Late quaternary landscape evolution along the Indus river : responses to the climate and tectonics of Ladakh Himalaya

Abstract

The Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra are the largest river systems in South Asia, which originate in the Himalaya and support a large number of population. The landscape of these river systems evolved due to several phases of aggradation and incision; varying climatic and tectonic perturbations. Therefore, it is important to understand these processes and their forcing factors in both, time and space. Rivers like the Satluj, Yamuna, Bhagirathi, Alaknanda, Gandaki and others that drain orthogonally to the southern front of Himalaya, the factors governing aggradation and incision, and their relationship to climate and tectonics are reasonably well understood. However, the Indus River that flow through the arid and semiarid regions of NW- Himalaya has recieved less attention. The hydrological budget of the Indus River is determined from glacial melt, precipitation from the westerlies and Indian summer monsoon (ISM). The whole region are controlled by tectonics surrounding the Indus-Tsangpo Suture zone (ITSZ), western syntaxis and Karakoram fault.