Articles | Volume 10, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-705-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-705-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 Jul 2022
Research article |
| 14 Jul 2022
| 14 Jul 2022
The imprint of erosion by glacial lake outburst floods in the topography of central Himalayan rivers
Maxwell P. Dahlquist
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth and Environmental Systems, Sewanee, The University of the South, Sewanee, TN 37383, USA
A. Joshua West
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
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Short summary
Himalayan rivers are full of giant boulders that rarely move except during glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), which therefore must be important drivers of erosion in the Himalayas. GLOFs are rare, so little is known about their long-term erosional impact. We found that rivers in Nepal have channel geometry that, compared with markers of upstream glaciation, confirm GLOFs as a major control on erosion. This previously unrecognized control should be accounted for in landscape evolution studies.
Himalayan rivers are full of giant boulders that rarely move except during glacial lake outburst...
