Socio-economic and environmental implications of the hydroelectric projects in Uttarakhand Himalaya, India

This paper deals with detailed analysis of the fiasco created by the Tehri High Dam in Uttarakhand, India, particularly in terms of resettlement and rehabilitation of the local inhabitants. Aspects pertaining to the environmental issues are also discussed. Currently, the river valleys in Uttarakhand state of India are the targets of increasing hydroelectric projects. Virtually all rivers are being exploited for generating environmental friendly power. Having being learned the hard lesson from Tehri Dam, it has been decided to opt for such schemes in which comparatively little submergence and tempering with the fragile eco-systems is involved.However, our observations suggest that even in such schemes if due care is not taken they may turn out to be a failure.     

Assessment of man-made and natural hazards in the surroundings of hydropower projects under construction in the beas valley of northwestern Himalaya

Mountain ecosystem,on the earth,has plenty of natural resources. In Himachal Pradesh all the rivers are snowfed and therefore rich in water resources. These resources have been supporting enough for the generation of electricity through introducing hydropower projects since the last decade. However,every developmental activity has its own negative impacts on the surrounding environment. Due to the fragile nature of topography and delicacy of ecology of the Himalaya,it results in lot of disturbances because of high degree of human interferences like construction of major hydropower projects. The increased extent of geological hazards,such as landslides,rock fall and soil erosion,have mainly due to alike developmental interventions in the natural ecosystem. So understanding and analysing such impacts of the hydropower projects have mainly been on the environment in various forms but natural hazards have been frequent ones. The present study,therefore,focuses mainly on the Parbati Stage Ⅱ (800 MW) and the Parbati Stage Ⅲ (520 MW) hydropower projects; both of which fall within the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. Based on the perception survey of the local communities,the existing land use pattern,status of total acquired land of the residents by hydropower projects,frequent natural hazards and resultant loss to the local communities due to upcoming construction of hydropower projects surrounding to the Parbati Stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ have been analysed in the paper. Also,the preventive measures to mitigate these adverse impacts have been suggested to strengthen these projects in eco-friendly manner in the mountain context.     

Evidence for the thrust emplacement of the ‘Lesser Himalaya’ Chur granite,Himachal Pradesh

Numerous peraluminous and porphyritic granitic bodies and augen gneisses of granitic compositions occur in the nappe sequences of the Lower Himalaya. They are Proterozoic-to-lower Paleozoic in age and have been grouped into the ‘Lesser Himalaya granite belt’. The mode of emplacement and tectonic significance of these granites are as yet uncertain but they are generally considered to be sheet-like intrusions into the surrounding rocks. The small and isolated granite body (the Chur granite) that crops out around the Chur peak in the Himachal Himalaya is one of the more famous of these granites. Several lines of evidence have been adduced to show that the Chur granite has a thrust (the Chur thrust) contact with the underlying metasedimentary sequence (locally called the Jutogh Group). The Chur granite with restricted occurrence at the highest topographic and structural levels represents an erosional remnant of a much larger sub-horizontal thrust sheet. The contact relations between the country rocks and many of the other granite and granitic augen gneisses in the Lesser Himalaya belt are apparently similar to that of the Chur granite suggesting that at least some of them may also represent thrust sheets.     

柴达木盆地英雄岭地区新生代构造演化动力学特征

通过分析柴达木盆地英雄岭 (YL)地区地质、2D/ 3D地震、遥感、重磁电和钻探等资料 ,提出了喜马拉雅运动几个阶段在该区的构造动力学响应特征。研究认为喜马拉雅运动晚期 ,英雄岭地区西南侧的阿卡腾能山因近SN向的区域挤压作用 ,产生了顺时针方向的旋转及隆升作用 ,从而在干柴沟一带形成了强烈的SE向局部挤压应力场 ,基底大幅隆升 ,而在英雄岭隆起的南侧则产生了局部的拉张构造环境。喜马拉雅山中期运动在该区的主要表现形式就是使古近纪的张扭构造环境转变为新近纪的坳陷构造环境 ,英雄岭西南的阿尔金地区发生隆升作用 ,沉积中心发生向东和向北的迁移。通过分析主干断裂、构造块体和沉积凹陷的分布特征等 ,得出喜马拉雅早期英雄岭及邻区发育局部拉张环境 ,为较为稳定的断陷湖盆发育期 ,沉积了一套优质烃源岩。英雄岭地区潜在勘探领域主要有构造裂缝型圈闭、地层岩性圈闭及渐新世断凸构造圈闭等。     

喜马拉雅超高压变质作用

喜马拉雅超高压变质带主要由表壳岩石组成,其中的长英质变质岩已经全部退变质,只在基性的榴辉岩中保留有某些超高压变质矿物.这些超高压变质矿物在锆石、石榴石及其他一些化学和机械性质稳定的矿物中以微米级的包裹体形式产出.到目前为止,已经在Tso Morari结晶穹隆和上Kaghan谷高喜马拉雅结晶岩中发现了超高压指示矿物柯石英和多晶石英假像.这2个地区同属一个超高压变质带,具有相似的构造背景、岩石组成及变质年龄.Kaghan谷超高压变质岩形成条件为700～770°C和2.7～3.2 GPa,相当于90～110 km 的上地幔深度,形成年龄为(46.2±0.7) Ma.Tso Morari结晶穹隆中超高压变质岩的形成条件约为750°C和3.9 GPa,形成年龄为(48±1) Ma.上述超高压变质带在其折返过程中普遍经历了强烈的水化和角闪岩相退变质作用.研究表明,印度大陆地壳俯冲的垂向速率为1.1～1.4 cm/a,水平速率为4.5 cm/a,俯冲到约100 km深度时的平均俯冲角度为14～19°.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112000072

The Abor volcanics outcroping in the core of the Siang window in the Eastern Himalaya comprise voluminous mafic volcanics (47％-56％ w(SiO2)),with subordinate felsic volcanics (67％-75％ w(SiO2)).The felsi...     

Comparative analysis of contributing parameters for rainfall-triggered landslides in the Lesser Himalaya of Nepal

In the Himalaya, people live in widely spread settlements and suffer more from landslides than from any other type of natural disaster. The intense summer monsoons are the main factor in triggering landslides. However, the relations between landslides and slope hydrology have not been a focal topic in Himalayan landslide research. This paper deals with the contributing parameters for the rainfall-triggered landslides which occurred during an extreme monsoon rainfall event on 23 July 2002, in the south-western hills of Kathmandu valley, in the Lesser Himalaya, Nepal. Parameters such as bedrock geology, geomorphology, geotechnical properties of soil, and clay mineralogy are described in this paper. Landslide modeling was performed in SEEP/W and SLOPE/W to understand the relationship of pore water pressure variations in soil layers and to determine the spatial variation of landslide occurrence. Soil characteristics, low angle of internal friction of fines in soil, medium range of soil permeability, presence of clay minerals in soil, bedrock hydrogeology, and human intervention were found to be the main contributing parameters for slope failures in the region.     

藏南错那洞穹隆早渐新世含绿柱石花岗伟晶岩的成因机制及其地质意义

错那洞穹隆位于特提斯喜马拉雅东段,发育钨锡-铍稀有金属成矿作用。错那洞穹隆由上(边部)、中(幔部)、下(核部)3个构造层组成,分别以上、下拆离断层为分界线,其中在幔部强变形带中发育一套同构造变形的含绿柱石花岗伟晶岩。锆石U-Pb年代学表明,该套伟晶岩形成于33.7±0.4Ma(MSWD=1.12),为早渐新世岩浆活动的产物,明显早于穹隆中目前发现的淡色花岗岩(20～14Ma)。岩石地球化学和Sr-Nd-Hf同位素测试结果显示:(1)错那洞早渐新世花岗伟晶岩为过铝质高钾富钠花岗质岩石,具有较高SiO_2(69.74%)、高Al_2O_3(14.58%)及较低的CaO、MgO、MnO、TiO_2的特征;(2)高场强元素及大离子亲石元素均呈现高度变化特征,富集轻稀土元素,亏损重稀土元素;(3)Sr同位素初始值(0.696308～0.751604)与Nd同位素初始值(-11.48～-12.05)总体在角闪岩与泥质片麻岩之间,ε_(Hf)(t)值介于-5.4～0.1之间(主要集中在-5.4～-1.8)。综合研究表明,错那洞早渐新世含绿柱石伟晶岩是角闪岩与泥质片麻岩混熔的结果,其中泥质片麻岩的部分熔融起主导作用,其形成与藏南拆离系(STDS)的活动密切相关,表明错那洞地区新生代地壳深熔作用主要源岩在早渐新世已完成了从角闪岩向泥质片麻岩的转变。该同构造变形含绿柱石伟晶岩的发现,揭示错那洞穹隆的成穹作用至少在早渐新世便已开始。铍稀有金属可能在早渐新世已有了初始富集,而在中新世大规模岩浆活动中实现了巨量富集。     

西藏东喜马拉雅错那地区亚马荣淡色花岗岩的年代学、地球化学与岩石成因

本文通过对东喜马拉雅错那地区亚马荣岩体的地球化学、锆石U-Pb年代学和Hf同位素研究,试图探索亚马荣岩体的形成机制,解释地壳深熔作用过程。锆石U-Pb定年获得两期年龄,分别为14.4Ma和17Ma,结合前人已有结果,本文认为错那地区的深熔作用至少持续5Myr时间。亚马荣岩体具有较高Si O2(71.85%~72.91%)、Al2O3(15.30%~15.67%)含量,较低的Fe2O3T(0.58%~0.90%)、Ca O(0.72%~1.05%)含量,铝饱和指数(A/CNK)为1.08~1.22;锆石Ti温度计、εHf(t)的变化以及大离子亲石元素Rb/Sr比值和Ba含量之间的协变关系都说明,错那淡色花岗岩形成过程中存在多种熔融方式,经历了脱水熔融和水致熔融的转变,发生熔融反应的转变可能与藏南东-西向伸展构造的启动有关。     

印度／亚洲碰撞——南北向和东西向拆离构造与现代喜马拉雅造山机制再讨论

印度/亚洲碰撞形成的喜马拉雅增生地体由特提斯-喜马拉雅(THM)、高喜马拉雅(GHM)、低喜马拉雅(LHM)和次喜马拉雅(SHM)亚地体组成.通过喜马拉雅增生地体中变质基底和盖层的组成、变质演化、变形机制与形成时代的对比,确定高喜马拉雅(GHM)亚地体北缘的藏南拆离断裂(STD)向北延伸于特提斯-喜马拉雅(THM)亚地体之下,与形成在大于650℃温度、具有自南向北剪切滑移性质的康马-拉轨岗日拆离带(KLD)相连,深部地壳局部熔融、物质上涌造成的花岗岩侵位,使康马-拉轨岗日拆离带隆起,形成康马-拉轨岗日穹隆带.在高喜马拉雅(GHM)亚地体北部(普兰-吉隆-聂拉木-亚东一带)的变质基底与盖层之间发现EW向近水平的高喜马拉雅韧性拆离构造(GHD),以发育EW向拉伸线理、缓倾的糜棱面理及具有自西向东水平滑移为特征;而在GHM南部靠近主中央冲断裂(MCT)北侧发育具有挤压转换性质的韧性走滑-逆冲断层.高喜马拉雅亚地体从南到北具有由逆冲→斜向逆冲→EW向伸展→斜向伸展→SN向伸展的连续变形和转换的特征,是在现代喜马拉雅垂向挤出和侧向挤出的耦合造山机制下综合变形的响应.喜马拉雅地体中的东西向和南北向拆离构造的存在为喜马拉雅现代造山机制再讨论提供了基础.