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Towards defining the transition in style and timing of Quaternary glaciation between the monsoon-influenced Greater Himalaya and the semi-arid Transhimalaya of Northern India

Hedrick, Kathryn

Abstract Details

2010, MS, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences : Geology.
To delineate the transition in pattern and timing of glaciation between two contrasting regions, Lahul to the south and Ladakh to the north, moraines in the Puga and Karzok valleys of Zanskar in the Transhimalaya of northern India were mapped and dated using cosmogenic 10Be. In Lahul, Late Quaternary glaciation was extensive glaciers advanced > 100 km from the modern ice margin, whereas glaciation in Ladakh has been comparatively restricted, glaciers advanced only ~30 km from the contemporary glaciers during the last 200 ka. In the Puga valley, glaciers advanced > 10 km at ~115 ka and < 10km at ~40 ka, ~3.3 ka, and ~0.5 ka. In the Karzok valley glaciers advanced < 2 km at ~3.6 ka. Boulder exposure ages from a large moraine complex in Karzok indicate a glacial advance at ~80 ka of < 5 km. The oldest moraine in Karzok is ~310 ka, indicating that glaciers advanced > 10 km during MIS-9 or older. The glacial chronology of the two valleys shows a lack of early Holocene glaciation and generally asynchronous glaciation between them. Moraines in the Puga and Karzok valleys broadly correlate with previous studies in the Zanskar Range but the paucity of data for many of the glacial stages across the Zanskar region makes the correlations tentative. The lack of early Holocene glaciation in the Puga and Karzok valleys is in stark contrast to many regions of the Himalaya, including Lahul, and the restricted glacial extent in Zanskar is more similar to the style of glaciation in Ladakh. The similarity between the glacial records in the Puga and Karzok study areas suggests that the transition to Lahul style glaciation is to the south of the Karzok valley; this geographical transition is abrupt.
Lewis Owen, PhD (Committee Chair)
Craig Dietsch, PhD (Committee Member)
Marc Caffee, PhD (Committee Member)
57 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hedrick, K. (2010). Towards defining the transition in style and timing of Quaternary glaciation between the monsoon-influenced Greater Himalaya and the semi-arid Transhimalaya of Northern India [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1267115794

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hedrick, Kathryn. Towards defining the transition in style and timing of Quaternary glaciation between the monsoon-influenced Greater Himalaya and the semi-arid Transhimalaya of Northern India. 2010. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1267115794.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hedrick, Kathryn. "Towards defining the transition in style and timing of Quaternary glaciation between the monsoon-influenced Greater Himalaya and the semi-arid Transhimalaya of Northern India." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1267115794

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)