Geomorphometric Analysis of Badrinath Valley: Significance to Paleoglaciation

Naik, Mudavath Sujith (2015) Geomorphometric Analysis of Badrinath Valley: Significance to Paleoglaciation. Masters thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

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Abstract

The extent of valley glaciation in the Himalayas has been considerably varied throughout the Late Quaternary period. During the LGM, climate was cold, summer monsoon was weakened and precipitation over India was reduced. This period also witnessed lowering of sea-levels, down cutting of the river valleys and large scale removal of sediments to the oceans. The extent of former glaciations in the Himalayas can identified by Wide „U‟ shaped valleys, moraine ridges and proglacial lake deposits. NW Himalayas preserved impressive glacial landforms and sediments that provide abundant evidence for Late Quaternary glaciation. In the upper Alaknanda valley near Badrinath the paleoglacial landforms and deposits are preserved in the form of moraines, valley fills, fans, relict of glacial lake deposits, cirques and drumlins. As this region is influenced by monsoon and tectonic activity the preservation potential of these glacial landforms and deposits are generally poor. Moreover the landscape of this valley might have been modified by different stages of post LGM glacial advancement as reported by other researchers. In the Badrinath valley a prominent outwash gravel terrace is preserved which can be traced up to Mana village indicating a temporary ponding in the historical time. So it is very important to study different relict of periglacial and glacial features present in this valley to understand the landscape evolution.

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