A LATE QUATERNARY CATASTROPHIC FLOOD IN THE LAHUL HIMALAYAS

Authors
COXON P OWEN LA MITCHELL WA
Citation
P. Coxon et al., A LATE QUATERNARY CATASTROPHIC FLOOD IN THE LAHUL HIMALAYAS, JQS. Journal of quaternary science, 11(6), 1996, pp. 495-510
Citations number
46
Categorie Soggetti
Paleontology,"Geosciences, Interdisciplinary
Journal title
JQS. Journal of quaternary science → ACNP
ISSN journal
02678179
Volume
11
Issue
6
Year of publication
1996
Pages
495 - 510
Database
ISI
SICI code
0267-8179(1996)11:6<495:ALQCFI>2.0.ZU;2-5
Abstract
Impressive flood deposits are described resulting from a catastrophic lake outburst in the Upper Chandra valley in the Lahul Himalaya, north ern India. Reconstructions of the former glacial lake, Glacial Lake Ba tal, and the discharges were undertaken using landforms and sediment d ata. The glacial dam burst released 1.496 km(3) of water in 0.72 days, with peak discharges of between 21000 and 27000 m(3) (s-1) at Batal. Dating by OSL suggests the flood occurred ca. 36.9 +/- 8.4 to 43.4 +/- 10.3 ka ago. This cataclysmic flood was responsible for major resedim entation and landscape modification within the Chandra valley.