Journal
SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY
Volume 165, Issue 3-4, Pages 199-221Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2003.11.009
Keywords
paraglaciation; cosmogenic radionuclide dating; himalaya; climate; gangotri glacier
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
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. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available