Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Controls on sediment provenance in the Baghmati river catchment, Central Himalaya, India

  • Published:
Journal of Earth System Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Rapidly uplifting Himalaya contributes a huge sediment load that governs the morphological characteristics of the rivers draining it and the flood hazards associated with them. Sediment budgeting of the Himalayan rivers has been a challenge in geomorphology due to complex lithotectonic terrains, varied tectonic activity and rainfall distribution, and extremely diverse topography. Such a situation calls for studies of individual catchments where sediment contributions from different lithotectonic and topographic units can be estimated and controls on sediment yield can be determined to inform understanding of local-scale geomorphic processes and hazard management. This study of Baghmati river determines the sediment contributions of the Nepal Himalaya from the Lesser Himalaya (LH) (with crystalline rocks, high relief and low tectonic activity), and the Siwaliks (with soft rocks, low relief and intense tectonic activity). The sediment contributions from the two lithotectonic terrains through time were determined using: (i) geochemical tracers of optically dated alluvial sediments; (ii) an empirical model based on physical processes, and (iii) a decade long record of hydrological data downstream of the mountain front. The key results are: the low-relief (Siwaliks) terrain provides more sediment compared to the LH because of lithology and tectonics and implies that in tectonically active terrains, relief acts as a secondary control on sediment delivery. The contribution of the Siwaliks to the sediments in Himalayan rivers can be significant and should not be ignored.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aalto R, Dunne T and Guyot J L 2006 Geomorphic controls on Andean denudation rates; J. Geol. 114(1).

  • Ahmad T, Harris N, Bickle M, Chapman H, Bunbury J and Prince C 2000 Isotopic constraints on the structural relationships between the Lesser Himalayan series and the high Himalayan crystalline series, Garhwal Himalaya; Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 112 467–477.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahnert F 1970 Functional relationships between denudation relief and uplift in large mid-latitude basins; Am. J. Sci. 268 243–263.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arita K, Ohta Y, Akiba C and Maruo Y 1973 Kathmandu region; In: Geology of the Nepal Himalaya (eds) Ohta Y and Akiba C, Saikon Publication Company, Tokyo.

  • Attal M and Lave J 2006 Changes of bedload characteristics along the Marsyandi river (central Nepal): Implications for understanding hillslope sediment supply, sediment load evolution along fluvial networks, and denudation in active orogenic belts; In: Tectonics, climate, and landscape evolution (eds) Willett S D, Hovius N, Brandon M T and Fisher D M, Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Papers 398 143–171.

  • Berendsen H J C 2011 A student’s guide to data and error analysis; Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Binnie S A, Phillips W M, Summerfield M A and Fifield L K 2007 Tectonic uplift, threshold hillslopes, and denudation rates in a developing mountain range; Geology 35(8) 743–746, https://doi.org/10.1130/G23641A.1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanckenberg F 2005 The control mechanisms of erosion and weathering at basin scale from cosmogenic nuclides in river sediments; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 237 462–479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bookhagen B 2014 High resolution spatiotemporal distribution of rainfall seasonality and extreme events based on a 12-year TRMM time series (in review) (http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~bodo/).

  • Buchroithner M F, Kolejka J and Kostka R 1991 Application of remote sensing to geomorphological studies of the Baghmati valley south of Kathmandu; Nepal; Mt. Res. Dev. 11 281–294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burbank D and Anderson R 2001 Tectonic geomorphology; John Wiley & Sons, USA, 288p.

  • Burbank D W, Blythe A E, Putkonan J, Pratt-Sitaula B, Gabet E, Oskin M, Barros A and Ojha T P 2003 Decoupling of erosion and precipitation in the Himalayas; Nature 426 652–655.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell I H, Reiners P W, Allen C M, Nicolescu S and Upadhyay R 2005 He–Pb double dating of detrital zircons from the Ganges and Indus rivers: Implication for quantifying sediment recycling and provenance studies; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 237 402–432.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carmichael R S 1984 CRC handbook of physical properties of rocks; vol. III. CRC Press, Florida, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cattin R and Avouac J P 2000 Modeling mountain building and the seismic cycle in the Himalaya of Nepal; J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 105 13,389–13,407.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaudhuri A, Chatterjee A, Banerjee S and Ray J S 2021 Tracing multiple sources of sediments using trace element and Nd isotope geochemistry: Provenance of the Mesozoic succession in the Kutch basin, western India; Geol. Mag. 158 359–374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chirouze F, Huyghe P, van der Beek P, Chauvel C, Chakraborty T, Dupont-Nivet G and Bernet M 2013 Tectonics, exhumation, and drainage evolution of the eastern Himalaya since 13 Ma from detrital geochemistry and thermochronology, Kameng River section, Arunachal Pradesh; Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 125(3/4) 523–538.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dill H G, Khadka D R, Khanal R, Dohrmann R, Mercher F and Busch K 2003 Infilling of the younger Kathmandu–Banepa intermontane lake basin during the Late Quaternary (Lesser Himalaya, Nepal): A sedimentological study; J. Quat. Sci. 18 41–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dingle E, Attal M and Sinclair H 2017 Abrasion-set limits on Himalayan gravel flux; Nature 544 471–474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster G L and Carter A 2007 Insights into the patterns and locations of erosion in the Himalaya – A combined fission-track and in situ Sm–Nd isotopic study of detrital apatite; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 257 407–418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galy A and France-Lanord C 2001 Higher erosion rate in the Himalaya: Geochemical constraints on riverine fluxes; Geology 29 23–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner T W, Jorgensen D W, Shuman C and Lemieux C R 1987 Geomorphic and tectonic process rates: Effects of measured time interval; Geology 15(3) 259–261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner R and Gerrard J 2001 Soil loss on uncultivated land in the middle hills of Nepal; Phys. Geogr. 22 376–393.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garzanti E, Vezzoli G, Ando S, Lave J, Attal M, France-Lanord C and DeCelles P 2007 Quantifying sand provenance and erosion (Marsyandi river, Nepal Himalaya); Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 258 500–515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gehrels G E, DeCelles P G, Ojha T P and Upreti B 2006 Geologic and U–Th–Pb geochronologic evidence for early Paleozoic tectonism in the Kathmandu thrust sheet, central Nepal Himalaya; Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 118(1/2), https://doi.org/10.1130/B25753.1

  • GFCC 1991 Comprehensive plan of flood management for the Ganga sub-basin, part II/9 – The Baghmati River system; Ganga Flood Control Commission, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India.

  • GSI 2000 Eastern Nepal Himalaya and Indo-Gangetic plains of Bihar. In: Seismotectonics atlas of India and its environs (eds) Narula P L, Acharyya S K and Banerjee J; Geological Survey of India Publication, pp. 26–27.

  • Hamilton A P F 1968 Siwalik erosion; Him. J. 787–102.

  • His Majesty’s Government (HMG) of Nepal 1991 Baghmati command area development project; Vol. 2, Ministry of Water Resources, Department of Irrigation.

  • Hinderer M, Kastowski M, Kamelger A, Bartolini C and Schlunegger F 2013 River loads and modern denudation of the Alps – A review; Earth Sci. Rev. 118 11–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodges K, Wobus C, Ruhl K, Schildgen T and Whipple K 2004 Quaternary deformation, river steepening and heavy precipitation at the front of the higher Himalayan ranges; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 220 379–389.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes I G and Hase T P A 2010 Measurements and their uncertainties – A practical guide to modern error analysis; Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurtrez J E, Lucazeau F, Lave J and Avouac J P 1999 Investigation of the relationships between basin morphology, tectonic uplift, and denudation from the study of an active fold belt in the Siwalik Hills, central Nepal; J. Geophys. Res. 104(12) 779–712.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson M, Barrientos S, Bilham R, Kyestha D and Shrestha B 1992 Uplift in the Nepal Himalaya revealed by spirit leveling; Geophys. Res. Lett. 19(15) 1539–1542.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson M and Bilham R 1994 Constraints on Himalayan deformation inferred from vertical velocity fields in Nepal and Tibet; J. Geophys. Res. 99(13) 897–813.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jain V and Sinha R 2003 Hyperavulsive-anabranching Baghmati River system, north Bihar plains, eastern India; Z. Geomorphol. 47 101–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jain V and Sinha R 2004 Fluvial dynamics of an anabranching river system in Himalayan foreland basin, north Bihar plains, India; Geomorphology 60 147–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jain V and Tandon S K 2010 Conceptual assessment of (dis)connectivity and its application to the Ganga river dispersal system; Geomorphology 118 349–358.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jain V, Sonam Singh A, Sinha R and Tandon S K 2020 Evolution of modern river systems: An assessment of ‘landscape memory’ in Indian river systems; Episodes 43(1) 535–551.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirby E and Whipple K X 2001 Quantifying differential rock-uplift rates via stream profile analysis; Geology 29 415–418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kukal S S and Sur H S 1992 Soil erosion hazards in the foot-hills of lower Siwaliks; Ind. Soc. Soil Sci. 40 162–167.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lave J and Avouac J P 2000 Active folding of fluvial terraces across the Siwalik hills, Himalayas of central Nepal; J. Geophys. Res. 105 5735–5770.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lave J and Avouac J P 2001 Fluvial incision and tectonic uplift across the Himalayas of central Nepal; J. Geophys. Res. 106(B11) 26,561–26,591.

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Fort P 1975 Himalayas: The collided range. Present knowledge of the continental arc; Am. J. Sci. 275A 1–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lupker M, Blard P, Lave J, France-Lanord C, Leanni L, Puchol N, Charreau J and Bourles D 2012 10Be-derived Himalayan denudation rates and sediment budgets in the Ganga basin; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 333 146–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Master Plan for the Forestry Sector (MPFS) 1988 HMG Nepal, Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation.

  • McCulloch M T and Wasserburg G J 1978 Sm–Nd and Rb–Sr chronology of continental crust; Science 200 1003–1011, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.200.4345.1003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McVean D N and Robertson V C 1969 An ecological survey of land use and soil erosion in the east Pakistan and Azad Kashmir catchment of the river Jhelum; J. Appl. Ecol. 6(1) 77–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metivier F and Gaudemer Y 1999 Stability of output fluxes of large rivers in south and east Asia during the last 2 million years: Implications on floodplain processes; Basin Res. 11 293–303.

  • Milliman J D and Syvitski P M 1992 Geomorphic/tectonic control of sediment discharge to the ocean: The importance of small mountainous rivers; J. Geol. 100 525–544.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery D R 2001 Slope distributions, threshold hillslopes and steady-state topography; Am. J. Sci. 301(4–5) 432–454.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery D R 2003 Predicting landscape-scale erosion rates using digital elevation models; C. R. Geosci. 335 1121–1130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery D R 2007 Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 104(33) 13,268–13,272, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0611508104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery D R and Brandon M T 2002 Topographic controls on erosion rates in tectonically active mountain ranges; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 20 481–489.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray A S and Wintle A G 2000 Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol; Radiat. Meas. 32 57–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Najman Y, Bickle M and Chapman H 2000 Early Himalayan exhumation: Isotopic constraints from the Indian foreland basin; Terra Nova 12(1) 28–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakata T 1989 Active faults of the Himalaya of India and Nepal; Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Paper 232 243–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pandit M K, Sodhi N S, Koh L P, Bhaskar A and Brook B W 2007 Unreported yet massive deforestation driving loss of endemic biodiversity in Indian Himalaya; Biodivers. Conserv. 16 153–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinet P and Souriau M 1988 Continental erosion and large-scale relief; Tectonics 7(3) 563–582.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahaman W, Singh S K, Sinha R and Tandon S K 2009 Climate control on erosion distribution over the Himalaya during past ≈100 ka; Geology 37(6) 559–562.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson D M, DeCelles P G, Patchett P J and Garzione C N 2001 The kinematic evolution of the Nepalese Himalaya interpreted from Nd isotopes; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 192 507–521.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumm S A 1963 The disparity between present-day denudation and orogeny; US Geological Survey Professional Paper 454-H, Washington, DC, 13p.

  • Scherler D, Bookhagen B and Strecker M R 2014 Tectonic control on 10Be-derived erosion rates in the Garhwal Himalaya, India; J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf. 119 83–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh P 2010 Geochemistry and provenance of stream sediments of the Ganga river and its major tributaries in the Himalayan region, India; Chem. Geol. 269 220–236.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh S K and France-Lanord C 2002 Tracing the distribution of erosion in the Brahmaputra watershed from isotopic compositions of stream sediments; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 202 645–662.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh S K, Rai S K and Krishnaswami S 2008 Sr and Nd isotopes in river sediments from the Ganga basin: Sediment provenance and spatial variability in physical erosion; J. Geophys. Res. 113 F03006, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JF000909.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singhvi A K 2007 Luminescence dating: An example of synergistic mutualism between geology and physics; In: Luminescence and its applications (eds) Selvasekaranpandian S, Murthy K V R, Natarajan V, Malathi J, Brahmanandhan G M and Khanna D, McMillan India, Bangalore, pp. 6–10.

  • Singhvi A K, Stokes S, Chauhan N, Nagar Y C and Jaiswal M 2011 Changes in natural OSL sensitivity during single aliquot regeneration procedure and their implications for equivalent dose determination; Geochronometria 38 231–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinha R and Friend P F 1994 River systems and their sediment flux, Indo-Gangetic plains, northern Bihar, India; Sedimentology 41 825–845.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinha R and Jain V 1998 Flood hazards of north Bihar rivers, Indo-Gangetic plains; In: Flood studies in India (ed.) Kale V S, Geol. Soc. India Memoir 41 27–52.

  • Sonam and Jain V 2018 Geomorphic effectiveness of a long profile shape and the role of inherent geological controls in the Himalayan hinterland area of the Ganga river basin, India; Geomorphology 304 15–29.

  • Snyder N P, Whipple K X, Tucker G E and Merritts D J 2000 Landscape response to tectonic forcing: DEM analysis of stream profiles in the Mendocino triple junction region, northern California; Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 112 1250–1263.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stocklin J 1980 Geology of Nepal and its regional frame; Geol. Soc. London 137 1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Summerfield M A and Hulton N J 1994 Natural controls of fluvial denudation rates in major world drainage basins; J. Geophys. Res. 99 13,871–13,883.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thakur V C, Joshi M and Jayangondaperumal R 2020 Active tectonics of Himalayan Frontal Fault Zone in the Sub-Himalaya; In: Geodynamics of the Indian Plate, pp. 439–466.

  • Tripathi J K, Bock B, Rajamani V and Eisenhauer A 2004 Is river Ghaggar, Saraswati? Geochemical constraints; Curr. Sci. 87(8) 1141–1145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Upreti B N and LeFort P 1999 Lesser Himalayan crystalline nappes of Nepal: Problems of their origin; GSA Spec. Paper 328 225–238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vance D, Bickle M, Ivy-Ochs S and Kubik P W 2003 Erosion and exhumation in the Himalaya from cosmogenic isotope inventories of river sediments; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 206 273–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wahyudi D R, Sinclair H D and Mudd S M 2021 Progressive evolution of thrust fold topography in the frontal Himalaya; Geomorphology 384, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.107717.

  • Walthman A C 1997 Foundations of Engineering Geology; Blackie Academic & Professional, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wasson R J 2003 A sediment budget for the Ganga–Brahmaputra catchment; Curr. Sci. 84(8) 1041–1047.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wasson R J, Caitchean G, Murray A S, McCulloch M and Quade J 2002 Sourcing sediment using multiple tracers in the catchment of lake Argyle, northwestern Australia; Environ. Manag. 29 634–646.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whipple K X, Wobus C, Crosby B, Kirby E and Sheehan D 2007 New tools for quantitative geomorphology: Extraction and interpretation of stream profiles from digital topographic data. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting Short Course, 28 October 2007, http://www.geomorphtools.org/Tools/StPro/StPro.htm.

  • Wobus C, Whipple K X, Kirby E, Snyder N, Johnson J, Spyropolou K, Crosby B and Sheehan D 2006 Tectonics from topography: Procedures, promise, and pitfalls; In: Tectonics, climate, and landscape evolution (eds) Willett S D, Hovius N, Brandon M T and Fisher D M, Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Paper 398 55–74.

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Flood Control Commission for the sediment load data of the Baghmati river. Professor Rajiv Sinha provided considerable assistance both in the field and during discussions. Manoj Jaiswal and Yogesh Nagar at PRL, Ahmedabad, kindly helped with OSL dating. AKS acknowledges the SERB, Department of Science and Technology India for a JC Bose National Fellowship; Year of Science Chair Professorship and the Department of Atomic Energy for a Raja Ramanna Fellowship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Earth Sciences, IIT Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

    Vikrant Jain

  2. College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Smithfield, QLD, Australia

    Robert Wasson

  3. Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Robert Wasson

  4. Ocean Graduate School, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

    Malcolm McCulloch

  5. Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India

    Rahul K Kaushal & Ashok K Singhvi

Authors
  1. Vikrant Jain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert Wasson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Malcolm McCulloch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Rahul K Kaushal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ashok K Singhvi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Vikrant Jain: Field data collection, OSL lab analysis, data interpretation, writing original draft, physical process modeling, hydrological analysis. Robert Wasson: Conceptualisation, field data collection, data interpretation, discussion, review and editing. Malcom McCulloch: Geochemical analysis. Rahul K Kaushal: Geomorphological analysis, discussion. Ashok K Singhvi: OSL analysis, data interpretation and process analysis, discussion, review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vikrant Jain.

Additional information

Communicated by N V Chalapathi Rao

Supplementary Material pertaining to this article is available on the Journal of Earth System Science website (http://www.ias.ac.in/Journals/Journal_of_Earth_System_Science).

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file 1 (DOCX 1187 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jain, V., Wasson, R., McCulloch, M. et al. Controls on sediment provenance in the Baghmati river catchment, Central Himalaya, India. J Earth Syst Sci 131, 14 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-021-01759-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-021-01759-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation