d and possibly another rupture at about 260 a d displacement during the last two earthquakes was at minimum 4 6 meters and 2 4 to 4 0 meters respectively and possibly larger for the 260 a d event abandoned terraces of the adjacent markanda river record uplift due to slip on the underlying hft of 4 8 0 9 millimeters per year or greater since the mid holocene the uplift rate is equivalent to rates of fault slip and crustal shortening of 9 6 3 5 7 0 millimeters per year and 8 4 3 6 7 3 millimeters per year respectively when it is assumed that the hft dips 30 10

fluvial incision and tectonic uplift across the himalayas of central nepal the pattern of fluvial incision across the himalayas of central nepal is estimated from the distribution of holocene and pleistocene terraces and from the geometry of modern channels along major rivers draining across the range the terraces provide good constraints on incision rates across the himalayan frontal folds sub himalaya or siwaliks hills where rivers are forced to cut down into rising anticlines and have abandoned numerous strath terraces farther north and upstream in the lesser himalaya prominent fill terraces were deposited probably during the late pleistocene and were subsequently incised the amount of bedrock incision beneath the fill deposits is generally small suggesting a slow rate of fluvial incision in the lesser himalaya the terrace record is lost in the high range where the rivers are cutting steep gorges to complement the terrace study fluvial incision was also estimated from the modern channel geometries using an estimate of the shear stress exerted by the flowing water at the bottom of the channel as a proxy for river incision rate this approach allows quantification of the effect of variations in channel slope width and discharge on the incision rate of a river the determination of incision rates requires an additional lithological calibration the two approaches are shown to yield consistent results when applied to the same reach or if incision profiles along nearby parallel reaches are compared in the sub himalaya river incision is rapid with values up to 10 15 mm yr it does not exceed a few millimeters per year in the lesser himalaya and rises abruptly at the front of the high range to reach values of 4 8 mm yr within a 50 km wide zone that coincides with the position of the highest himalayan peaks sediment yield derived from the measurement of suspended load in himalayan rivers suggests that fluvial incision drives hillslope denudation of the landscape at the scale of the whole range the observed pattern of erosion is found to closely mimic uplift as predicted by a mechanical model taking into account erosion and slip along the flat ramp flat geometry of the main himalayan thrust fault the morphology of the range reflects a dynamic equilibrium between present day tectonics and surface processes the sharp relief together with the high uplift rates in the higher himalaya reflects thrusting over the midcrustal ramp rather than the isostatic response to reincision of the tibetan plateau driven by late cenozoic climate change or late miocene reactivation of the main central thrust

loessic silt deposits in the western himalayas their sedimentology genesis and age abstract loess is abundant in the foreland basins of the himalayas however it is poorly developed within the intermontane basins of the western himalayas and karaloram selected sections were studied from the swat himalaya and the karakoram mountains fieldwork and sedimentological analysis including grain size mineralogy and microfabric showed that the loessic sediments have been reworked and some have undergone weak pedogeneses these silts are not true loess rather a loessic colluvium thermoluminescence tl dates from the loessic sediments in sections from the swat valley provided younger ages than earlier workers had suggested this is consistent with reworking of the loess in these areas it is concluded that care must be taken when using loessic silts for tl in similar mountainous terranes

style and timing of glacial and paraglacial sedimentation in a monsoon influenced high himalayan environment the upper bhagirathi valley garhwal himalaya abstract the gangotri glacier at the source of the ganges river has fluctuated greatly throughout the late quaternary in response to climatic oscillations this has resulted in impressive moraines paraglacial debris flow fans and terraces along the upper stretches of the bhagirathi valley cosmogenic radionuclide crn dating of glacial and paraglacial landforms shows that fans terraces and associated moraines formed approximately synchronously as the landscape readjusted to changing environmental conditions this synchronicity suggests that fan and terrace formation is intimately related to glaciation and that fluctuations in glacial and associated environments during times of climatic instability cause rapid sediment transfer and resedimentation of glacial landforms the crn dates show that all existing glacial and paraglacial landforms in the upper bhagirathi valley formed during the late pleistocene and holocene this demonstrates that in this high mountain environment paraglacial and glacial landforms are eroded and resedimented within about 20 000 years furthermore this testifies to the dynamic nature of glacial environments in monsoon influenced high mountain regions

influence of wave current interaction and high frequency forcing upon storm induced currents and elevations abstract a high resolution of order 1 km grid three dimensional model of the eastern irish sea including wave current interaction effects is used to examine the surges of november 1977 computed surge elevations and currents are compared with observations taken at the time the inclusion of wave current interaction effects in which the amplitude of the surface wind wave field changes over the period of the storm is shown to influence computed surge elevations in shallow regions the inclusion of wave current interaction effects also influences currents particularly in the near bed region an increase in air sea drag coefficient reflecting an enhanced sea surface roughness due to increased wave heights at the time of the storm is shown to improve the computed storm surge elevation in shallow regions the effects of including a high frequency component based on observations into the lower frequency meteorological forcing usually used to drive the model is examined such fluctuations produce high frequency variations in the near surface currents however such changes are not found at depth the introduction of similar high frequency changes into the currents along the open boundary of the model is also considered this produces high frequency variations throughout the water column within the interior of the eastern irish sea which are similar to those found in the observations

flood dispersal and deposition by near bed gravitational sediment flows and oceanographic transport a numerical modeling study of the eel river shelf northern california 1 a large flood of the eel river northern california created a thick sediment deposit between water depths of 50 and 70 m in january 1997 the freshwater plume however confined sediment delivery to water depths shallower than 30 m mechanisms proposed to explain the apparent cross shelf transport include dispersal by oceanographic currents resuspension by energetic waves and gravitationally forced transport of a thin layer of fluidized mud field observations indicate that these processes were all active but cannot determine their relative significance or whether these mechanisms alone explain the location size and timing of deposition approximately 30 of the sediment delivered by the eel river is accounted for in the midshelf mud bed and inner shelf but the fate of the remaining 70 is uncertain a three dimensional hydrodynamic model was used to examine potential mechanisms of sediment transport on the eel river shelf the model includes suspended sediment transport and was modified to account for a thin near bed layer of fluidized mud it was used to simulate flood dispersal on the eel river shelf to compare the relative importance of transport within the near bed fluid mud layer to suspended sediment transport and to evaluate sediment budgets for floods settling properties of fine grained sediment both within the flood plume and the fluid mud layer critically impact depositional patterns to a lesser degree wind driven ocean currents influence the volume of sediment that escapes the shelf and wave magnitude affects the cross shelf location of flood deposits though dilute suspension accounts for a large fraction of total flux cross shelf transport by gravitational forcing appears necessary to produce a midshelf mud deposit similar in volume location and timing to those seen offshore of the eel river

himalayan tectonics explained by extrusion of a low viscosity crustal channel coupled to focused surface denudation recent interpretations of himalayan tibetan tectonics have proposed that channel flow in the middle to lower crust can explain outward growth of the tibetan plateau1 2 3 and that ductile extrusion of high grade metamorphic rocks between coeval normal and thrust sense shear zones can explain exhumation of the greater himalayan sequence4 5 6 7 here we use coupled thermal mechanical numerical models to show that these two processes channel flow and ductile extrusion may be dynamically linked through the effects of surface denudation focused at the edge of a plateau that is underlain by low viscosity material our models provide an internally self consistent explanation for many observed features of the himalayan tibetan system8 9 10

a cellular model of braided rivers a broad sheet of water flowing over non cohesive sediment typically breaks up into a network of interconnected channels called a braided stream fig 1 the dynamics of such networks are complex channels migrate laterally split rejoin and develop bars with the flow shifting unpredictably from one part of the network to another many processes are known to operate in a braided river1 3 but it is unclear which of these are essential to explain the observed dynamics we describe here a simple deterministic numerical model of water flow over a cohesionless bed that captures the main spatial and temporal features of real braided rivers the patterns arise from local scour and deposition caused by a nonlinear dependence of bedload sediment flux on water discharge although the morphology of the resulting network depends in detail on the sediment transport rule used in the model our results suggest that the only factors essential for braiding are bedload sediment transport and laterally unconstrained free surface flow

gis based landslide susceptibility mapping for the 2005 kashmir earthquake region abstract the m w 7 6 october 8 2005 kashmir earthquake triggered several thousand landslides throughout the himalaya of northern pakistan and india these were concentrated in six different geomorphic geologic anthropogenic settings a spatial database which included 2252 landslides was developed and analyzed using aster satellite imagery and geographical information system gis technology a multi criterion evaluation was applied to determine the significance of event controlling parameters in triggering the landslides the parameters included lithology faults slope gradient slope aspect elevation land cover rivers and roads the results showed four classes of landslide susceptibility furthermore they indicated that lithology had the strongest influence on landsliding particularly when the rock is highly fractured such as in shale slate clastic sediments and limestone and dolomite moreover the proximity of the landslides to faults rivers and roads was also an important factor in helping to initiate failures in addition landslides occurred particularly in moderate elevations on south facing slopes shrub land grassland and also agricultural land were highly susceptible to failures while forested slopes had few landslides one third of the study area was highly or very highly susceptible to future landsliding and requires immediate mitigation action the rest of the region had a low or moderate susceptibility to landsliding and remains relatively stable this study supports the view that 1 earthquake triggered landslides are concentrated in specific zones associated with event controlling parameters and 2 in the western himalaya deforestation and road construction contributed significantly to landsliding during and shortly after earthquakes

orographic barriers high resolution trmm rainfall and relief variations along the eastern andes 1 quantifying the degree to which tectonic and erosive processes shape landscapes is key to understanding the evolution of tectonically active mountain belts here we explore the interplay of these two processes along the humid eastern flank of the south american andes we use high resolution tropical rainfall measurement mission trmm and srtm data to characterize elevation relief and hillslope angle of peak rainfall at orographic barriers over a distance of more than 3500 km along the eastern flanks we find that peak rainfall 3 5 m yr occurs at a mean elevation of 1 3 0 17 km a mean relief of 0 95 0 08 km and at moderate mean hillslope angles of 18 3 1 7 we suggest that topographic relief is the best first order rainfall predictor and we demonstrate how relief changes along strike south of the andean orocline alter rainfall distribution changes in climatic sedimentary and tectonic processes prevent the formation of high relief amounts at the mountain front and these areas are not characterized by pronounced rainfall peak

exploratory morphodynamic hindcast of the evolution of the abandoned yellow river delta 1578 1855 ce abstract the abandoned yellow river delta ayd which formed when the yellow river flowed into the southern yellow sea between 1128 and 1855 ce is a representative example of the sensitivity of deltas to modifications in their environments in this study we established a process based morphodynamic model to explore the morphological evolution of one such large scale fine grained delta the ayd before 1855 ce the uncertainties in the model settings which are inevitable when historical data are insufficient were assessed together with the corresponding influences on the evolution of the deltaic system by considering a series of scenarios the results indicate that the strength of local tidal forcing is the key factor that determines the shape and evolutionary trend of the delta sediment input discharge and the slope of the initial coastal profile have a considerable effect on the overall size of the delta and the relative ratio between subaerial and subaqueous parts of the delta respectively based on the evaluation of the uncertainties and a comparison with historical maps the simulated ayd was evaluated to be reliable through an analysis of the temporal delta evolution and residual sediment transport the morphological evolution of the ayd before 1855 ce was investigated the southern delta grew as the shoals merged with the mainland which is in agreement with an existing hypothesis zhang 1984 whereas the accretion of the northern delta was independent from the shoals in the northern part additionally suggestions are made regarding the distribution of the ayd at the end of its progradation stage which provides fundamental information for analyzing subsequent erosion processes since 1855 ce this study differs from existing studies on the ayd which are all based on geological approaches it provides insight into the evolution of the ayd through an alternative means viz a process based morphodynamic modeling approach

late quaternary valley infill and dissection in the indus river western tibetan plateau margin abstract the indus one of earth s major rivers drains large parts of the nw himalaya and the transhimalayan ranges that form part of the western tibetan plateau margin in the western himalayan syntaxis where local topographic relief exceeds 7 km the indus has incised a steep bedrock gorge at rates of several mm yr 1 upstream however the upper indus and its tributaries alternate between bedrock gorges and broad alluvial flats flanked by the ladakh and zanskar ranges we review the late quaternary valley history in this region with a focus on the confluence of the indus and zanskar rivers where vast alluvial terrace staircases and lake sediments record major episodes of aggradation and incision new absolute dating of high level fluvial terrace remnants using cosmogenic 10 be optically and infrared stimulated luminescence osl irsl indicates at least two phases of late quaternary valley infilling these phases commenced before 200 ka and 50 20 ka judging from terrace treads stranded 150 m and 30 40 m above modern river levels respectively numerous stacks of lacustrine sediments that straddle the indus river 200 km between the city of leh and the confluence with the shyok river share a distinct horizontal alignment constraints from irsl samples of lacustrine sequences from the leh spituk area reveal a protracted lake phase from 177 ka to 72 ka locally accumulating 50 m thick deposits in the absence of tectonic faulting major lithological differences and stream capture we attribute the formation of this and other large lakes in the region to natural damming by large landslides glaciers and alluvial fans the overall patchy landform age constraints from earlier studies can be reconciled by postulating a major deglacial control on sediment flux valley infilling and subsequent incision that has been modulated locally by backwater effects of natural damming while comparison with pleistocene monsoon proxies reveals no obvious correlation a late or post glacial sediment pulse seems a more likely source of this widespread sedimentation that has partly buried the dissected bedrock topography overall the long residence times of fluvial alluvial and lacustrine deposits in the region 500 ka support previous studies but remain striking given the dominantly steep slopes and deeply carved valleys that characterise this high altitude mountain desert recalculated late quaternary rates of fluvial bedrock incision in the indus and zanskar of 1 5 0 2 mm yr 1 are at odds with the longevity of juxtaposed valley fill deposits unless a lack of decisive lateral fluvial erosion helps to preserve these late pleistocene sedimentary archives we conclude that alternating 10 4 yr long phases of massive infilling and incision have dominated the late quaternary history of the indus valley below the western tibetan plateau margin

tibetan plateau river incision inhibited by glacial stabilization of the tsangpo gorge much attention has focused on how and when the tibetan plateau formed but far less research has been done on the controls on river incision into the plateau itself oliver korup and david montgomery address this issue which also relates to the question of why the tibetan plateau is still there at all despite hosting one of the deepest gorges on earth the plateau edge is extremely well defined and according to widely accepted stream power theory should be heavily dissected by one of asia s most powerful rivers the yarlung tsangp or yarlung zangbo korup and montgomery propose that the southeastern edge of the plateau was preserved in part by the presence of glaciers that were large enough during the holocene to stall aggressive river downcutting along the plateau margin a considerable amount of research has focused on how and when the tibetan plateau formed in the wake of tectonic convergence between india and asia1 although far less enquiry has addressed the controls on river incision into the plateau itself2 widely accepted theory3 predicts that steep fluvial knick points river reaches with very steep gradients in the eastern himalayan syntaxis at the southeastern plateau margin should erode rapidly4 driving a wave of incision back into the plateau preservation of the plateau edge thus presents something of a conundrum that may be resolved by invoking either differential rock uplift matching erosional decay5 6 7 or other mechanisms for retarding bedrock river incision8 9 in this region where high stream power excludes the potential for aridity as a simple limit to dissection of the plateau10 here we report morphologic evidence showing that quaternary depression of the regional equilibrium line altitude where long term glacier mass gain equals mass loss was sufficient to repeatedly form moraine dams on major rivers such damming substantially impeded river incision into the southeastern edge of the tibetan plateau through the coupled effects of upstream impoundment and interglacial aggradation such glacial stabilization of the resulting highly focused river incision centred on the tsangpo gorge could further contribute to initiating and accentuating a locus of rapid exhumation known as tectonic anaeurysm6

long recurrence interval of faulting beyond the 2005 kashmir earthquake around the northwestern margin of the indo asian collision zone the 2005 kashmir earthquake in pakistan occurred on a previously mapped active fault around the northwest margin of the indo asian collision zone to address the quantitative contribution of the earthquake to plate convergence we performed paleoseismological trench excavations at nisar camp site near muzaffarabad across the middle section of the 2005 surface rupture the fault strands exposed in the trench cut late holocene fluvial deposits and record evidence of both the 2005 and a penultimate event supported by the presence of colluvial deposits and a downdip increase in displacement along the fault strands the 2005 event produced a net slip of 5 4 m and the penultimate earthquake exhibits a similar amount of slip radiocarbon ages and historical accounts loosely constrain the timing of the penultimate event between 500 and 2200 yr b p however the exposed section encompasses 4 k y of stratigraphy suggesting an average interevent interval of 2 k y for the 2005 type events we thus conclude that the 2005 event did not occur on the plate boundary megathrusts but on intraplate active faults within the sub himalaya consequently the accumulated elastic strain around the complex northwestern margin of the indo asian collision zone has not been significantly released by the 2005 earthquake

himalayan seismic hazard the devastating earthquake in bhuj on 26 january 2001 highlighted the high earthquake risk in the indian region of gujarat in their perspective bilham et al warn that major earthquakes may be expected in another part of india the himalayan arc an analysis of historic earthquakes suggests that several major earthquakes are overdue in this region but that recent low activity has focused attention away from the himalayan arc projections from earlier earthquakes suggest that just one of the possibly overdue himalayan earthquakes may lead to 200 000 predictable fatalities

geomorphology of anomalously high glaciated mountains at the northwestern end of tibet muztag ata and kongur shan article i nfo muztag ata and kongur shan massifs represent a significant area of anomalously high topography at the northwestern end of the tibetan plateau rising to n7500 m above sea level asl from the plateau that has an average elevation of 3500 m asl these massifs provide an excellent opportunity to test geomorphic concepts such as the glacial buzz saw model using remote sensing digital elevation modeling field mapping and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide tcn methods the massifs were examined to determine the relative importance of tectonics and geomorphic processes in shaping the regional landscape and to provide a framework for testing geomorphic models the gneiss domes that underlie the peaks are the result of exhumation along the kongur detachment fault that has unroofed the massifs at a rate of between 4 6 km ma over the last few million years this has resulted in rapid uplift and active seismicity which is exemplified by the numerous fresh fault scarps throughout the region and large historic earthquakes the geomorphic system is dominated by glaciation and the region contains extensive successions of moraines and paraglacial landforms including fans terraces and landslides glaciers have oscillated considerably throughout the latter part of the quaternary and three major glacier stages are recognized karasu oldest olimde and subaxh youngest glacial stage that include at least 10 smaller glacial advance the style of glaciation has changed over time from expanded ice caps to piedmont glaciers to valley and cirque glaciers this possibly reflects a change in climate and or topographic constraints as the massifs grew and became incised the topography and glaciers in the region vary across the massifs divided by a broadly n s trending high ridge and watershed the western portion situated upwind the stoss slopes of the mid latitude westerlies that bring moisture to the region has gentle high topography and small valley glaciers in contrast on the eastern leeward slopes gradients are higher and long debris covered valley glaciers are present the hypsometry of the region indicate two peaks in the distribution frequency of elevation 3600 4100 m and 4400 4800 m asl these two elevation zones are consistent in space with the former equilibrium line altitudes during the olimde and subaxh glacial stages and suggest that glacial erosion most effective at the ela has helped control topography this observation supports the glacial buzz saw hypothesis which argues that glaciers determine hypsometry by means of rapid surface erosion based on tcn methods basin wide rates of erosion range from 0 1 to 1 4 km ma and are five to ten times lower than the unroofing rate of both massifs the discrepancy over different time scales suggests that initial unroofing was produced by abrupt tectonic uplift and that the unroofing of the massifs has continued at a slower pace during the late quaternary

catastrophic partial drainage of pangong tso northern india and tibet abstract catastrophic partial drainage of pangong tso one of the largest lakes in tibet is supported by the geomorphology of the tangtse valley ladakh northern india and cosmogenic 10be nuclide ages of roche moutonnees strath terraces and a flood deposit downstream from the former spillway the former spillway for pangong tso is 20 m high and likely allowed 18 km3 of water to drain catastrophically down the tangtse valley over a period of about 2 days sometime during the latest pleistocene to early holocene the largest flood deposit composed of imbricated granitic boulders up to 4 5 m in length is present 33 km downvalley of the spillway these boulders have a cosmogenic 10be exposure age of 11 1 1 0 ka the age of the outburst flood the minimum calculated discharge was 110 000 m3 s 1 one set of strath terraces upvalley of the flood deposit along the flood s drainage path shows that the rate of fluvial incision 0 3 0 1 mm y 1 during 122 10 5 ka increased to 1 5 0 5 mm y 1 during 10 5 ka to the present the temporal overlap of this increase in the rate of fluvial incision with the main flood deposit suggests that the flood was important in defining the incision along the tangste valley a second set of strath terraces shows little change in incision from 0 6 0 9 to 0 9 1 4 mm y 1 sometime between 18 and 27 ka roche moutonnees upvalley from strath terraces yield a cosmogenic 10be age of 35 8 3 0 ka defining the time when glaciers last occupied the tangtse valley however the lack of glacial sediment along the tangste valley suggests that the flood eroded glacial depositional landforms and sediments resulting in high sediment loads in the floodwater which in turn increased fluvial incision to form strath terraces much of the eroded glacial sediment was subsequently redeposited as the main flood deposit the catastrophic drainage of pangong tso may be the result of breaching of the pangong tangste spillway during very high lake levels in a period of intensified monsoon 10 7 9 6 ka and or possibly the consequence of seismic activity along the karakoram fault that is associated with the initial formation of pangong tso