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Paraglacial Response to Recent Climate Change in the Upper Ganga Catchment

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Climate Change Adaptation, Risk Management and Sustainable Practices in the Himalaya

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Abstract

Paraglacial zones are indirectly conditioned by glaciers and glacial processes and are ecologically and geologically unstable. Multiple phases of glacier advances/recessions have left an enormous quantity of unconsolidated sediments in the form of moraines, talus/scree fans, and outwash gravel terraces (collectively known as paraglacial sediment). Thus, the paraglacial zones are transport-limited and not sediment-limited. Small triggers such as an extreme rainfall event or rain on snow may lead to significant sediment mobilization in form of debris avalanches/debris flows inflicting severe damage to life and infrastructures. Therefore, it is pertinent to have a real-time assessment of paraglacial sediments locked in valleys vacated by glaciers in the recent geological past. So that in case of their mobilization during an extreme hydrometeorological condition, a downstream threat perception can be assessed, and the vital infrastructures are protected. With this objective, the present study attempts to estimate the amount of paraglacial sediments stored in the two key tributary river valleys—Dhauli Ganga and Mandakini, in the upper Ganga catchment. Also, locations that can act as natural damming sites for force amplification in case of sediment mobilization during extreme weather events are demarcated. Using the published literature supported by remote sensing techniques, it has been observed that the Dhauli Ganga and Mandakini valleys have stored ~1467 × 106 m3 paraglacial sediment, making these valleys extremely vulnerable to extreme weather events. The study cautions that with global warming as a reality, where frequencies and magnitude of extreme weather events are predicted to increase, extreme caution is required while planning and executing the infrastructure developmental projects, particularly the hydropower projects in these valleys.

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Acknowledgments

The work is part of the MSc dissertation, 2021 of Maria Asim, supervised by Shubhra Sharma. The authors are grateful to Banaras Hindu University for its infrastructural facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Maria Asim, Subhendu Pradhan & Shubhra Sharma

  2. Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India

    Shubhra Sharma

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  1. Maria Asim
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  2. Subhendu Pradhan
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  3. Shubhra Sharma
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

    Sanjeev Sharma

  2. G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora, Uttarakhand, India

    Jagdish Chandra Kuniyal

  3. Department of Geography, School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, India

    Pritam Chand

  4. Department of Environmental Studies, PGDAV College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Pardeep Singh

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Asim, M., Pradhan, S., Sharma, S. (2023). Paraglacial Response to Recent Climate Change in the Upper Ganga Catchment. In: Sharma, S., Kuniyal, J.C., Chand, P., Singh, P. (eds) Climate Change Adaptation, Risk Management and Sustainable Practices in the Himalaya. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24659-3_1

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