RAPID: Field investigation to collect snow, debris flow and sediment deposition and the glacier-melt induced peak flows and landslide in the Chamoli region, Uttarakhand, India

2021年2月7日，一场灾难性的洪水在印度喜马拉雅山脉北阿肯德邦恰莫里附近引发了瀑布事件，导致一座桥梁被冲走，中国边境地区附近的村庄被切断。在雪崩地点下游约15公里处，Rishi Ganga水电站项目被冲毁，国家热电公司(NTPC)Tapovan项目也遭到破坏。这场冰川融化引发的滑坡和洪水的原因被怀疑与全球变暖和冰川消退有关。为该项目收集的数据将告诉我们，这场自然灾害是由积雪和冰川融化引发的，还是由土地利用变化和砍伐森林引发的，还是这些因素的组合，在恒河生态脆弱的源头地区造成了毁灭性的山体滑坡和洪水。了解高海拔环境中的水文和地貌过程对于密切评估人类诱导的变化是否导致极端事件至关重要。我们对喜马拉雅山脉等高海拔冰川地区的冰川暴发/滑坡/洪水事件的预测能力的提高，有可能减轻未来灾害的影响。气候变化和森林砍伐正在影响喜马拉雅山脉高海拔地区的水文过程。气候变化正在导致冰川退缩和积雪动态的变化，而森林砍伐和土地利用的变化正在改变雪的能量收支和土壤水分动态。这些影响彼此交织在一起，可能导致极端洪水事件。为该项目收集的数据将使人们了解喜马拉雅山脉山坡上融雪径流和土壤水分动态以及滑坡脆弱性方面的知识差距。有时间限制的易腐烂数据对于确定降雪量和径流量，以及了解与这一极端事件相关的水文和滑坡过程将是有价值的。拟议的RAPID项目利用了一个独特的机会，与印度理工学院罗尔基分校(IITR)合作，在距离工地不到200英里的地方收集信息。这项建议由水文科学、地貌与土地利用动力学项目以及地球科学部共同资助。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

On 7 Feb 2021, a cataclysmic flood triggered cascading events near Chamoli, in the state of Uttarakhand in the Himalayan range of India, resulting in washing away of a bridge and cutting off villages near the border areas of China. About 15 km downstream of the avalanche location, the Rishi Ganga Hydroelectric project was washed off and the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Tapovan project was also damaged. The cause of this glacier melt-induced landslide and flooding is suspected to have links to global warming and glacial retreat. The data to be collected for this project will inform whether this natural disaster was triggered by snowpack and glacial melt versus land-use change and deforestation, or a combination of these factors, that cause devastating landslides and floods in the ecologically fragile, headwater region of the Ganges. Understanding hydrologic and geomorphic processes in high-altitude environments is essential to closely evaluate if human-induced changes are contributing to extreme events. Improvements in our ability to predict glacial outburst/landslide/flooding events in high elevation, glaciated areas such as the Himalayan region has potential to mitigate impacts of future disasters.Changing climate and deforestation are impacting hydrological processes in the high elevation regions of the Himalayan range. Climate change is causing glacial retreat and changes in snowpack dynamics, while deforestation and land use change are modifying snow energy budgets and soil moisture dynamics. These impacts are compounded by one another and may result in extreme flood events. The data to be collected for this project will inform gaps in knowledge on snowmelt runoff and soil moisture dynamics and landslide vulnerability in the hillslopes of the Himalayan Range. The time-bound perishable data will be valuable for identifying the mass of snow and volume of runoff, as well as understanding the hydrological and landslide processes associated with this extreme event. The proposed RAPID project leverages a unique opportunity to collect information at the site in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (IITR), which is located within 200 miles of the site. This proposal is co-funded by the Hydrologic Sciences and Geomorphology & Land-use Dynamics programs, as well as the Division of Earth Sciences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.