TY - JOUR A1 - Menges, Johanna A1 - Hovius, Niels A1 - Andermann, Christoff A1 - Lupker, Maarten A1 - Haghipour, Negar A1 - Märki, Lena A1 - Sachse, Dirk T1 - Variations in organic carbon sourcing along a trans-Himalayan river determined by a Bayesian mixing approach JF - Geochimica et cosmochimica acta : journal of the Geochemical Society and the Meteoritical Society N2 - Rivers transfer particulate organic carbon (POC) from eroding mountains into geological sinks. Organic carbon source composition and selective mobilization have been shown to affect the type and quantity of POC export, but their combined effects across complex mountain ranges remain underexplored. Here, we examine the variation in organic carbon sourcing and transport in the trans-Himalayan Kali Gandaki River catchment, along strong gradients in precipitation, rock type and vegetation. Combining bulk stable nitrogen, and stable and radioactive organic carbon isotopic composition of bedrock, litter, soil and river sediment samples with a Bayesian end-member mixing approach, we differentiate POC sources along the river and quantify their export. Our analysis shows that POC export from the Tibetan segment of the catchment, where carbon bearing shales are partially covered by aged and modern soils, is dominated by petrogenic POC. Based on our data we re-assess the presence of aged biospheric OC in this part of the catchment, and its contribution to the river load. In the High Himalayan segment, we observed low inputs of petrogenic and biospheric POC, likely due to very low organic carbon concentrations in the metamorphic bedrock, combined with erosion dominated by deep-seated landslides. Our findings show that along the Kali Gandaki River, the sourcing of sediment and organic carbon are decoupled, due to differences in rock organic carbon content, soil and above ground carbon stocks, and geomorphic process activity. While the fast eroding High Himalayas are the principal source of river sediment, the Tibetan headwaters, where erosion rates are lower, are the principal source of organic carbon. To robustly estimate organic carbon export from the Himalayas, the mountain range should be divided into tectono-physiographic zones with distinct organic carbon yields due to differences in substrate and erosion processes and rates. KW - particulate organic carbon KW - Himalaya KW - rivers KW - carbon cycle KW - stable KW - isotopes KW - erosion KW - end-member mixing Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2020.07.003 SN - 0016-7037 VL - 286 SP - 159 EP - 176 PB - Elsevier CY - New York [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Voss, Katalyn A. A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Sachse, Dirk A1 - Chadwick, Oliver A. T1 - Variation of deuterium excess in surface waters across a 5000-m elevation gradient in eastern Nepal JF - Journal of hydrology N2 - The strong elevation gradient of the Himalaya allows for investigation of altitude and orographic impacts on surface water delta O-18 and delta D stable isotope values. This study differentiates the time- and altitude-variable contributions of source waters to the Arun River in eastern Nepal. It provides isotope data along a 5000-m gradient collected from tributaries as well as groundwater, snow, and glacial-sourced surface waters and time-series data from April to October 2016. We find nonlinear trends in delta O-18 and delta D lapse rates with high-elevation lapse rates (4000-6000 masl) 5-7 times more negative than low-elevation lapse rates (1000-3000 masl). A distinct seasonal signal in delta O-18 and delta D lapse rates indicates time-variable source-water contributions from glacial and snow meltwater as well as precipitation transitions between the Indian Summer Monsoon and Winter Westerly Disturbances. Deuterium excess correlates with the extent of snowpack and tracks melt events during the Indian Summer Monsoon season. Our analysis identifies the influence of snow and glacial melt waters on river composition during low-flow conditions before the monsoon (April/May 2016) followed by a 5-week transition to the Indian Summer Monsoon-sourced rainfall around mid-June 2016. In the post-monsoon season, we find continued influence from glacial melt waters as well as ISM-sourced groundwater. KW - stable isotopes KW - Himalaya KW - glacier KW - snow KW - precipitation KW - seasonality Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.124802 SN - 0022-1694 SN - 1879-2707 VL - 586 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwanghart, Wolfgang A1 - Ryan, Marie A1 - Korup, Oliver T1 - Topographic and seismic constraints on the vulnerability of himalayan hydropower JF - Geophysical research letters N2 - Plain Language Summary The 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal caused severe losses in the hydropower sector. The country temporarily lost similar to 20% of its hydropower capacity, and >30 hydropower projects were damaged. The projects hit hardest were those that were affected by earthquake-triggered landslides. We show that these projects are located along very steep rivers with towering sidewalls that are prone to become unstable during strong seismic ground shaking. A statistical classification based on a topographic metric that expresses river steepness and earthquake ground acceleration is able to approximately predict hydropower damage during future earthquakes, based on successful testing of past cases. Thus, our model enables us to estimate earthquake damages to hydropower projects in other parts of the Himalayas. We find that >10% of the Himalayan drainage network may be unsuitable for hydropower infrastructure given high probabilities of high earthquake damages. KW - natural hazards KW - hydropower KW - landslides KW - Himalaya Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079173 SN - 0094-8276 SN - 1944-8007 VL - 45 IS - 17 SP - 8985 EP - 8992 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Govin, Gwladys A1 - Najman, Yani A1 - Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume A1 - Millar, Ian A1 - van der Beek, Peter A1 - Huyghe, Pascale A1 - Mark, Chris A1 - Vogeli, Natalie T1 - The tectonics and paleo-drainage of the easternmost Himalaya (Arunachal Pradesh, India) recorded in the Siwalik rocks of the foreland basin JF - American Journal of Science N2 - The Siwalik sedimentary rocks of the Himalayan foreland basin preserve a record of Himalayan orogenesis, paleo-drainage evolution, and erosion. This study focuses on the still poorly studied easternmost Himalaya Siwalik record located directly downstream of the Namche Barwa syntaxis. We use luminescence, palaeomagnetism, magnetostratigraphy, and apatite fission-track dating to constrain the depositional ages of three Siwalik sequences: the Sibo outcrop (Upper Siwalik sediments at ca. 200-800 ka), the Remi section (Middle and Upper Siwalik rocks at >0.8-<8.8 +/- 2.4 Ma), and the Siang section (Middle Siwalik rocks at <9.3 +/- 1.5 to <13.5 +/- 1.5 Ma). Cretaceous-Paleogene detrital zircon and apatite U-Pb ages, characteristic of the Transhimalayan Gangdese Batholiths that crop out northwest of the syntaxis, are present throughout the Sibo, Remi, and Siang successions, confirming the existence of a Yarlung-Brahmaputra connection since at least the Late Miocene. A ca. 500 Ma zircon population increases up section, most strikingly sometime between 3.6 to 6.6 Ma, at the expense of Transhimalayan grains. We consider the ca. 500 Ma population to be derived from the Tethyan or Greater Himalaya, and we interpret the up-section increase to reflect progressive exhumation of the Namche Barwa syntaxis. Early Cretaceous zircon and apatite U-Pb ages are rare in the Sibo, Remi, and Siang successions, but abundant in modern Siang River sediments. Zircons of this age range are characteristic of the Transhimalayan Bomi-Chayu batholiths, which crop out east of the syntaxis and are eroded by the Parlung River, a modern tributary of the Siang River. We interpret the difference in relative abundance of Early Cretaceous zircons between the modern and ancient sediments to reflect capture of the Parlung by the Siang after 800 ka. KW - Himalaya KW - Siwaliks KW - Namche Barwa syntaxis KW - Brahmaputra River KW - Parlung River KW - detrital geochronology and thermochronology Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2475/07.2018.02 SN - 0002-9599 SN - 1945-452X VL - 318 IS - 7 SP - 764 EP - 798 PB - Kline Geology Laboratory, Yale University CY - New Haven ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Regmi, Shakil A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo T1 - The spatial pattern of extreme precipitation from 40 years of gauge data in the central Himalaya JF - Weather and climate extremes N2 - The topography of the Himalaya exerts a substantial control on the spatial distribution of monsoonal rainfall, which is a vital water source for the regional economy and population. But the occurrence of short-lived and high-intensity precipitation results in socio-economic losses. This study relies on 40 years of daily data from 204 ground stations in Nepal to derive extreme precipitation thresholds, amounts, and days at the 95th percentile. We additionally determine the precipitation magnitude-frequency relation. We observe that extreme precipitation amounts follow an almost uniform band parallel to topographic contour lines in the southern Himalaya mountains in central and eastern Nepal but not in western Nepal. The relationship of extreme precipitation indices with topographic relief shows that extreme precipitation thresholds decrease with increasing elevation, but extreme precipitation days increase in higher elevation areas. Furthermore, stations above 1 km elevation exhibit a power-law relation in the rainfall magnitude-frequency framework. Stations at higher elevations generally have lower values of power-law exponents than low elevation areas. This suggests a fundamentally different behaviour of the rainfall distribution and an increased occurrence of extreme rainfall storms in the high elevation areas of Nepal. KW - Himalaya KW - Nepal KW - Indian summer monsoon KW - Precipitation KW - Extreme KW - precipitation Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2022.100470 SN - 2212-0947 VL - 37 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meese, Bernd A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Olen, Stephanie M. A1 - Barthold, Frauke Katrin A1 - Sachse, Dirk T1 - The effect of Indian Summer Monsoon rainfall on surface water delta D values in the central Himalaya JF - Hydrological processes N2 - Stable isotope proxy records, such as speleothems, plant-wax biomarker records, and ice cores, are suitable archives for the reconstruction of regional palaeohydrologic conditions. But the interpretation of these records in the tropics, especially in the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) domain, is difficult due to differing moisture and water sources: precipitation from the ISM and Winter Westerlies, as well as snow- and glacial meltwater. In this study, we use interannual differences in ISM strength (2011-2012) to understand the stable isotopic composition of surface water in the Arun River catchment in eastern Nepal. We sampled main stem and tributary water (n = 204) for stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope analysis in the postmonsoon phase of two subsequent years with significantly distinct ISM intensities. In addition to the 2011/2012 sampling campaigns, we collected a 12-month time series of main stem waters (2012/2013, n = 105) in order to better quantify seasonal effects on the variability of surface water delta O-18/delta D. Furthermore, remotely sensed satellite data of rainfall, snow cover, glacial coverage, and evapotranspiration was evaluated. The comparison of datasets from both years revealed that surface waters of the main stem Arun and its tributaries were D-enriched by similar to 15 parts per thousand when ISM rainfall decreased by 20%. This strong response emphasizes the importance of the ISM for surface water run-off in the central Himalaya. However, further spatio-temporal analysis of remote sensing data in combination with stream water d-excess revealed that most high-altitude tributaries and the Tibetan part of the Arun receive high portions of glacial melt water and likely Winter Westerly Disturbances precipitation. We make the following two implications: First, palaeohydrologic archives found in high-altitude tributaries and on the southern Tibetan Plateau record a mixture of past precipitation delta D values and variable amounts of additional water sources. Second, surface water isotope ratios of lower elevated tributaries strongly reflect the isotopic composition of ISM rainfall implying a suitable region for the analysis of potential delta D value proxy records. KW - Himalaya KW - palaeoclimate records KW - snow melt KW - stream water KW - water isotopes Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13281 SN - 0885-6087 SN - 1099-1085 VL - 32 IS - 24 SP - 3662 EP - 3674 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scherler, Dirk A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Strecker, Manfred T1 - Tectonic control on Be-10-derived erosion rates in the Garhwal Himalaya, India JF - Journal of geophysical research : Earth surface N2 - Erosion in the Himalaya is responsible for one of the greatest mass redistributions on Earth and has fueled models of feedback loops between climate and tectonics. Although the general trends of erosion across the Himalaya are reasonably well known, the relative importance of factors controlling erosion is less well constrained. Here we present 25 Be-10-derived catchment-averaged erosion rates from the Yamuna catchment in the Garhwal Himalaya, northern India. Tributary erosion rates range between similar to 0.1 and 0.5mmyr(-1) in the Lesser Himalaya and similar to 1 and 2mmyr(-1) in the High Himalaya, despite uniform hillslope angles. The erosion-rate data correlate with catchment-averaged values of 5 km radius relief, channel steepness indices, and specific stream power but to varying degrees of nonlinearity. Similar nonlinear relationships and coefficients of determination suggest that topographic steepness is the major control on the spatial variability of erosion and that twofold to threefold differences in annual runoff are of minor importance in this area. Instead, the spatial distribution of erosion in the study area is consistent with a tectonic model in which the rock uplift pattern is largely controlled by the shortening rate and the geometry of the Main Himalayan Thrust fault (MHT). Our data support a shallow dip of the MHT underneath the Lesser Himalaya, followed by a midcrustal ramp underneath the High Himalaya, as indicated by geophysical data. Finally, analysis of sample results from larger main stem rivers indicates significant variability of Be-10-derived erosion rates, possibly related to nonproportional sediment supply from different tributaries and incomplete mixing in main stem channels. KW - Himalaya KW - erosion KW - tectonics KW - cosmogenic nuclides KW - channel steepness KW - stream power Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JF002955 SN - 2169-9003 SN - 2169-9011 VL - 119 IS - 2 SP - 83 EP - 105 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rehman, Hafiz Ur A1 - Lee, Hao-Yang A1 - Chung, Sun-Lin A1 - Khan, Tahseenullah A1 - Yamamoto, Hiroshi O´Brien T1 - Source and mode of the Permian Panjal Trap magmatism: Evidence from zircon U-Pb and Hf isotopes and trace element data from the Himalayan ultrahigh-pressure rocks JF - Lithos : an international journal of mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry N2 - We present an integrated study of LA-ICP-MS U-Pb age, Hf isotopes, and trace element geochemistry of zircons from the Himalayan eclogites (mafic rocks) and their host gneisses (felsic rocks) from the Kaghan Valley in Pakistan in order to understand the source and mode of their magmatic protoliths and the effect of metamorphism. Zircons from the so-called Group I (high-pressure) eclogites yielded U-Pb mean ages of 259 +/- 10 Ma (MSWD = 0.74), whereas those of Group II (ultrahigh-pressure) eclogites yielded 48 3 Ma (MSWD = 0.71). In felsic gneisses the central or core domains of zircons yielded ages similar to those from Group I edogites but zircon overgrowth domains yielded 47 +/- 1 Ma (MSWD = 1.9). Trace element data suggest a magmatic origin for Group I-derived (having Th/U ratios: >0.5) and metamorphic origin for Group II -derived (Th/U < 0.07) zircons, respectively. Zircon Hf isotope data, obtained from the same dated spots, show positive initial Hf-176/Hf-177 isotopic ratios referred to as "epsilon(Hf)(t)" of around +10 in Group I eclogites; +7 in Group II eclogites; and +8 in felsic gneisses zircons, respectively, thus indicate a juvenile mantle source for the protolith rocks (Panjal Traps) with almost no contribution from the ancient crustal material. The similar epsilon(Hf)(t) values, identical protolith ages and trace element compositions of zircons in felsic (granites or rhyolites) and mafic (basalt and dolerite) rocks attest to a bimodal magmatism accounting for the Panjal Traps during the Permian. Later, during India-Asia collision in Eocene times, both the felsic and mafic lithologies were subducted to mantle-depths (>90 km; coesite-stable) and experienced ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism before their final exhumation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Himalaya KW - Panjal Traps KW - UHP edogites and felsic gneisses KW - Zircon U-Pb age KW - Hf isotopes KW - Trace element geochemistry Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2016.06.001 SN - 0024-4937 SN - 1872-6143 VL - 260 SP - 286 EP - 299 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eugster, Patricia A1 - Thiede, Rasmus Christoph A1 - Scherler, Dirk A1 - Stübner, Konstanze A1 - Sobel, Edward A1 - Strecker, Manfred T1 - Segmentation of the Main Himalayan Thrust Revealed by Low-Temperature Thermochronometry in the Western Indian Himalaya JF - Tectonics N2 - Despite remarkable tectonostratigraphic similarities along the Himalayan arc, pronounced topographic and exhumational variability exists in different morphotectonic segments. The processes responsible for this segmentation are debated. Of particular interest is a 30- to 40-km-wide orogen-parallel belt of rapid exhumation that extends from central Nepal to the western Himalaya and its possible linkage to a midcrustal ramp in the basal decollement, and the related growth of Lesser Himalayan duplex structures. Here we present 26 new apatite fission track cooling ages from the Beas-Lahul region, at the transition from the Central to the Western Himalaya (77 degrees-78 degrees E) to investigate segmentation in the Himalayan arc from a thermochronologic perspective. Together with previously published data from this part of the orogen, we document significant lateral changes in exhumation between the Dhauladar Range to the west, the Beas-Lahul region, and the Sutlej area to the east of the study area. In contrast to the Himalayan front farther east, exhumation in the far western sectors is focused at the frontal parts of the mountain range and associated with the hanging wall of the Main Boundary Thrust fault ramp. Our results allow us to spatially correlate the termination of the rapid exhumation belt with a midcrustal ramp to the west. We suggest that a plunging anticline at the northwestern edge of the Larji-Kullu-Rampur window represents the termination of the Central Himalayan segment, which is related to the evolution of the Lesser Himalayan duplex. Key Points KW - exhumation KW - Himalaya KW - duplex KW - fission track thermochronology KW - MHT Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2017TC004752 SN - 0278-7407 SN - 1944-9194 VL - 37 IS - 8 SP - 2710 EP - 2726 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Olen, Stephanie M. A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Strecker, Manfred T1 - Role of climate and vegetation density in modulating denudation rates in the Himalaya JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - Vegetation has long been hypothesized to influence the nature and rates of surface processes. We test the possible impact of vegetation and climate on denudation rates at orogen scale by taking advantage of a pronounced along-strike gradient in rainfall and vegetation density in the Himalaya. We combine 12 new Be-10 denudation rates from the Sutlej Valley and 123 published denudation rates from fluvially-dominated catchments in the Himalaya with remotely-sensed measures of vegetation density and rainfall metrics, and with tectonic and lithologic constraints. In addition, we perform topographic analyses to assess the contribution of vegetation and climate in modulating denudation rates along strike. We observe variations in denudation rates and the relationship between denudation and topography along strike that are most strongly controlled by local rainfall amount and vegetation density, and cannot be explained by along-strike differences in tectonics or lithology. A W-E along-strike decrease in denudation rate variability positively correlates with the seasonality of vegetation density (R = 0.95, p < 0.05), and negatively correlates with mean vegetation density (R = -0.84, p < 0.05). Vegetation density modulates the topographic response to changing denudation rates, such that the functional relationship between denudation rate and topographic steepness becomes increasingly linear as vegetation density increases. We suggest that while tectonic processes locally control the pattern of denudation rates across strike of the Himalaya (i.e., S-N), along strike of the orogen (i.e., E-W) climate exerts a measurable influence on how denudation rates scatter around long-term, tectonically-controlled erosion, and on the functional relationship between topography and denudation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - geomorphology KW - erosion KW - vegetation KW - rainfall KW - Himalaya KW - 10-Be terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2016.03.047 SN - 0012-821X SN - 1385-013X VL - 445 SP - 57 EP - 67 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stolle, Amelie A1 - Schwanghart, Wolfgang A1 - Andermann, Christoff A1 - Bernhardt, Anne A1 - Fort, Monique A1 - Jansen, John D. A1 - Wittmann, Hella A1 - Merchel, Silke A1 - Rugel, Georg A1 - Adhikari, Basanta Raj A1 - Korup, Oliver T1 - Protracted river response to medieval earthquakes JF - Earth surface processes and landforms : the journal of the British Geomorphological Research Group N2 - Mountain rivers respond to strong earthquakes by rapidly aggrading to accommodate excess sediment delivered by co-seismic landslides. Detailed sediment budgets indicate that rivers need several years to decades to recover from seismic disturbances, depending on how recovery is defined. We examine three principal proxies of river recovery after earthquake-induced sediment pulses around Pokhara, Nepal's second largest city. Freshly exhumed cohorts of floodplain trees in growth position indicate rapid and pulsed sedimentation that formed a fan covering 150 km2 in a Lesser Himalayan basin with tens of metres of debris between the 11th and 15th centuries AD. Radiocarbon dates of buried trees are consistent with those of nearby valley deposits linked to major medieval earthquakes, such that we can estimate average rates of re-incision since. We combine high-resolution digital elevation data, geodetic field surveys, aerial photos, and dated tree trunks to reconstruct geomorphic marker surfaces. The volumes of sediment relative to these surfaces require average net sediment yields of up to 4200 t km–2 yr–1 for the 650 years since the last inferred earthquake-triggered sediment pulse. The lithological composition of channel bedload differs from that of local bedrock, confirming that rivers are still mostly evacuating medieval valley fills, locally incising at rates of up to 0.2 m yr–1. Pronounced knickpoints and epigenetic gorges at tributary junctions further illustrate the protracted fluvial response; only the distal portions of the earthquake-derived sediment wedges have been cut to near their base. Our results challenge the notion that mountain rivers recover speedily from earthquakes within years to decades. The valley fills around Pokhara show that even highly erosive Himalayan rivers may need more than several centuries to adjust to catastrophic perturbations. Our results motivate some rethinking of post-seismic hazard appraisals and infrastructural planning in active mountain regions. KW - fluvial response KW - sediment yield KW - earthquakes KW - Nepal KW - Himalaya Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4517 SN - 0197-9337 SN - 1096-9837 VL - 44 IS - 1 SP - 331 EP - 341 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stübner, Konstanze A1 - Grujic, Djordje A1 - Dunkl, Istvan A1 - Thiede, Rasmus Christoph A1 - Eugster, Patricia T1 - Pliocene episodic exhumation and the significance of the Munsiari thrust in the northwestern Himalaya JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - The Himalayan thrust belt comprises three in-sequence foreland-propagating orogen-scale faults, the Main Central thrust, the Main Boundary thrust, and the Main Frontal thrust. Recently, the Munsiari–Ramgarh–Shumar thrust system has been recognized as an additional, potentially orogen-scale shear zone in the proximal footwall of the Main Central thrust. The timing of the Munsiari, Ramgarh, and Shumar thrusts and their role in Himalayan tectonics are disputed. We present 31 new zircon (U–Th)/He ages from a profile across the central Himachal Himalaya in the Beas River area. Within a ∼40 km wide belt northeast of the Kullu–Larji–Rampur window, ages ranging from to constrain a distinct episode of rapid Pliocene to Present exhumation; north and south of this belt, zircon (U–Th)/He ages are older ( to ). We attribute the Pliocene rapid exhumation episode to basal accretion to the Himalayan thrust belt and duplex formation in the Lesser Himalayan sequence including initiation of the Munsiari thrust. Pecube thermokinematic modelling suggests exhumation rates of ∼2–3 mm/yr from 4–7 to 0 Ma above the duplex contrasting with lower (<0.3 mm/yr) middle-late Miocene exhumation rates. The Munsiari thrust terminates laterally in central Himachal Pradesh. In the NW Indian Himalaya, the Main Central thrust zone comprises the sheared basal sections of the Greater Himalayan sequence and the mylonitic ‘Bajaura nappe’ of Lesser Himalayan affinity. We correlate the Bajaura unit with the Ramgarh thrust sheet in Nepal based on similar lithologies and the middle Miocene age of deformation. The Munsiari thrust in the central Himachal Himalaya is several Myr younger than deformation in the Bajaura and Ramgarh thrust sheets. Our results illustrate the complex and segmented nature of the Munsiari–Ramgarh–Shumar thrust system. KW - Himalaya KW - Himachal Pradesh KW - Munsiari thrust KW - thermochronology KW - thermokinematic modelling KW - Pliocene Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.10.036 SN - 0012-821X SN - 1385-013X VL - 481 SP - 273 EP - 283 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rehman, Hafiz Ur A1 - Tanaka, Ryoji A1 - Kobayashi, Katsura A1 - Tsujimori, Tatsuki A1 - Nakamura, Eizo A1 - Yamamoto, Hiroshi A1 - Khan, Tahseenullah A1 - Kaneko, Yoshiyuki T1 - Oxygen isotopes in Indian Plate eclogites (Kaghan Valley, Pakistan): Negative delta O-18 values from a high latitude protolith reset by Himalayan metamorphism JF - Lithos : an international journal of mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry N2 - Oxygen isotope compositions are reported for the first time for the Himalayan metabasites of the Kaghan Valley, Pakistan in this study. The highest metamorphic grades are recorded in the north of the valley, near the India-Asia collision boundary, in the form of high-pressure (HP: Group I) and ultrahigh-pressure (UHP: Group II) eclogites. The rocks show a step-wise decrease in grade from the UHP to HP eclogites and amphibolites. The protoliths of these metabasites were the Permian Panjal Trap basalts (ca. 267 +/- 2.4 Ma), which were emplaced along the northern margin of India when it was part of Gondwana. After the break-up of Gondwana, India drifted northward, subducted beneath Asia and underwent UHP metamorphism during the Eocene (ca. 45 +/- 1.2 Ma). At the regional scale, amphibolites, Group I and II eclogites yielded delta O-18 values of +5.84 and +5.91 parts per thousand, +1.66 to +424 parts per thousand, and -2.25 to +0.76 parts per thousand, respectively, relative to VSMOW. On a more local scale, within a single eclogite body, the delta O-18 values were the lowest (-2.25 to-1.44%.) in the central, the best preserved (least retrograded) parts, and show a systematic increase outward into more retrograded rocks, reaching up to +0.12 parts per thousand. These values are significantly lower than the typical mantle values for basalts of + 5.7 +/- 0.3 parts per thousand. The unusually low or negative delta O-18 values in Group II eclogites potentially resulted from hydrothermal alteration of the protoliths by interactions with meteoric water when the Indian plate was at southern high latitudes (similar to 60 degrees S). The stepwise increase in delta O-18 values, among different eclogite bodies in general and at single outcrop-scales in particular, reflects differing degrees of resetting of the oxygen isotope compositions during exhumation-related retrogression. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Himalaya KW - Kaghan KW - UHP eclogites KW - Oxygen isotope compositions KW - Laser fluorination Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2014.09.007 SN - 0024-4937 SN - 1872-6143 VL - 208 SP - 471 EP - 483 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vogeli, Natalie A1 - Najman, Yani A1 - van der Beek, Peter A1 - Huyghe, Pascale A1 - Wynn, Peter M. A1 - Govin, Gwladys A1 - van der Veen, Iris A1 - Sachse, Dirk T1 - Lateral variations in vegetation in the Himalaya since the Miocene and implications for climate evolution JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - The Himalaya has a major influence on global and regional climate, in particular on the Asian monsoon system. The foreland basin of the Himalaya contains a record of tectonics and paleoclimate since the Miocene. Previous work on the evolution of vegetation and climate has focused on the central and western Himalaya, where a shift from C3 to C4 vegetation has been observed at similar to 7 Ma and linked to increased seasonality, but the climatic evolution of the eastern part of the orogen is less well understood. In order to track vegetation as a marker of monsoon intensity and seasonality, we analyzed delta C-13 and 8180 values of soil carbonate and associated delta C-13 values of bulk organic carbon from previously dated sedimentary sections exposing the syn-orogenic detrital Dharamsala and Siwalik Groups in the west, and, for the first time, the Siwalik Group in the east of the Himalayan foreland basin. Sedimentary records span from 20 to 1 Myr in the west (Joginder Nagar, Jawalamukhi, and Haripur Kolar sections) and from 13 to 1 Myr in the east (Kameng section), respectively. The presence of soil carbonate in the west and its absence in the east is a first indication of long-term lateral climatic variation, as soil carbonate requires seasonally arid conditions to develop. delta C-13 values in soil carbonate show a shift from around -10 parts per thousand to -2 parts per thousand at similar to 7 Ma in the west, which is confirmed by delta C-13 analyses on bulk organic carbon that show a shift from around -23 parts per thousand to -19 parts per thousand at the same time. Such a shift in isotopic values is likely to be associated with a change from C3 to C4 vegetation. In contrast, delta C-13 values of bulk organic carbon remain at 23 parts per thousand o in the east. Thus, our data show that the current east -west variation in climate was established at similar to 7 Ma. We propose that the regional change towards a more seasonal climate in the west is linked to a decrease of the influence of the Westerlies, delivering less winter precipitation to the western Himalaya, while the east remained annually humid due to its proximity to the monsoonal moisture source. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Himalaya KW - stable carbon isotopes KW - paleovegetation KW - Siwalik KW - pre-Siwalik KW - monsoon Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.04.037 SN - 0012-821X SN - 1385-013X VL - 471 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bloethe, Jan H. A1 - Munack, Henry A1 - Korup, Oliver A1 - Fuelling, Alexander A1 - Garzanti, Eduardo A1 - Resentini, Alberto A1 - Kubik, Peter W. T1 - Late Quaternary valley infill and dissection in the Indus River, western Tibetan Plateau margin JF - Quaternary science reviews : the international multidisciplinary research and review journal N2 - 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 Be-10, optically and infrared stimulated luminescence (OSL, IRSL) indicates at least two phases of late Quaternary valley infilling. These phases commenced before similar to 200 ka and similar to 50-20 ka, judging from terrace treads stranded >150 m and similar to 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 lateor 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, similar to 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. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Himalaya KW - Indus KW - Valley fills KW - Glaciation KW - Erosion KW - Lake sediment Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.04.011 SN - 0277-3791 VL - 94 SP - 102 EP - 119 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thiede, Rasmus Christoph A1 - Ehlers, Todd T1 - Large spatial and temporal variations in Himalayan denudation JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - In the last decade growing interest has emerged in quantifying the spatial and temporal variations in mountain building. Until recently, insufficient data have been available to attempt such a task at the scale of large orogens such as the Himalaya. The Himalaya accommodates ongoing convergence between India and Eurasia and is a focal point for studying orogen evolution and hypothesized interactions between tectonics and climate. Here we integrate 1126 published bedrock mineral cooling ages with a transient 1D Monte-Carlo thermal-kinematic erosion model to quantify the denudation histories along similar to 2700 km of the Himalaya. The model free parameter is a temporally variable denudation rate from 50 Ma to present. Thermophysical material properties and boundary conditions were tuned to individual study areas. Monte-Carlo simulations were conducted to identify the range of denudation histories that can reproduce the observed cooling ages. Results indicate large temporal and spatial variations in denudation and these are resolvable across different tectonic units of the Himalaya. More specifically, across > 1000 km of the southern Greater Himalaya denudation rates were highest (similar to 1.5-3 mm/yr) between similar to 10 and 2 Ma and lower (0.5-2.6 mm/yr) over the last 2 My. These differences are best determined in the NW-Himalaya. In contrast to this, across the similar to 2500 km length of the northern Greater Himalaya denudation rates vary over length scales of similar to 300-1700 km. Slower denudation (<1 mm/yr) occurred between 10 and 4 Ma followed by a large increase (1.2-2.6 mm/yr) in the last similar to 4 Ma. We find that only the southern Greater Himalayan Sequence clearly supports a continuous co-evolution of tectonics, climate and denudation. Results from the higher elevation northern Greater Himalaya suggest either tectonic driven variations in denudation due to a ramp-flat geometry in the main decollement and/or recent glacially enhanced denudation. KW - Himalaya KW - exhumation KW - low temperature chronology KW - thermal modeling KW - erosion Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2013.03.004 SN - 0012-821X VL - 371 IS - 2 SP - 278 EP - 293 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scherler, Dirk A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Wulf, Hendrik A1 - Preusser, Frank A1 - Strecker, Manfred T1 - Increased late Pleistocene erosion rates during fluvial aggradation in the Garhwal Himalaya, northern India JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - 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 Be-10-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 similar to 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. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - paleo-erosion rates KW - climate change KW - river terraces KW - landscape evolution KW - hillslopes KW - Himalaya Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2015.06.034 SN - 0012-821X SN - 1385-013X VL - 428 SP - 255 EP - 266 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grujic, Djordje A1 - Govin, Gwladys A1 - Barrier, Laurie A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Coutand, Isabelle A1 - Cowan, Beth A1 - Hren, Michael T. A1 - Najman, Yani T1 - Formation of a Rain Shadow BT - O and H Stable Isotope Records in Authigenic Clays From the Siwalik Group in Eastern Bhutan JF - Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems N2 - We measure the oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope composition of authigenic clays from Himalayan foreland sediments (Siwalik Group), and from present day small stream waters in eastern Bhutan to explore the impact of uplift of the Shillong Plateau on rain shadow formation over the Himalayan foothills. Stable isotope data from authigenic clay minerals (<2 μm) suggest the presence of three paleoclimatic periods during deposition of the Siwalik Group, between ∼7 and ∼1 Ma. The mean δ18O value in paleometeoric waters, which were in equilibrium with clay minerals, is ∼2.5‰ lower than in modern meteoric and stream waters at the elevation of the foreland basin. We discuss the factors that could have changed the isotopic composition of water over time and we conclude that (a) the most likely and significant cause for the increase in meteoric water δ18O values over time is the “amount effect,” specifically, a decrease in mean annual precipitation. (b) The change in mean annual precipitation over the foreland basin and foothills of the Himalaya is the result of orographic effect caused by the Shillong Plateau's uplift. The critical elevation of the Shillong Plateau required to induce significant orographic precipitation was attained after ∼1.2 Ma. (c) By applying scale analysis, we estimate that the mean annual precipitation over the foreland basin of the eastern Bhutan Himalayas has decreased by a factor of 1.7–2.5 over the last 1–3 million years. KW - authigenic clay KW - stable isotope KW - orographic precipitation KW - Siwaliks KW - Himalaya KW - foreland basin Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2017GC007254 SN - 1525-2027 VL - 19 IS - 9 SP - 3430 EP - 3447 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Deeken, Anke A1 - Thiede, Rasmus Christoph A1 - Sobel, Edward A1 - Hourigan, J. K. A1 - Strecker, Manfred T1 - Exhumational variability within the Himalaya of northwest India JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - In the Himalaya of Chamba, NW India, a major orographic barrier in front of the Greater Himalayan Range extracts a high proportion of the monsoonal rainfall along its southern slopes and effectively shields the orogen interior from moisture-bearing winds. Along a similar to 100-km-long orogen perpendicular transect, 28 new apatite fission track (AFT) and 30 new zircon (U-Th)/He (ZHe) cooling ages reveal marked variations in age distributions and long-term exhumation rates between the humid frontal range and the semi-arid orogen interior. On the southern topographic front, very young, elevation-invariant AFT ages of <4 Ma have been obtained that are concentrated in a similar to 30-km-wide zone; 1-D-thermal modeling suggests a Plio-Pleistocene mean erosion rate of 0.8-1.9 mm yr(-1). In contrast, AFT and ZHe ages within the orogen interior are older (4-9 and 7-18 Ma, respectively), are positively correlated with sample elevation, and yield lower mean erosion rates (0.3-0.9 mm yr(-1)). Protracted low exhumation rates within the orogen interior over the last similar to 15 Myr prevailed contemporaneously with overall humid conditions and an effective erosional regime within the southern Himalaya. This suggests that the frontal Dhauladar Range was sufficiently high during this time to form an orographic barrier, focusing climatically enhanced erosional processes and tectonic deformation there. Thrusting along the two frontal range-bounding thrust, the Main Central Thrust and the Main Boundary Thrusts, was initiated at least similar to 15 Ma ago and has remained localized since then. The lack of evidence for localized uplift farther north indicates either a rather flat decollement with no ramp or the absence of active duplex systems beneath the interior of Chamba. Exhumational variability within Chamba is best explained as the result of continuous thrusting along a major basal decollement, with a flat beneath the slowly exhuming internal compartments and a steep frontal ramp at the rapidly exhuming frontal range. The pattern in Chamba contrasts with what is observed elsewhere along the Himalaya, where exhumation is focused in a zone similar to 150 km north of the orogenic front. In the NW Himalaya, preserved High Himalayan Crystalline nappes and Lesser Himalayan windows alternate on a relatively small scale of <100 km; these alternations are closely correlated with the pattern of exhumation. Although the spatial distribution of high-exhumation zones varies considerably between individual Himalayan sectors, all of these zones are closely correlated with locally higher rock-uplift rates, sharp topographic discontinuities, and focused orographic precipitation, suggesting strong feedbacks between tectonically driven rock uplift, orographically enhanced precipitation, and erosional processes. KW - apatite fission-track KW - zircon uranium-thorium-helium KW - thermochronology KW - exhumation KW - Himalaya KW - Haimantas Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2011.02.045 SN - 0012-821X VL - 305 IS - 1-2 SP - 103 EP - 114 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -