Widespread aggradation in the mountainous catchment of the Alaknanda-Ganga River System: Timescales and implications to Hinterland-foreland relationships

Quaternary Science Reviews

Volumn 29, Issue 17-18, 2010, Pages 2238-2260

  Ray, Yogesh ^a   Srivastava, Pradeep ^a  

^a WADIA INSTITUTE OF HIMALAYAN GEOLOGY   (India)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BEDROCK INCISION; CLIMATIC VARIATION; DEBRIS FLOWS; DEGLACIATIONS; EROSION AND DEPOSITION; EROSION RATES; FLUVIAL TERRACES; HIGH INTENSITY RAINFALL; HIMALAYAS; IN-PHASE; INCISION RATES; INDO-GANGETIC PLAINS; ISOTOPIC MASS BALANCE; LITHOFACIES ANALYSIS; MARINE SEDIMENTS; PALEOCLIMATIC RECORD; RIVER DYNAMICS; RIVER SYSTEMS; RIVERBED SEDIMENTS; ROCKFALLS; SEDIMENT SUPPLY; SEDIMENTARY SEQUENCE; TECTONIC ACTIVITY; TIME-SCALES; TWO PHASIS;

CATCHMENTS; DEBRIS; GLACIAL GEOLOGY; LANDFORMS; RIVERS; ROCK BURSTS; RUNOFF; SOIL CONSERVATION; SUBMARINE GEOLOGY;

SEDIMENTOLOGY;

AGGRADATION; ALLUVIAL DEPOSIT; BEDROCK; CATCHMENT; CHRONOLOGY; DEBRIS FLOW; DEGLACIATION; LANDSLIDE; LITHOFACIES; MARINE SEDIMENT; MASS BALANCE; MONSOON; MOUNTAIN REGION; PALEOCLIMATE; RIVER DISCHARGE; RIVER SYSTEM; RIVER TERRACE; SEDIMENTARY SEQUENCE; TIMESCALE;

ALAKNANDA RIVER; GANGES RIVER; HIMALAYAS; INDIA; UTTARAKHAND;

EID: 77955269562     PISSN: 02773791     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.05.023     Document Type: Article

References (106)

1. Aitken M.J. An Introduction to Optical Dating 1998, Academic Press, London.
2. Banerjee D., Singhvi A.K., Pande K., Gogte V.D., Chandra B.P. Towards a direct dating of fault gouges using luminescence dating techniques - methodological aspects. Current Science 1999, 77:256-269.
3. Barnard P.L., Owen L.A., Sharma M.C., Finkel R.C. Natural and human induced landsliding in the Garhwal Himalaya, northern India. Geomorphology 2001, 40:21-35.
4. Bookhagen B., Thiede R.C., Strecker M.R. Abnormal monsoon years and their control on erosion and sediment flux in the high, arid northwest Himalaya. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2005, 231:131-146.
5. Bridgland D.R. River terrace systems in North-west Europe: an archive of environmental change, uplift and early human occupation. Quaternary Science Reviews 2000, 19:1293-1303.
6. Bridgland D.R., Westaway R. Preservation patterns of Late Cenozoic fluvial deposits and their implications: results from IGCP 449. Quaternary International 2007, 189:5-38.
7. Bull W. Geomorphic Response to Climatic Changes 1991, Oxford University press, 326 pp.
8. Bull W.B., Knuepfer P.L.K. Adjustments by the Charwell River, New Zealand, to uplift and climatic changes. Geomorphology 1987, 15-32.
9. Burbank D.W., Anderson R.S. Tectonic Geomorphology 2001, Blackwell Science, Massachusetts, 274 pp.
10. Burbank D.W., Leland J., Fielding E., Anderson R.S., Brozovic N., Ried M.R., Duncan C. Bedrock incision, rock uplift and threshold hillslopes in the northwestern Himalayas. Nature 1996, 379:505-510.
11. Chauhan O.S. Past 20,000-year history of Himalayan aridity: evidence from oxygen isotope records in the Bay of Bengal. Current Science 2003, 84:90-93.
12. Church M., Slaymaker O. Disequilibrium of Holocene sediment yield in glaciated British Columbia. Nature 1989, 337:452-454.
13. Cullen J.L. Microfossil evidence for changing salinity patterns in the Bay of Bengal over the last 20000 years. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 1981, 35:315-356.
14. Dahlen F.A. Critical taper model of fold and thrust belt and accretionary wedge. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 1990, 18:55-99.
15. Dill H.G., Khadka D.R., Khanal R., Dohrmann R., Melcher F., Busch K. Infilling of the younger Kathmandu-Banepa intermontane lake basin during the Late Quaternary (Lesser Himalaya, Nepal): a sedimentological study. Journal of Quaternary Science 2003, 18:41-60.
16. Duller G.A.T. Single-grain optical dating of Quaternary sediments: why aliquot size matters in luminescence dating. Boreas 2008, 37:589-612.
17. Fuller I.C., Macklin M.G., Lewin J., Passmore D.G., Wintle A.G. River response to high-frequency climate oscillations in southern Europe over the past 200 k.y. Geology 1998, 26:275-278.
18. Galbraith R.F., Roberts R.G., Laslett G.M., Yoshida H., Olley J.M. Optical dating of single and multiple grains of quartz from Jinmium rock shelter, Northern Australia: part I, experimental design and statistical models. Archaeometry 1999, 41:338-364.
19. Galy V., Francois L., France-Lanord C., Faure P., Kudrass H., PaLHSol F., Singh S.K. C4 plants decline in the Himalayan basin since the Last Glacial Maximum. Quaternary Science Reviews 2008, 27:1396-1409.
20. Gibling M.R., Tandon S.K., Sinha R., Jain M. Discontinuity-bounded alluvial sequences of the southern gangetic plains, India: aggradation and degradation in response to monsoonal strength. Journal of Sedimentary Research 2005, 75:369-385.
21. Gibling M.R., Sinha R., Roy N.G., Tandon S.K., Jain M. Quaternary fluvial and eolian deposits on the Belan River, India: paleoclimatic setting of Paleolithic to Neolithic archeological sites over the past 85,000 years. Quaternary Science Reviews 2008, 27(3-4):392-411.
22. Goodbred S.L., Kuehl S.A. Enormous Ganges-Brahmaputra sediment discharge during strengthened early Holocene monsoon. Geology 2000, 28:1083-1086.
23. Goodbred S.L. Response of the Ganges dispersal system to climate change: a source-to-sink view since the last interstade. Sedimentary Geology 2003, 162:83-104.
24. Hancock G.S., Anderson R.S. Numerical modeling of fluvial terrace formation in response to oscillating climate. Geological Society of America Bulletin 2002, 114(9):1131-1142.
25. 26Al profiles: application to the Wind River, Wyoming. Geomorphology 1999, 27:41-60.
26. Hodges K.V., Wobus C., Ruhl K., Schildgen T., Whipple K. Quaternary deformation, river steepening, and heavy precipitation at the front of the Higher Himalayan ranges. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2004, 220:379-389.
27. Jain M., Singhvi A.K. Limits to depletion of blue-green light stimulated luminescence in feldspars: implications for quartz dating. Radiation Measurements 2001, 33:883-892.
28. Jaiswal M.K., Srivastava P., Tripathi J.K., Islam R. Feasibility of the SAR technique on Quartz sand of terraces of NW Himalaya: a case study from Devprayag. Geochronometria 2008, 31:45-52.
29. Jaiswal, M.K., 2005. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of fluvial sediments: application and implications to palaeoseismology and paleoclimatology. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, India, 139 pp.
30. Jha V.K. Aerial remote sensing as an aid to engineering geologic investigation - a case study from Srinagar Hydel Project, Garhwal, U.P. Photonirvachak Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing 1992, 20:199-205.
31. Juyal N., Pant R.K., Basavaiah N., Bhushan R., Jain M., Saini N.K., Yadava M.G., Singhvi A.K. Reconstruction of Last Glacial to early Holocene monsoon variability from relict lake sediments of the Higher Central Himalaya, Uttrakhand, India. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 2009, 34:437-449.
32. 14C dates. Quaternary Science Reviews 2007, 26:1610-1620.
33. Kumar S., Wesnousky S.G., Rockwell T.K., Briggs R.W., Thakur V.C., Jayangondaperumal R. Paleoseismic evidence of great surface rupture earthquakes along the Indian Himalaya. Journal of Geophysical Research 2006, 111:B03304. 10.1029/2004JB003309.
34. Kumar S., Wesnosusky S.G., Rockwell T.K., Ragona D., Thakur V.C., Seitz G.G. Earthquake recurrence and rupture dynamics of Himalayan Frontal Thrust, India. Science 2001, 294:2328-2331.
35. Kumar G., Agarwal N.C. Geology of the Srinagar-Nandprayag area (Alaknanda Valley), Chamoli, Garhwal and Tehri Garhwal districts, Kumaon Himalaya, U.P. Himalayan Geology 1975, 5:29-59.
36. Laveì J., Avouac J.P. Active folding of fluvial terraces across the Siwalik Hills, Himalayas of central Nepal. Journal of Geophysical Research, B, Solid Earth and Planets 2000, 105:5735-5770.
37. Laveì J., Avouac J.P. Fluvial incision and tectonic uplift across the Himalayas of central Nepal. Journal of Geophysical Research 2001, 106:26561-26591.
38. Laveì J. Tectonique et erosion:L'apport de la dynamique fluviale a l'etude sismotectonique de l' Himalaya du Nepal central, these de 3eme cycle 1997, Univ. Paris Vll, 225 pp.
39. 26Al exposure age dating of bedrock straths. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 1998, 154:93-107.
40. Maddy D. Uplift-driven valley incision and river terrace formation in southern England. Journal of Quaternary Science 1997, 12:539-545.
41. Merritts D.J., Vincent K.R., Wohl E.E. Long river profiles, tectonism, and eustasy: guide to interpreting fluvial terraces. Journal of Geophysical Research 1994, 99:14,031-14,050.
42. Miall A.D. The Geology of Fluvial Deposits 1996, Springer, Berlin.
43. Murgese D.S., Deckker P.D., Spooner M.I., Young M. A 35,000 year record of changes in the eastern Indian Ocean offshore Sumatra. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 2008.
44. Mugnier J.L., Huyghe P., Chalaron E., Mascle G. Recent movements along the Main Boundary thrust of Himalayas: normal faulting in an overcritical wedge?. Tectonophysics 1994, 238:199-215.
45. Mukul M., Jaiswal M.K., Singhvi A.K. Timing of recent out-of-sequence deformation in the frontal Himalayan wedge: insights from Darjiling sub-Himalaya, India. Geology 2007, 35:999-1002.
46. Murray A.S., Wintle A.G. Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiation Measurement 2000, 32:57-73.
47. Nainwal H.C., Chaudhary M., Rana N., Negi B.D.S., Negi R.S., Juyal N., Singhvi A.K. Chronology of the Late Quaternary glaciations around Badrinath (upper Alaknanda basin): preliminary observations. Current Science 2007, 93(1):90-96.
48. Nichols G. Sedimentology and Stratigraphy 1999, Blackwell Science, Malden, MA, 355 pp.
49. Olley J.M., Caitcheon G., Murray A. The distribution of apparent dose as determined by optically stimulated luminescence in small aliquots of fluvial quartz: implications for dating young sediments. Quaternary Science Reviews 1998, 17:1033-1040.
50. Owen L.A., Caffee M.W., Finkel R.C., Seong B.Y. Quaternary glaciations of the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen. Journal of Quaternary Science 2008, 23:513-532.
51. Owen L.A. Latest Pleistocene and Holocene glacier fluctuations in the Himalaya and Tibet. Quaternary Science Reviews 2008, 10.1016/j.quascirev.2008.10.020.
52. Pal S.K. Geomorphology of River Terraces along Alaknanda Valley, Garhwal Himalaya 1986, B.R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi, 158 pp.
53. Pazzaglia F.J., Brandon M.T. A fluvial record of rock uplift and shortening across the Cascadia forearc high. American Journal of Science 2001, 301:385-431.
54. Pazzaglia F.J., Gardner T.W., Merritts D.J. Bedrock fluvial incision and longitudinal profile development over geologic time scales determined by fluvial terraces. Rivers Over Rock: Fluvial Processes in Bedrock Channels 1998, 207-235. American Geophyisical Union, Washington DC. K.J. Tinkler, E.E. Wohl (Eds.).
55. Phartiyal B., Sharma A., Srivastava P., Ray Y. Chronology of relict lake deposits in the Spiti River, NW Trans Himalaya: implications to Late Pleistocene-Holocene climate-tectonic perturbations. Geomorphology 2009, 108:264-272.
56. Pratt S.B., Burbank D.W., Heimsath A., Ojha T. Landscape disequilibrium on 1000-10,000 year scales Marsyandi River, Nepal, central Himalaya. Geomorphology 2004, 58:223-241.
57. Pratt S.B., Garde M., Burban D.W., Oskin M., Heimsath A. Bedload-to-suspended load ratio and rapid bedrock incision from Himalayan landslide-dam lake record. Quaternary Research 2007, 68:111-120.
58. Prell W.L., Kutzbach J.E. Monsoon variability over the past 150,000 years. Journal of Geophysical Research 1987, 92:8411-8425.
59. Prescott J.R., Stephan L.G. Contribution of cosmic radiation to environmental dose. PACT 1982, 6:17-25.
60. Preusser F., Chithambo M.L., Götte T., Martini M., Ramseyer K., Sendezera E.J., Susino G.J., Wintle A.G. Quartz as a natural luminescence dosimeter. Earth Science Reviews 2009, 97:184-214.
61. Rawat R.S. Stratigraphy of the Garhwal Group around Rudraprayag, Chamoli district, Garhwal Himalaya, U.P. India. Himalayan Geology 1979, 9:304-316.
62. Rawat R.S., Varadarajan S. The Alaknanda Thrust. Current Science 1979, 48:864-865.
63. Rao M.S., Bisaria B.K., Singhvi A.K. A feasibility study towards absolute dating of Indo-Gangetic alluvium using thermoluminescence and infrared stimulated luminescence techniques. Current Science 1997, 72:663-669.
64. Rao M.B.R. The subsurface geology of the Indogangetic plain. Journal of the Geological Society of India 1973, 14:217-242.
65. Reinhardt L.J., Hoey T.B., Barrows T.T., Dempster T.J., Bishop P., Fifield L.K. Interpreting erosion rates from cosmogenic radionuclide concentrations measured in rapidly eroding terrain. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2007, 32:390-406.
66. Sarkar A., Sengupta S., McArthur J.M., Ravenscroft P., Bera M.K., Bhushan R., Samanta A., Agrawal S. Evolution of Ganges-Brahmputra western delta plain: clues from sedimentology and carbon isotope. Quaternary Science Reviews 2009, 10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.05.016.
67. Sastri V.V., Bhandari L.L., Raju A.T.R., Dutta A.K. Tectonic framework and subsurface stratigraphy of the Ganga basin. Journal of the Geological Society of India 1971, 12:222-233.
68. 10Be dating of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Fill terraces: a record of fluvial deposition and Incision, Colorado Front Range. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2002, 27:773-787.
69. Seong Y.B., Owen L.A., Bishop M.P., Bush A., Clendon P., Copland L., Finkel R.C., Kamp U., Shroder J.F. Rates of fluvial bedrock incision within an actively uplifting orogen: central Karakoram Mountains, northern Pakistan. Geomorphology 2008, 97:274-286.
70. Sharma M.C., Owen L.A. Quaternary glacial history of the Garhwal Himalaya, India. Quaternary Science Reviews 1996, 28:335-365.
71. Sharma S., Joachimski M., Sharma M., Tobschall H.J., Singh I.B., Sharma C., Chauhan M.S., Morgenroth G. Lateglacial and Holocene environmental changes in Ganga Plain, Northern India. Quaternary Science Reviews 2004, 23:145-159.
72. Sharma S., Joachimski M., Tobschall H.J., Singh I.B., Tewari D.P., Tewari R. Oxygen isotopes of bovid teeth: archives of Palaeoclimatic variations in archaeological deposits of Ganga Plain, India. Quaternary Research 2004, 62:19-28.
73. Shukla U.K., Singh I.B., Sharma M., Sharma S. A model of alluvial megafan sedimentation: Ganga megafan. Sedimentary Geology 2001, 144:243-262.
74. Sinha R., Bhattacharjee P., Sangode S.J., Gibling M.R., Tandon S.K., Jain M., Godfrey D. Valley and interfluve sediments in the southern Ganga plains, India: exploring facies and magnetic signatures. Sedimentary Geology 2007, 201:386-411.
75. Sinha S., Suresh N., Kumar R., Dutta S., Arora B.R. Sedimentologic and geomorphic studies on the Quaternary alluvial fan and terrace deposits along the Ganga exit. Quaternary International 2009, 10.1016/j.quaint.2009.09.015.
76. Singh I.B. Geological evolution of Ganga Plain: an overview. Journal of the Paleontological Society of India 1996, 41:99-137.
77. Singh I.B., Rajagopalan G., Agarwal K.K., Srivastava P., Sharma M., Sharma S. Evidence of Middle to Late Holocene neotectonic activity in the Ganga Plain. Current Science 1997, 73:1114-1117.
78. Singh I.B., Srivastava P., Sharma S., Sharma M., Singh D.S., Rajagopalan G., Shukla U.K. Upland interfluve deposition: alternative model to muddy overbank deposits. Facies 1999, 40:197-210.
79. Singh M., Singh I.B., Muller G. Sediment characteristics and transportation dynamics of the Ganga River. Geomorphology 2007, 86:144-175.
80. Srivastava P., Singh I.B., Sharma M., Singhvi A.K. Luminescence chronometry and Late Quaternary geomorphic history of the Ganga Plain, India. Palaegeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 2003, 197:15-41.
81. Srivastava P., Sharma M., Singhvi A.K. Luminescence chronology of incision and channel pattern changes in the River Ganga, India. Geomorphology 2003, 51:259-268.
82. Srivastava P., Sharma S., Shukla U.K., Singh I.B., Singhvi A.K. Late Pleistocene-Holocene hydrological changes in the interfluve areas of Central Ganga Plains, India. Geomorphology 2003, 54:279-292.
83. Srivastava P., Brook G.A., Marais E. Depositional Environment of Clay Castles, Hoarusib River, Northern Namib deserts, Namibia. Catena 2005, 59:187-204.
84. Srivastava P., Bhakuni S.S., Luirei K., Misra D.K. Morpho-sedimentary records from the Brahmaputra River exit, NE Himalaya: climate-tectonic interplay during Late Pleistocene-Holocene. Journal of Quaternary Science 2009, 24:175-188.
85. Srivastava P., Brook G.A., Marais E., Morthekai P., Singhvi A.K. Depositional environment and OSL chronology of the Homeb silt deposits, Kuiseb River, Namibia. Quaternary Research 2006, 65:478-491.
86. Srivastava P., Tripathi J.K., Islam R., Jaiswal M.K. Fashion and phases of Late Pleistocene aggradation and incision in Alaknanda River, western Himalaya, India. Quaternary Research 2008, 70:68-80.
87. Srivastava P., Misra D.K. Morpho-sedimentary records of active tectonics at the Kameng river exit, NE Himalaya. Geomorphology 2008, 96:187-198.
88. Srivastava R.N., Ahmad A. Geology and structure of Alaknanda valley, Garhwal Himalaya. Himalayan Geology 1979, 9:225-254.
89. SRTM Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). USGS, Reprocessing by the GLCF, 2004. 3 Arc Second SRTM Elevation 2000, The Global Land Cover Facility, College Park, Maryland, (Version 1.0).
90. Sundriayal Y.P., Tripathi J.K., Sati S.P., Rawat G.S., Srivastava P. Landslide-dammed lakes in the Alaknanda basin, Lesser Himalaya: causes and implications. Current Science 2007, 93(4):568-574.
91. Starkel L. Climatically controlled terraces in uplifting mountain areas. Quaternary Science Reviews 2003, 22:2189-2198.
92. Swain A.M., Kutzbach J.E., Hastenrath S. Estimation of the Holocene precipitation for Rajasthan, India, based on the pollen and lake level data. Quaternary Research 1983, 19:1-17.
93. Tandon S.K., Gibling M.R., Sinha R., Singh V., Ghazanfari P., Dasgupta A., Jain M., Jain V. Alluvial valleys of the Gangetic Plains, India: causes and timing of incision. Incised valleys in time and space. SEPM Special Publication 2006, 85:15-35.
94. Thakur V.C. Active tectonics of Himalayan Frontal Thrust and seismic hazard to Ganga Plain. Current Science 2004, 86:1554-1560.
95. Thiede R., Bookhagen B., Arrowsmith J., Sobel E., Strecker M.R. Climatic control on rapid exhumation along the Southern Himalayan Front. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2004, 222:791-806.
96. Tyagi A.K., Chaudhary S., Rana N., Sati S.P., Juyal N. Identifying areas of differential uplift using steepness index in the Alaknanda basin, Garhwal Himalaya, Uttrakhand. Current Science 2009, 97:1473-1477.
97. Umitsu M. Late Quaternary sedimentary environments and landforms in the Ganges delta. Sedimentary Geology 1993, 83:177-186.
98. Van Campo E. Monsoon fluctuations in two 20,000-Yr B.P. Oxygen-isotope/pollen records off southwest India. Quaternary Research 1986, 26:376-388.
99. Vance D., Bickle M., Ivy-Ochs S., Kubik P.W. Erosion and exhumation in the Himalaya from cosmogenic isotope inventories of river sediments. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 2003, 206:273-288.
100. Valdiya K.S. Geology of Kumaun Lesser Himalaya 1980, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun, 291 pp.
101. Wallinga J. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of fluvial deposits: a review. Boreas 2002, 31:303-322.
102. Wasson R.J., Juyal N., Jaiswal M., McCulloch M., Sarin M.M., Jain V., Srivastava P., Singhvi A.K. The Mountain-Lowland Debate: deforestation and Sediment Transport in the Upper Ganga Catchment. Environmental Management 2008, 88:53-61.
103. Wegmann K.W., Pazzaglia F.J. Late Quaternary fluvial terraces of the Romagna and Marche Apennines, Italy: climatic, lithologic, and tectonic controls on terrace genesis in an active orogen. Quaternary Science Reviews 2009, 28:137-165.
104. Weber M.E., Wiedicke-Hombach M., Kudrass H.R., Erlenkeuser H. Bengal Fan sediment transport activity and response to climate forcing inferred from sediment physical properties. Sedimentary Geology 2003, 155:361-381.
105. Williams M.A.J., Clarke M.F. Quaternary geology and prehistoric environments in the Son and Belan valleys, North Central India. Memoir, Geological Society of India 1995, 32:282-308.
106. Williams M.A.J., Pal J.N., Jaiswal M., Singhvi A.K. River response to Quaternary climatic fluctuations: evidence from the Son and Belan valleys, north-central India. Quaternary Science Reviews 2006, 25:2619-2631.