Growth of the Namche Barwa Syntaxis and associated evolution of the Tsangpo Gorge: Constraints from structural and thermochronological data

The eastern syntaxis of the Himalaya, Namche Barwa, is dominated by a north-plunging antiform which began to decompress/grow at approximately 4 Ma. New fission-track analyses on both apatite and zircon, combined with previous geochronological ages, indicate that the Namche Barwa Dome also extended laterally while growing vertically. Zircon fission-track ages range from 17.6 to 0.2 Ma and have a strong relationship to the main faults of the region, including the Tertiary Tsangpo Suture, with the younger ages inside the fault bounds towards the syntaxis core on the Indian Plate and the older ages away from the fault. Apatite ages reveal that the dome has grown laterally and now impinges over the older faulted margin onto the Asian Plate. The dome is traversed by the Tsangpo which has followed the trace of the Suture for over 1300 km from its source to the entrance of the dome near Dania. As the Tsangpo crosses the dome it departs from the Suture but rejoins it some 60 km northeastwards. We construe that the Suture has been displaced by the growing antiform and as a consequence, the antecedent river has been “dragged” in a left-lateral sense along the exhuming north-plunging dome. Restoring the Suture to its position prior to 4 Ma reveals a path of the Tsangpo eastwards across the present southwestern position of the Namche Barwa indentation. This geometric reconstrunction implies that the Tsangpo and the Brahmaputra were always one and the same river. In addition, the Tsangpo was tectonically forced into juxtaposition with a tributary of the Jiali-Parlung which it probably then captured. The capture was due to tectonic forcing, in the last 4 Ma, rather than headward retreat of the paleo-Brahmaputra as has been previously suggested.     

Freely floating-body simulation by a 2D fully nonlinear numerical wave tank

Nonlinear interactions between large waves and freely floating bodies are investigated by a 2D fully nonlinear numerical wave tank (NWT). The fully nonlinear 2D NWT is developed based on the potential theory, MEL/material-node time-marching approach, and boundary element method (BEM). A robust and stable 4th-order Runge–Kutta fully updated time-integration scheme is used with regriding (every time step) and smoothing (every five steps). A special φ_n-η type numerical beach on the free surface is developed to minimize wave reflection from end-wall and wave maker. The acceleration-potential formulation and direct mode-decomposition method are used for calculating the time derivative of velocity potential. The indirect mode-decomposition method is also independently developed for cross-checking. The present fully nonlinear simulations for a 2D freely floating barge are compared with the corresponding linear results, Nojiri and Murayama’s (Trans. West-Jpn. Soc. Nav. Archit. 51 (1975)) experimental results, and Tanizawa and Minami’s (Abstract for the 6th Symposium on Nonlinear and Free-surface Flow, 1998) fully nonlinear simulation results. It is shown that the fully nonlinear results converge to the corresponding linear results as incident wave heights decrease. A noticeable discrepancy between linear and fully nonlinear simulations is observed near the resonance area, where the second and third harmonic sway forces are even bigger than the first harmonic component causing highly nonlinear features in sway time series. The surprisingly large second harmonic heave forces in short waves are also successfully reproduced. The fully updated time-marching scheme is found to be much more robust than the frozen-coefficient method in fully nonlinear simulations with floating bodies. To compare the role of free-surface and body-surface nonlinearities, the body-nonlinear-only case with linearized free-surface condition was separately developed and simulated.     

Measurements of higher harmonic wave forces on a vertical truncated circular cylinder

Wave forces on a vertical truncated circular cylinder in Stokes waves with the wave slopes ranging from 0.06 to 0.24, are measured in a wave tank. The higher harmonic wave forces are compared with the available values from theories of the FNV (Faltisen–Newman–Vinje) model and Varyani solution. The first harmonic horizontal forces measured are much larger than the theoretical values from the FNV model, while the first harmonic vertical forces are well predicted by the Varyani theory. It was also found that the FNV model significantly overpredicts the second harmonic horizontal forces in high frequency waves, but under predicts the third harmonic forces. The differences between the actual measurement and the theory, in the second and third harmonic horizontal forces, become smaller at low wave frequencies as the wave slope increases. In addition, the transverse instabilities in the incoming waves with high wave slope were observed, which is due to the nonlinear modulation. Measurements were, thus, carried out before the instability occurred.     

Is there any detachment in the Lower Dolpo (western Nepal)?Y a-t-il un détachement dans le bas Dolpo (Népal occidental) ?

A structural transect in the Lower Dolpo highlights that the deformation and metamorphism of the Tibetan Zone (TZ) increase toward the bottom of the sequence. The contact with the underlying HHC is marked by a metamorphic jump from amphibolite facies in the carbonatic rocks of the upper part of the HHC to greenschist facies marbles in the TZ. Moreover, the HHC and the TZ show different metamorphic histories. The contact zone shows a strain increase accompanied by asymmetric folds with a top-to-the-northeast vergence, connected to a down-to-the-northeast tectonic transport. The contact is interpreted as an extensional shear zone, connected to the South Tibetan Detachment System. To cite this article: R. Carosi et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 933–940.     

Neotectonic Control on the Geomorphic Evolution of the Gangotri Glacier Valley, Garhwal Himalaya

The paper records evidences of neotectonic activities in the Gangotri glacier valley that are found to be responsible for the present-day geomorphic set-up of the area since the last phase of major glaciation. Geomorphological features indicate the presence of a large glacier in the valley in the geological past. Prominent planar structures present in the rocks were later on modified into sets of normal faults in the present-day Himalayan tectonic set-up giving rise to graben structures. The block nearest the snout is traversed by the NW-SE trending Gaumukh fault. A number of terraces mark the entrenchment of Bhagirathi River in this part. The contrasting drainage morphometric parameters of two sides of the valley and asymmetric recessional patterns of the tributary glaciers further document movement along the fault. The distribution and orientation of debris fans also seem to be controlled by neotectonic activity. The neotectonic activity that followed the process of deglaciation has brought the glacially carved, wide U- shaped valley in contact with the present-day fluvially incised narrow and relatively deep valley. The wider segments have become sites of active deposition of glacially eroded debris. The low gradient and excessive filling has resulted in the river attaining a braided nature in these segments.     

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in the Nepal Himalaya: A Manageable Hazard?

Within the past fifteen years, glacial lake outburst floods have become an activetopic of discussion within the development community focused on Nepal. Suchfloods endanger thousands of people, hundreds of villages, and basic infrastructuresuch as trails and bridges. The flood risk is also a major impediment to hydroelectricdevelopment in several river basins. Unlike most other mountain hazards in Nepal,reducing the possibility of outburst floods is technically feasible. The first attemptwithin Nepal to reduce the hazard of one lake by artificially lowering its water levelwas partially completed in June 2000. Completing this task and beginning work onother hazardous lakes will require difficult decisions about risk by downstream residentsand substantial investment from the international aid community.     

Rivers, chemical weathering and Earth's climate

We detail the results of recent studies describing and quantifying the large-scale chemical weathering of the main types of continental silicate rocks: granites and basalts. These studies aim at establishing chemical weathering laws for these two lithologies, describing the dependence of chemical weathering on environmental parameters, such as climate and mechanical erosion. As shown within this contribution, such mathematical laws are of primary importance for numerical models calculating the evolution of the partial pressure of atmospheric CO₂ and the Earth climate at geological timescales. The major results can be summarized as follow: (1) weathering of continental basaltic lithologies accounts for about 30% of the total consumption of atmospheric CO₂ through weathering of continental silicate rocks. This is related to their high weatherability (about eight times greater than the granite weatherability); (2) a simple weathering law has been established for basaltic lithologies, giving the consumption of atmospheric CO₂ as a function of regional continental runoff, and mean annual regional temperature; (3) no such simple weathering law can be proposed for granitic lithologies, since the effect of temperature can only be identified for regions displaying high continental runoff; (4) a general law relating mechanical erosion and chemical weathering has been validated on small and large catchments. The consequences of these major advances on the climatic evolution of the Earth are discussed. Particularly, the impacts of the onset of the Deccan trapps and the Himalayan orogeny on the global carbon cycle are reinvestigated. To cite this article: B. Dupré et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

Stratigraphy of the upper cretaceous and lower tertiary strata in the Tethyan Himalayas of Tibet (Tingri area,China)

The 1500-m-thick marine strata of the Tethys Himalaya of the Zhepure Mountain (Tingri, Tibet) comprise the Upper Albian to Eocene and represent the sedimentary development of the passive northern continental margin of the Indian plate. Investigations of foraminifera have led to a detailed biozonation which is compared with the west Tethyan record. Five stratigraphic units can be distinguished: The Gamba group (Upper Albian - Lower Santonian) represents the development from a basin and slope to an outer-shelf environment. In the following Zhepure Shanbei formation (Lower Santonian - Middle Maastrichtian), outer-shelf deposits continue. Pebbles in the top layers point to beginning redeposition on a continental slope. Intensified redeposition continues within the Zhepure Shanpo formation (Middle Maastrichtian - Lower Paleocene). The series is capped by sandstones of the Jidula formation (Danian) deposited from a seaward prograding delta plain. The overall succession of these units represents a sea-level high at the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary followed, from the Turonian to Danian, by an overall shallowing-upward megasequence. This is followed by a final transgression — regression cycle during the Paleocene and Eocene, documented in the Zhepure Shan formation (?Upper Danian - Lutetian) and by Upper Eocene continental deposits. The section represents the narrowing and closure of the Tethys as a result of the convergence between northward-drifting India and Eurasia. The plate collision started in the Lower Maastrichtian and caused rapid changes in sedimentation patterns affected by tectonic subsidence and uplift. Stronger subsidence and deposition took place from the Middle Maastrichtian to the Lower Paleocene. The final closure of remnant Tethys in the Tingri area took place in the Lutetian.     

Geological investigations at a high altitude, remote coal mine on the Northwest Pakistan and Afghanistan frontier, Karakoram Himalaya

The Northwest Pakistan and Afghanistan frontier is located one of the most remote, inaccessible, and inhospitable part of the Himalayan orogenic belt. In this region, two of the world's largest and most distinct mountain belts intersect; the Karakoram Himalaya (mainly in Pakistan) and the Hindu Kush (mainly in Afghanistan). Located at high altitude, in a remote part of Northwest Pakistan, close to the border with Afghanistan, tribal villagers began excavating a series of adits into the steep mountain slopes, beneath glaciers, to extract valuable coal and carbonaceous shale resources. These were discovered in 1996, by the villagers, whilst hunting, and may represent some of the highest mine workings in the world. Small-scale mining operations subsequently developed using rudimentary mining methods and the mine became known as the Reshit or Pamir Coal Mine.The coal deposits are sedimentary, highly disturbed and tectonised, having been subjected to multiple phases of orogenic crustal deformation. The coal occurs as discrete lenses, several tens of metres in their lateral dimension, between steeply dipping, overturned and thrusted limestone beds of Jurassic age. The coal provided a vital, alternative source of fuel for the villagers since the local, traditional fuel supply was wood, which had become severely depleted, and imports of kerosene from neighbouring China and Afghanistan were too expensive.The mining operations experienced severe problems. These included several collapses of mine entrances, the failure of the adits to intersect the coal-bearing zones, the potential threat of geological hazards, mining-induced hazards and harsh high-altitude operating conditions, particularly during the winter months. International aid was provided to assist the villagers and a geological investigation was commissioned to investigate the problems at the mine.The geology of Karakoram Himalaya is relatively poorly understood. Until recently the region was restricted to foreign visitors and large areas of this mountain belt are virtually unmapped. Existing geological and topographic maps are difficult to obtain or are unavailable due to the close proximity of political frontiers, national borders and security reasons. The mineral resource potential of this region is virtually unknown. Few western geologists have visited this area due to its inaccessibility and political constraints, being situated close the frontiers with China, Afghanistan, and the disputed Pakistan and India territory of Kashmir.The Pakistan and Afghanistan border, is once again, now closed to foreign visitors. The objectives of this paper are to document the occurrence of coal and carbonaceous shale, at high altitude, in the Karakoram Himalaya and to provide details on the geology, geological hazards, reserves and labour-intensive mining operations. These observations and information may provide the basis for future mineral exploration, mining-geology, mining-engineering, feasibility studies and engineering geological investigation in the Karakoram Himalaya.     

Slow mass movement in the Kangchenjunga area, eastern Nepal Himalaya

Abstract   The rates of the accumulated and continuous displacement of solifluction lobes in the Kangchenjunga area, eastern Nepal Himalaya, were determined using glass fiber tubes and a strain probe. Ground temperature, precipitation and soil moisture were monitored at two sites, whose altitude differed by approximately 100 m, to understand the solifluction process. The average movement rate of the glass fiber tubes on a 31° slope at altitudes of 5412–5414 m a.s.l. was approximately 11 mm/year, being almost threefold greater than that observed on a 22° slope at 5322–5325 ma.s.l. There was no significant difference in the depth of displacement at these sites. The continuous displacement measurement near the ground surface at 5414 m showed permanent downslope movement from early July. Such movement may be attributed to additional moisture supply during the monsoon season. The amplitude of the displacement cycle was highest at the ground surface, and decreased to virtually zero at and below 20 cm in depth. Probable factors leading to the relatively slow rates of downslope displacement at the surface and depth at the studied altitudes are the lack of concurrence of the freeze–thaw cycles and the high moisture condition in the soil, and the low moisture retention capacity of the soil because of steep slopes and superficial desiccation. The rate of displacement may be more pronounced at altitudes above 5600 m because of the freeze–thaw cycles during the summer season.