Late Quaternary intensified monsoon phases control landscape evolution in the northwest Himalaya

Abstract

Research Article| February 01, 2005 Late Quaternary intensified monsoon phases control landscape evolution in the northwest Himalaya Bodo Bookhagen; Bodo Bookhagen 1Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Postfach 601553, D-14415 Potsdam, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Rasmus C. Thiede; Rasmus C. Thiede 1Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Postfach 601553, D-14415 Potsdam, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Manfred R. Strecker Manfred R. Strecker 1Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Postfach 601553, D-14415 Potsdam, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Bodo Bookhagen 1Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Postfach 601553, D-14415 Potsdam, Germany Rasmus C. Thiede 1Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Postfach 601553, D-14415 Potsdam, Germany Manfred R. Strecker 1Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Postfach 601553, D-14415 Potsdam, Germany Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 02 Jul 2004 Revision Received: 29 Sep 2004 Accepted: 01 Oct 2004 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2005) 33 (2): 149–152. https://doi.org/10.1130/G20982.1 Article history Received: 02 Jul 2004 Revision Received: 29 Sep 2004 Accepted: 01 Oct 2004 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Bodo Bookhagen, Rasmus C. Thiede, Manfred R. Strecker; Late Quaternary intensified monsoon phases control landscape evolution in the northwest Himalaya. Geology 2005;; 33 (2): 149–152. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G20982.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The intensity of the Asian summer-monsoon circulation varies over decadal to millennial time scales and is reflected in changes in surface processes, terrestrial environments, and marine sediment records. However, the mechanisms of long-lived (2–5 k.y.) intensified monsoon phases, the related changes in precipitation distribution, and their effect on landscape evolution and sedimentation rates are not yet well understood. The arid high-elevation sectors of the orogen correspond to a climatically sensitive zone that currently receives rain only during abnormal (i.e., strengthened) monsoon seasons. Analogous to present-day rainfall anomalies, enhanced precipitation during an intensified monsoon phase is expected to have penetrated far into these geomorphic threshold regions where hillslopes are close to the angle of failure. We associate landslide triggering during intensified monsoon phases with enhanced precipitation, discharge, and sediment flux leading to an increase in pore-water pressure, lateral scouring of rivers, and oversteepening of hillslopes, eventually resulting in failure of slopes and exceptionally large mass movements. Here we use lacustrine deposits related to spatially and temporally clustered large landslides (>0.5 km3) in the Sutlej Valley region of the northwest Himalaya to calculate sedimentation rates and to infer rainfall patterns during late Pleistocene (29–24 ka) and Holocene (10–4 ka) intensified monsoon phases. Compared to present-day sediment-flux measurements, a fivefold increase in sediment-transport rates recorded by sediments in landslide-dammed lakes characterized these episodes of high climatic variability. These changes thus emphasize the pronounced imprint of millennial-scale climate change on surface processes and landscape evolution. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.