Geomorphic investigation of glacial and paraglacial landforms in the upper catchment of the Kali Ganga River, Tethyan Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

Deglaciated mountainous regions are typically impacted by various paraglacial phenomena, including gradually eroding glacial traces that once were preserved. This study focuses on sustaining glacial landforms and paraglacial processes in the Byans Valley of upper Kali Ganga catchments. Limited glacial action-induced terrain change and infrequent paraglacial events occurred in the lower region. On the contrary, paraglacial processes were highly active in the highest regions where a mountain style of glaciation was established, producing a large number of moraine and rock glaciers. The primary aim of this study is to identify the glacial landforms since they have unique characteristics that are especially tied to glacial processes and act as indicators of climate change. The glacial chronology from the Central Himalayan regions indicate that the last major glacial advance probably occurred during the Late Holocene. Following this, the deglaciation is represented by the recessional moraine, outwash plain, and the proglacial lakes proximal to the present glacier, which can be attributed to the warming climate. The presence of moraine mounds in the vicinity of the modern snout probably represents a minor re-advancement during the Little Ice Age (LIA). The geomorphic expression of a steady decline in ice cover is eloquently manifested by the presence of the supra-glacial lakes and the increasing size of the pro-glacial lakes. The spatial data on the glacial landform features in the region is envisioned to help with the reconstruction of a paleo-glaciological setup using dating methodologies, which will finally fill the information gap concerning the glaciation in the region.