Seasonality and variations in moisture-supply on different timescales (1-104 yrs) and their relation to surface processes in the NW Himalaya

在喜马拉雅和中亚邻近山区的古气候研究中，季节性和水分来源是一个突出的问题。在此背景下，我们打算详细研究通常与季节水分供应相关的两个主要景观塑造过程：(1)对水分输送时空趋势高度敏感的冰川侵蚀和沉积，以及(2)控制山坡腐烂的滑坡及其相关过程。该方案将在1至104年的时间尺度和102至1010平方米的空间尺度上分析地貌过程。首先，我们努力了解当前天气湿度特征及其与当地地形的关系。我们将使用遥感降雨和积雪覆盖数据，结合冰川速度和雪深的实地测量，每周或每年一次。这将通过过去40年的卫星图像时间序列的实地观测和变化检测技术加以补充，以确定和量化沿着喜马拉雅气候梯度从山坡到河流流域尺度的景观变化。其次，我们将利用宇宙核素定年和地貌分析，在西北喜马拉雅的一个关键地区建立一个冰川和山坡过程的详细年代学，该地区位于主要水分来源之间的过渡。这将有助于破译印度季风系统气候振荡期间侵蚀过程的相对影响。总的来说，我们期望在喜马拉雅的水文收支和侵蚀沉积物的来源方面提供急需的数据。

One of the outstanding questions in (paleo)climate research in the Himalaya and the adjacent mountainous areas in Central Asia concerns seasonality and the source of moisture. In this context, we intend to study in detail two of the dominant landscape-shaping processes generally associated with seasonal moisture supply: (1) glacial erosion and deposition, which are highly sensitive to spatiotemporal trends in moisture transport, and (2) landslides and associated processes that control hillslope decay. This proposal will analyze geomorphic processes on 1 to 104 yrs timescales and on 102 to 1010 m2 spatial scales. First, we strive to understand the present¬day synoptic moisture characteristics and their relation to local topography. We will use remotely-sensed rainfall and snow-cover data combined with field measurements of glacial velocities and snow depths on a weekly to annual basis. This will be complemented by field observation and change-detection techniques from satelliteimagery time series of the last 4 decades to identify and quantify landscape changes from hillslope to river-basin scales along the climatic gradient of the Himalaya. Second, we will use cosmogenic nuclide dating and geomorphic analysis to construct a detailed chronology of glacial and hillslope processes in a key region of the NW Himalaya that lies in the transition between the main moisture sources. This will allow deciphering the relative influence of erosive processes during climatic oscillations in the Indian Monsoon system. Overall, we expect to provide much needed data on the hydrologic budget of the Himalaya and the provenance of eroded sediments.