The Keylong Serai rock avalanche, NW Indian Himalaya: geomorphology and palaeoseismic implications

This paper describes the geomorphology of rock avalanche deposits that resulted from a major mountain slope failure at Keylong Serai on the north slope of the Indian High Himalaya, an area of high altitude desert. Cosmogenic 10Be exposure ages of the widespread deposits indicate their formation 7,510 ± 110 years BP. Proxy records for this region of the Himalaya imply a similar dry climatic regime to the present day at this time, suggesting that precipitation was an unlikely trigger for this rock avalanche. An alternative mechanism associated with rock-wall stress relaxation is also unlikely, given the earlier timing of deglaciation in this area. Given the enormous volume of debris generated by this event, the most likely trigger for this mountain collapse and resultant rock avalanche is high ground acceleration during a great earthquake (M > 8). It is proposed that rock avalanches can be used to extend the limited palaeoseismic record and improve information on the recurrence interval of great earthquakes within the Himalaya arc.

[1]  Yanjun Shang,et al.  A super-large landslide in Tibet in 2000: background, occurrence, disaster, and origin , 2003 .

[2]  P. Kubik,et al.  A re-evaluation of the 0–10 ka 10Be production rate for exposure dating obtained from the Köfels (Austria) landslide , 2004 .

[3]  B. Bookhagen,et al.  Abnormal monsoon years and their control on erosion and sediment flux in the high, arid northwest Himalaya , 2005 .

[4]  A. Bhattacharyya.  Vegetation and climate during the last 30,000 years in Ladakh , 1989 .

[5]  M. McSaveney.  Recent rockfalls and rock avalanches in Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand , 2002 .

[6]  Oldrich Hungr,et al.  Entrainment of debris in rock avalanches: An analysis of a long run-out mechanism , 2004 .

[7]  L. Spring,et al.  Geological transect across the Northwestern Himalaya in eastern Ladakh and Lahul (a model for the continental collision of India and Asia) , 1993 .

[8]  O. Hungr,et al.  Landslide Risk Management , 2005 .

[9]  Anupam Sharma,et al.  Quaternary geology, tectonics and distribution of palaeo- and present fluvio/glacio lacustrine deposits in Ladakh, NW Indian Himalaya—a study based on field observations , 2005 .

[10]  Timothy R. H. Davies,et al.  Sediment generation and delivery from large historic landslides in the Southern Alps, New Zealand , 2004 .

[11]  M. Caffee,et al.  Climatic and topographic controls on the style and timing of Late Quaternary glaciation throughout Tibet and the Himalaya defined by 10Be cosmogenic radionuclide surface exposure dating , 2005 .

[12]  D. Keefer,et al.  Investigating Landslides Caused by Earthquakes – A Historical Review , 2002 .

[13]  Edwin L. Harp,et al.  Landslides triggered by the October 8, 2005, Pakistan earthquake and associated landslide-dammed reservoirs , 2006 .

[14]  P. J. Taylor.  The Quaternary glacial history of the Zanskar Range, north-west Indian Himalaya , 2000 .

[15]  Robert S. Yeats,et al.  The geology of earthquakes , 1997 .

[16]  R. Jibson.  Use of landslides for paleoseismic analysis , 1996 .

[17]  Kenneth J. Hsü,et al.  Catastrophic Debris Streams (Sturzstroms) Generated by Rockfalls , 1975 .

[18]  J. Kalvoda.  Geomorphological Record of the Quaternary Orogeny in the Himalaya and the Karakoram , 1992 .

[19]  J. Bommer,et al.  Earthquake-induced landslides: 1980–1997 , 1999 .

[20]  F. Bussy,et al.  Synorogenic extension: Quantitative constraints on the age and displacement of the Zanskar shear zone (northwest Himalaya) , 1999 .

[21]  A. Heim.  Bergsturz und Menschenleben , 1932 .

[22]  R. Bilham,et al.  Apparent Himalayan slip deficit from the summation of seismic moments for Himalayan earthquakes, 1500-2000 , 2005 .

[23]  Andreas von Poschinger,et al.  Large rockslides in the Alps: A commentary on the contribution of G. Abele (1937–1994) and a review of some recent developments , 2002 .

[24]  I. Sarkar,et al.  Role of static stress transfer in earthquake occurrence in the Himalaya , 2003 .

[25]  S. Dunning.  Rock avalanches in high mountains , 2004 .

[26]  K. Hewitt.  Styles of rock-avalanche depositional complexes conditioned by very rugged terrain, Karakoram Himalaya, Pakistan , 2002 .

[27]  B. Bookhagen,et al.  Late Quaternary intensified monsoon phases control landscape evolution in the northwest Himalaya , 2005 .

[28]  David R. Montgomery,et al.  Topographic controls on erosion rates in tectonically active mountain ranges , 2002 .

[29]  J. Milliman,et al.  Earthquake-triggered increase in sediment delivery from an active mountain belt , 2004 .

[30]  M. Sorriso-Valvo,et al.  Geomorphic controls of the shape and mobility of rock avalanches , 1991 .

[31]  B. Pratt-Sitaula,et al.  Rainfall thresholds for landsliding in the Himalayas of Nepal , 2004 .

[32]  W. Lacerda,et al.  Landslides : evaluation and stabilization , 2004 .

[33]  Alessandro Pasuto,et al.  Major risk from rapid, large-volume landslides in Europe (EU Project RUNOUT) , 2003 .

[34]  Jia-ding Wang,et al.  The earthquake-triggered rock avalanche of Cui Hua, Qin Ling Mountains, P. R. of China—the benefits of a lake-damming prehistoric natural disaster , 2002 .

[35]  T. Davies,et al.  DYNAMIC FRAGMENTATION IN LANDSLIDES: APPLICATION TO NATURAL DAM STABILITY , 2006 .

[36]  Adrian E. Scheidegger,et al.  On the prediction of the reach and velocity of catastrophic landslides , 1973 .

[37]  O. Korup.  Rock-slope failure and the river long profile , 2006 .

[38]  N. Hovius,et al.  The characterization of landslide size distributions , 2001 .

[39]  R. Bilham.  Earthquakes in India and the Himalaya: tectonics, geodesy and history , 2004 .

[40]  K. Hewitt.  Catastrophic landslides and their effects on the Upper Indus streams, Karakoram Himalaya, northern Pakistan , 1998 .

[41]  O. Korup.  Effects of large deep-seated landslides on hillslope morphology, western Southern Alps, New Zealand , 2006 .

[42]  B. Bookhagen,et al.  From tectonically to erosionally controlled development of the Himalayan orogen , 2005 .

[43]  P. Kubik,et al.  The age of the Köfels event - relative, 14C and cosmogenic isotope dating of an early Holocene landslide in the central Alps (Tyrol, Austria) , 1998 .

[44]  J. Weidinger.  Predesign, failure and displacement mechanisms of large rockslides in the Annapurna Himalayas, Nepal , 2006 .

[45]  D. Keefer.  Landslides caused by earthquakes , 1984 .

[46]  W. Dietrich,et al.  Characterizing structural and lithologic controls on deep-seated landsliding: Implications for topographic relief and landscape evolution in the Oregon Coast Range, USA , 2005 .

[47]  J. Weidinger,et al.  Ore mineralization causing slope failure in a high-altitude mountain crest—on the collapse of an 8000 m peak in Nepal , 2002 .

[48]  A. Steck.  Geology of the NW Indian Himalaya , 2003 .

[49]  K. Valdiya.  Emergence and evolution of Himalaya: reconstructing history in the light of recent studies , 2002 .

[50]  J. Stone.  Air pressure and cosmogenic isotope production , 2000 .

[51]  Robert C. Reedy,et al.  Effects of bulk composition on nuclide production processes in meteorites , 1994 .

[52]  Kenneth Hewitt,et al.  Disturbance regime landscapes: mountain drainage systems interrupted by large rockslides , 2006 .

[53]  A. Blumetti,et al.  Some considerations concerning seismic geomorphology and paleoseismology , 2005 .

[54]  Lewis A. Owen,et al.  Natural and human-induced landsliding in the Garhwal Himalaya of northern India , 2001 .

[55]  K. Nishiizumi,et al.  Cosmic ray production rates of 10Be and 26Al in quartz from glacially polished rocks , 1989 .

[56]  D. Keefer.  The importance of earthquake-induced landslides to long-term slope erosion and slope-failure hazards in seismically active regions , 1994 .

[57]  M. Fort,et al.  Glaciers and mass wasting processes: their influence on the shaping of the Kali Gandaki valley (higher Himalaya of Nepal) , 2000 .

[58]  C. Kilburn,et al.  Forecasting giant, catastrophic slope collapse: lessons from Vajont, Northern Italy , 2003 .

[59]  B. Kotlia,et al.  Quaternary fluvio-lacustrine deposits of the Lamayuru Basin, Ladakh Himalaya: preliminary multidisciplinary investigations , 1997, Geological Magazine.

[60]  K. Hodges.  Tectonics of the Himalaya and southern Tibet from two perspectives , 2000 .

[61]  M. Summerfield,et al.  Geomorphological applications of cosmogenic isotope analysis , 2004 .

[62]  Bruce D. Malamud,et al.  Landslides, earthquakes, and erosion , 2003 .

[63]  P. Molnar,et al.  Early Holocene climate recorded in geomorphological features in Western Tibet , 2003 .

[64]  Peter Molnar,et al.  Himalayan Seismic Hazard , 2001, Science.

[65]  Alexander L. Densmore,et al.  Topographic fingerprints of bedrock landslides , 2000 .

[66]  B. Bookhagen,et al.  Climatic control on rapid exhumation along the Southern Himalayan Front , 2004 .

[67]  N. Hovius,et al.  Supply and Removal of Sediment in a Landslide‐Dominated Mountain Belt: Central Range, Taiwan , 2000, The Journal of Geology.

[68]  F. Gasse,et al.  Holocene environmental changes in Bangong Co basin (Western Tibet). Part 4: Discussion and conclusions , 1996 .

[69]  J. Corominas,et al.  Classic and new dating methods for assessing the temporal occurrence of mass movements , 1999 .