Denudation of small alpine basins, Nanga Parbat Himalaya, Pakistan

Thirty-three debris fans and five small alpine basins on the south side of the rapidly uplifting Nanga Parbat Himalaya of northern Pakistan were asses sed to determine how much alpine processes contribute to the overall denuda tion of the massif. A high-resolution digital elevation model was used to m easure the volume of the small alpine fans and a few basins in the Rupal va lley. These volumetric estimates, coupled with time-constraining dates from cosmogenic-nuclides of glacially exposed rocks and infrared-stimulated lum inescence of sediments, indicate that estimated average denudation rates in these systems have been similar to 2 mm yr(-1) over the past 4600 to 6000 yr since the last major deglaciation. This is similar to other estimates of rates of denudation in the Himalaya.