Abstract
This study investigates the influence of neotectonics on the Solani River basin, using morphometric parameters, seismic signatures, and field-based study of unpaired river terraces. Morphometric parameters such as linear, areal, relief parameters, slope, aspect, stream-length (SL) index, and longitudinal river profile (LRP) suggest that the neotectonic activity triggered by the Himalayan tectonics affect the Solani River basin. Local convexity in the LRP indicates differential uplift along the associated faults. However, minor variation in knick points in LRP has been interpreted as rapid erosion due to unconsolidated to semi-consolidated nature of the sediments. The SL index of the Solani River ranges from 29.4 to 5233.2. The SL values along the river length indicates anomalies around the active fault zones. Mountain front sinuosity (Smf) adjacent to the river basin ranges from 1.04 to 1.13, suggesting tectonically active nature of the region. Unpaired terraces reported at Roorkee and Toda-Kalyanpur at the right bank of the river are evidence of neotectonics. Three unpaired terraces reported at Roorkee, have riser-height of 1, 1.5, and 3 m and tread-width of 50, 40, and 70 m. While the riser and tread could not be measured at Toda-Kalyanpur due to their deformed nature. These E-W aligned terraces present 1.5 km south of the present river course dated back to 2.5 Ka (T1) and 1.6 Ka (T2). These terraces were formed due to the river shifting in response to the uplift of the river basin along with the Ganga plain. The upliftment rate along the Himalaya in the area shows a good coherency with few of the morphotectonic signatures of the basin. Other morphometric parameters such as hypsometry, asymmetry, valley width height ratio, did not yield supporting result, probably due to the DEM error and the unconsolidated nature of the sediments.
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Patel, N.K., Pati, P. (2022). Geomorphic Response of the Solani River Basin to Neotectonics: A Study from the Western Himalayan Foothills, India. In: Bhattacharya, H.N., Bhattacharya, S., Das, B.C., Islam, A. (eds) Himalayan Neotectonics and Channel Evolution. Society of Earth Scientists Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95435-2_4
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