PILLERS OF MY WORKS

Quaternary
Himalayan Glaciation

At the start of the Quaternary period, about 2.5 million years ago, continental ice sheets began to form in northernmost Canada.

Himalayan
Fluvial System

Fluvial landforms, extreme events, erosion-climate-tectonic coupling, migration of channels, material & water fluxes to the Oceans, Hydrograph separation studies, and natural pathways for CO₂ sequestration on Geological time scales

Environment
and
Society

Environment and Society focuses on the interplay between humans and their environment including complex issues such as climate change, population growth, pollution, and management of natural resources faced by our modern society.

Paraglacial
Regions

Using the landsystem approach, six paraglacial landsystems are distinguished: rock slopes, drift-mantled slopes, glacier foreland, alluvial, lacustrine and coastal systems.

Climate
And
Culture

The climate is often be based on events, peoples reactions and incidents between people. The culture is less dependent on individual events but tends to drive people's interpretation, thinking and perspectives of events that occur.

Research
    is where you can discover
                       the world and the History
       and Make Yourself At    Home.

Quaternary
Himalayan Glaciation

Sensitivity of Glaciers
Due to climate variablity
Since MIS-2, Upper Ganga,
Saraswati Valley, Center Himalyas

Moraines, outwash gravel terraces, fluvial drapes and lacustrine sequences are used to infer the pattern of glacial fluctuations in the Saraswati valley (upper Ganga catchment). Located in transitional climatic zone between dry steppe of the Tibetan plateau in the north and sub-humid higher Himalaya in the south, the Saraswati valley has preserved evidence of four glacier advances. These are identified as the Saraswati Glacial Stage (SGS)-1 (oldest) to SGS-4 (youngest).

Himalayan
Fluvial System

Reconstructing the pattern of late Quaternary climate through sediment-landform assemblages in the Dhauli Ganga valley (upper Ganga catchment), India

The present study focuses on the reconstruction of the pattern of late Quaternary climate variability through sediment-landform assemblages in the monsoon-dominated Dhauli Ganga valley.

Late Quaternary Climate and Landform Evolution in Dhauli Ganga Valley (Upper Ganga Catchment), Central Himalaya, India

Late Quaternary Climate and Landform Evolution in Dhauli Ganga Valley (Upper Ganga Catchment), Central Himalaya, India

Causes of pulsating evolution of fluvial landforms since the marine isotopic stage-2 in the belt of Schuppen, Nagaland, NE India

The Belt of Schuppen (BoS) of Nagaland is a NE-SW trending linear zone lying adjacent to the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam in Northeast India. Geomorphic, stratigraphic and chronologic data from the Dzüdza and Chathe river valleys that cut across the BoS have been studied to understand the influence of climate on landform evolution in parts of the BoS.

Environment and
Society

Unstable slopes and threatened livelihoods of the historical Joshimath town, Uttarakhand Himalaya, India

This study analyses the causes and consequences of slope instability around the historical mountain town of Joshimath, Uttarakhand Himalaya, India. The lithology constitutes fissile, shattered and sheared gneiss. Consequently, the slopes are prone to land subsidence and mass wasting.

Mountain highway stability threading on the fragile terrain of upper Ganga catchment (Uttarakhand Himalaya), India.

Roads are the most critical means of connectivity in Himalayan villages. However, the terrain is inherently fragile with varied geological, geomorphological, ecological, and climate regimes, that result in frequent slope failure and disruption in connectivity. The risk is further to be increased by extreme events-generated hazards, which are expected to rise in frequency and magnitude with ongoing climate change.

Quest for disaster-resilient roads in the Himalaya

This note highlights the major challenges and issues faced with the ongoing road-widening projects in the country. It cautions against the uniform standard of road widening and the need to increase sensitivity towards appreciating the terrain fragility.

Hydrological Characteristics of 7th February 2021 Rishi Ganga Flood: Implication towards Understanding Flood Hazards in Higher Himalaya

A flash flood that originated from Raunthi Gad-a tributary of the Rishi Ganga river, in Garhwal Himalaya, caused unprecedented loss to lives and damaged two hydropower projects on 7th Februray 2021. In order to asses the flood magnitude, the flow parameters of the flood were calculated using the super-elevation of the flood marks preserved in the flood affected valleys.

The 23rd April '21 Snow Avalanche, Girthi Ganga post the 7th February '21 Rishi Ganga Flash Flood: Are these Events Linked to Climate Warming in the Western Himalaya?

The upper catchment of Dhauli Ganga valley (Chamoli district) in Uttarakhand Himalaya recently witnessed a large snow avalanche on the night of 23rd April 2021 along the Indo-Tibet border. This event followed the 7th February 2021 Rishi Ganga (debris flow induced) flash flood within less than three months.

Paraglacial Regions

Remote sensing-based geomorphological mapping of glacial and paraglacial landforms from semiarid and subhumid Himalaya

The present study maps and quantifies paraglacial landforms preserved in the semiarid NW Himalaya (eastern Zanskar ranges: Sarchu Plain) and the subhumid Gangotri valley (central Himalaya). The two catchments that have contrasting climatic conditions are chosen to understand the changes in ice volume and sediment sequestration in the late Quaternary period.

Paraglacial Response to Recent Climate Change in the Upper Ganga Catchment

Paraglacial zones are indirectly conditioned by glaciers and glacial processes and are ecologically and geologically unstable. Multiple phases of glacier advances/recessions have left an enormous quantity of unconsolidated sediments in the form of moraines, talus/scree fans, and outwash gravel terraces (collectively known as paraglacial sediment).

Climate and Culture

Mid to late Holocene climate variability, forest fires and floods entwined with human occupation in the upper Ganga catchment, India

The present study attempts to understand the geomorphic response in the upper Ganga catchment to the mid-late Holocene (neoglacial) climate variability. The study infers five major phases of millennial-scale climate variability with centennial-scale inversions using geochemical and magnetic proxies from relict Lesser Himalayan Lake sediments.

Relict proglacial lake of Spituk (Leh), northwest (NW) Himalaya: A repository of hydrological changes during Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS)-2

In the northwestern Himalaya (Ladakh and Karakoram), the spatial and temporal changes in the late Quaternary glaciation were modulated by a combination of two contrasting moisture sources (viz., the Indian Summer Monsoon and the mid-latitude westerlies). The inferences about their relative contribution to glacier expansion are based on the ages obtained on moraines.

Climatic implications of late Holocene loess and intervening paleosols, Southern Zanskar range, northwestern Himalaya Climatic implications of late Holocene loess and intervening paleosols, Southern Zanskar range, northwestern Himalaya

The loess-paleosol proxy records from mid-latitude Asia have been instrumental in the reconstruction of regional paleoclimate evolution and its relationship with global climatic changes. The present study explores the discrete occurrence of a loess and paleosol sequence (LPS) in the Southern Zanskar Range (SZR), NW Himalaya.