Isotopic analysis to quantify the role of the Indian monsoon on water resources of selected river basins in the Himalayas

Western disturbances (WDs) and Indian summer monsoon (ISM) led precipitation play a central role in the Himalayan water budget. Estimating their contributions to water resource is although a challenging but essential for hydrologic understanding and effective water resource management. In this study, we used stable water isotope data of precipitation and surface waters to estimate the contribution of ISM and WDs to the water resources in three mountainous river basins - Indus, Bhagirathi and Teesta river basins of western, central and Eastern Himalayas. The study reveals distinct seasonality in isotope characteristics of precipitation and surface waters in each river basin is due to changes in moisture source, hydrometeorology and relief. Despite steady spatial variance in the slope and intercept of regression lines from the Teesta to Indus and the Bhagirathi river basins, the slope and intercept are close to the global meteoric water line and reported local meteoric water line of other regions in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. The two-component end-member mixing method using d-excess as tracer were used to estimate the contribution from ISM and WD led precipitation to surface water in aforementioned river basins. The results suggest that the influence of the ISM on the water resources is high (>72% to annual river flow) in Teesta river basin (eastern Himalayas), while as the WDs led precipitation is dominantly contributing (>70% average annual river flow) to the surface waters in the Indus river basin (western Himalayas). The contribution of ISM and WD led precipitation in Bhagirathi river basin is 60% and 40%, respectively. The findings demonstrate that the unusual changes in the ISM and WD moisture dynamics have the potential to affect the economy and food security of the region, which is dependent on the availability of water resources. The obtained results are of assistance to policy makers/mangers to make use of the information for better understanding hydrologic response amid unusual behaviour of the dual monsoon system over the region.     

The cordierite‐bearing anatectic rocks of the higher Himalayan crystallines (eastern Nepal): low‐pressure anatexis,melt productivity,melt loss and the preservation of cordierite

Cordierite‐bearing anatectic rocks inform our understanding of low‐pressure anatectic processes in the continental crust. This article focuses on cordierite‐bearing lithologies occurring at the upper structural levels of the Higher Himalayan Crystallines (eastern Nepal Himalaya). Three cordierite‐bearing gneisses from different geological transects (from Mt Everest to Kangchenjunga) have been studied, in which cordierite is spectacularly well preserved. The three samples differ in terms of bulk composition likely reflecting different sedimentary protoliths, although they all consist of quartz, alkali feldspar, plagioclase, biotite, cordierite and sillimanite in different modal percentages. Analysis of the microstructures related to melt production and/or melt consumption allows the distinction to be made between peritectic and cotectic cordierite. The melt productivity of different prograde assemblages (from two‐mica metapelite/metagreywacke to biotite‐metapelite) has been investigated at low‐pressure conditions, evaluating the effects of muscovite v. biotite dehydration melting on both mineral assemblages and microstructures. The results of the thermodynamic modelling suggest that the mode and type of the micaceous minerals in the prograde assemblage is a very important parameter controlling the melt productivity at low‐pressure conditions, the two‐mica protoliths being significantly more fertile at any given temperature than biotite gneisses over the same temperature interval. Furthermore, the cordierite preservation is promoted by melt crystallization at a dry solidus and by exhumation along P‐T paths with a peculiar dP/dT slope of about 15–18 bar °C^?1. Overall, our results provide a key for the interpretation of cordierite petrogenesis in migmatites from any low‐P regional anatectic terrane. The cordierite‐bearing migmatites may well represent the source rocks for the Miocene andalusite‐bearing leucogranites occurring at the upper structural levels of the Himalayan belt, and low‐P isobaric heating rather than decompression melting may be the triggering process of this peculiar peraluminous magmatism.     

Generation of Muscovite/ Two-Mica Granil and Intracontinental Subduction

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Characteristics and mitigation of the snow avalanche hazard in Kaghan Valley,Pakistan Himalaya

Snow avalanche hazards in mountainous areas of developing countries have received scant attention in the scientific literature. The purpose of this paper is to describe this hazard and mitigative measures in Kaghan Valley, Pakistan Himalaya, and to review alternatives for future reduction of this hazard. Snow avalanches have long posed a hazard and risk to indigenous populations of the Himalaya and Trans-Himalaya mountains. Land use intensification due to population growth, new transportation routes, military activity and tourism is raising levels of risk. The history of land use in the study area is such that investigations of avalanche hazard must rely on different theoretical bases and data than in most industrialised countries. Despite the intensive use of valley-bottom land which is affected by avalanches, a number of simple measures are currently employed by the indigenous population to mitigate the hazard. Out-migration during the winter months is the most important one. During the intensive use period of summer avalanche-transported snow provides numerous resources for the population. In Kaghan the avalanche hazard is increasing primarily as a result of poorly located new buildings and other construction projects. The large scale of avalanche activity there rules out any significant improvement or protection of the currently difficult winter access. Instead, future mitigation of the hazard should focus on protecting the small number of winter inhabitants and minimising property damage.     

On Continent-Continent Point-Collision and Ultrahigh-Pressure Metamorphism

Up to now it is known that almost all ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism of non-impact origin occurred in continent-continent collisional orogenic belt, as has been evidenced by many outcrops in the eastern hemisphere. UHP metamorphic rocks are represented by coesite- and diamond-bearing eclogites and eclogite facies metamorphic rocks formed at 650-800℃ and 2.6-3.5 GPa, and most of the protoliths of UHP rocks are volcanic-sedimentary sequences of continental crust. From these it may be deduced that deep subduction of continental crust may have occurred. However, UHP rocks are exposed on the surface or occur near the surface now, which implies that they have been exhumed from great depths. The mechanism of deep subduction of continental crust and subsequent exhumation has been a hot topic of the research on continental dynamics, but there are divergent views. The focus of the dispute is how deep continental crust is subducted so that UHP rocks can be formed and what mechanism causes it to be subducte     

喜马拉雅构造-成矿域及其成矿效应初步分析

通过近年来的研究 ,提出了全新的喜马拉雅构造 -成矿域概念。从大喜马拉雅构造域及其成矿效应出发 ,通过构造域对矿集区的控制作用、成矿时代、成矿物质来源、深部过程与成矿效应的分析 ,从而较全面地评价了青藏高原及邻区的资源潜力和需要进一步工作的重要成矿带或矿集区。通过分析认为喜马拉雅构造 -成矿域内强烈的壳幔物质交换 ,下地壳翻天覆地的物质和流体交换 ,导致了在同一构造地质单元内可以有一个或多个超大型矿床的存在。并对多个重要矿床类型提出了更切合实际的观点 ,如西藏甲马铜钼银铅锌金多金属矿床属于矽卡岩 -斑岩复合型 ,云南羊拉铜钼金多金属矿床也属于矽卡岩 -斑岩复合型矿床等。在喜马拉雅构造域内形成的燕山晚期或喜马拉雅期矿床大多和大陆地壳深部复杂的动力学过程有关 ,所形成的矿床矿物组合及成矿元素组合复杂 ,特别是矿石中钴、银元素含量较高 ,许多矿床中银、钴已经作为主要成矿元素。最后明确提出了青藏高原主体及东缘重要矿集区的资源潜力     

Chemical Characteristics of Stream Draining fromDudu Glacier: An Alpine Meltwater Stream inGanga Headwater, Garhwal Himalaya

I-DtjcrONAlpine environment enjoys a distinct set of physicochemical conditions asl compared to other aqueous systems. Thehydrochemical characteristics of meltwater draining from thisenvironment are different from the other aqueous ecosystemsdue to their mountainous nature and extreme cold climatic conditions. The high concentration of various chemical constitu.ents in meltwater shows the intensive chemical weathering inthe basin. The rapid physical weathering due tO grinding actionof the gl…     

Flat rare earth element patterns as an indicator of cumulate processes in the Lesser Qinling carbonatites, China

The Lesser Qinling carbonatite dykes are mainly composed of calcites. They are characterized by unusually high heavy rare earth element concentrations (HREE; e.g. Yb > 30 ppm) and flat to weakly light rare earth element (LREE) enriched chondrite-normalized patterns (La/Yb_n = 1.0–5.5), which is in marked contrast with all other published carbonatite data. The trace element contents of calcite crystals were measured in situ by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). Some crystals show reduced LREE from core to rim, whereas their HREE compositions are relatively constant. The total REE contents and chondrite-normalized REE patterns from the cores of carbonate crystals are similar to those of the whole rock. The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of calcites fall within the range of primary, mantle-derived carbonatites. The initial Sr isotopic compositions (0.70480–0.70557) of calcites are consistent with an EM1 source or mixing between HIMU and EM1 mantle sources. However these sources cannot produce carbonatite parental magmas with a flat or slightly LREE enrichment pattern by low degrees of partial melting. Analyses of carbonates from other carbonatites show that carbonates have nearly flat REE pattern if they crystallize from a LREE enriched carbonatite melt. This implies that when carbonates crystallize from a carbonatite melt the calcite/melt partition coefficients (D) for HREE are much greater than the D for the LREE. The nearly flat REE patterns of the Lesser Qinling carbonatites can be explained if they are carbonate cumulates that contain little trapped carbonatite melt. Strong enrichment of HREE in the carbonatites may require their derivation by small degrees of melting from a garnet-poor source.