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1
Chan, Yau-cheong Ian, and 陳有昌. "Characterizing crustal melt episodes in the Himalayan orogen." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/206505.
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Extensive studies have been undertaking in exploring the tectonic evolution of the Himalayan Orogen. Various tectonic models were developed to explain and constraint spatially and temporally critical events including the collision of Indian Plate with the Eurasia Plate, crustal thickening in association with the indentation, crustal spreading of the Tibetan Plateau. Recent study by King et al., 2011 identified two distinct leucogranite suites which were formed by contrasting tectonic actions at Sakya. They are Equigranular Anastomosing Leucogranite (AEG) formed under prograde fluidpresent condition while the Discrete Porphyritic Pluton Leucogranite (DPP) formed with retro-grade fluid-absent environment. Based on the characteristics of AEG and DPP, this study started with the acquisition of geochemistry data of rock samples collected for researches at various locations of the Himalaya Orogen. The two leucogranite suites were characterized through the study of their geochemistry comprised major elements, trace elements and rare earth elements models. Results of the studies concluded the existence of AEGs and DPPs distributed over the eastern area of the Himalaya Orogen beyond longitude 85 degree East. DPPs are also found at the far West location of the orogen. AEGs are typically formed from around 38Ma to 23Ma, while DPPs are of young age from 23Ma to 15Ma. Based on the observation of missing, or paucity in data for AEG and DPPs available to the west of longitude 85 degree East, it is hypothesized that recent collision of the Arabia plate to the Iran Domain inhibited the northward indentation movement of the Indian plate that not only caused the anticlockwise rotation of the Indian plate but also decreased the rate of tectonic movement of the Indian plate in the West relative to Eurasia plate. The slow rate of tectonic movement may result in insufficient thickening/energy developed within the crustal layer to cause any melting.
Further studies to examine and development of the hypothesis is recommended.published_or_final_version
Applied Geosciences
Master
Master of Science
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Holt, William Everett. "The active tectonics and structure of the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis and surrounding regions." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/184802.
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I determined the source parameters of 53 moderate-sized earthquakes in the region of the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis through the joint inversion of regional and teleseismic distance long-period body waves. The average rates of deformation are determined by summing the moment tensors from both recent and historic earthquakes. Strike-slip movement on the Sagaing fault terminates in the north (just south of the syntaxis), where thrusting (northeast convergence) and crustal thickening are predominant. Slip vectors for thrust mechanisms in the Eastern Himalaya in general are not orthogonal to the Himalayan mountain front but show an oblique component of slip. A combination of thrust and strike-slip faulting (Molnar and Deng, 1984) for the great 1950 Assam earthquake is consistent with the rates of underthrusting in the entire Himalaya and the rate of spreading in Tibet (assuming that a 1950-type earthquake recurs every 400 years). An estimated 4-21 mm/yr of right-lateral motion between southeast Asia and the Burma subplate is absorbed within the zone of distributed shear between the Sagaing and Red River faults. A component of westward motion (3-7 mm/yr) of the western boundary of the distributed shear zone may cause some of the late Cenozoic compression and folding in the northern Indoburman Ranges. Distributed shear and clockwise rotation of blocks is also occurring in Yunnan north of the Red River Fault. The inversion of 130 regional distancewaveforms for average crustal thickness and upper mantle Pn velocity indicates an increase in Pn velocity, coincident with increase in crustal thickness, of about 0.20 km/s beneath the Tibetan Plateau. Impulsive Pn arrivals from paths that cross the Tibetan Plateau can be modeled with a positive upper mantle velocity gradient, indicating an upper mantle lid approximately 100-km-thick beneath southern Tibet. This "shield-like" structure supports a model in which Indian continental lithosphere has underthrust Tibet. The crustal shortening within Tibet 8 mm/yr is thus viewed as an upper crustal phenomenon in which the faults do not penetrate the deep crust or upper Mantle. The forces generated by the thick crust in Tibet may partly cause the strike-slip faulting and east-west convergence in Sichuan and the movement of upper crustal blocks in Yunnan.
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Gautam, Ritesh. "Aerosol-radiation-climate interactions over the Gangetic-Himalayan region." Fairfax, VA : George Mason University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/3353.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2008.Vita: p. 167. Thesis director: Menas Kafatos. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Earth Systems an GeoInformation Sciences. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 11, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-166). Also issued in print.
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Dyck, Brendan. "Textural and petrological studies of anatexis and melt transfer in the Himalayan Orogen." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:98cc1d84-d552-447d-a54a-0f028eecf0f7.
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Mineral textures, preserved in the metamorphosed sedimentary sequences that are exposed in orogenic hinterlands, are crucial to understanding the architecture and evolution of collisional mountain belts. In this thesis the textural record of anatexis and melt transfer in the Himalayan metamorphic core is decoded and the controls that these processes exert on the tectonic evolution of the Himalaya are explored. The problem is divided into two parts, corresponding to variations in protolith lithostratigraphy: melt source - the pelitic region where melt was first generated, and melt sink - the psammitic region where melt accumulated and crystallised. Dehydration melting of muscovite has long been recognized as a critical reaction for the generation of anatectic melt in the Himalaya, but a textural understanding of how this reaction progresses is limited by the inherent difficulties in identifying specific reaction products. Using samples collected from the Langtang area in central Nepal, a mechanistic model for muscovite dehydration melting was constructed, and a set of textural criteria were developed, which were used to distinguish peritectic K-feldspar from K-feldspar grains formed during melt crystallisation. Melt is transferred from the source to the sink in two stages: firstly along a pervasive network of mineral grain boundaries, and secondly via a channelised network of sills and dykes in the melt sink where it solidified as leucogranite. Variation in the primary mineral assemblage and appearance of leucogranite bodies reflect the degree of interaction that occurred between the melt and metasedimentary country rock, rather than a change in primary melt composition. The modal proportion of K-feldspar in the melt source requires vapour-absent conditions during muscovite dehydration melting and leucogranite formation, indicating that the generation of large volumes of granitic melts in orogenic belts is not necessarily contingent on an external source of fluids. The crystallisation of hydrous minerals in leucogranite consumes <15.5 % of water released by the breakdown of muscovite. These results indicate that anatexis efficiently dehydrates the middle crust and suggests that the continents have limited potential to store water over geological time.
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Pearce, Callum. "Outside the palace, the night : spirits, landscape and perception among Buddhist laity in Ladakh, Himalayan India." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2017. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=234058.
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This thesis deals with the perception and representation of spirits and landscape among Tibetan Buddhist laity in Ladakh, Himalayan India. It contrasts the conventions of Tibetan textual description of places with stories told by Ladakhi Buddhist laity, with a focus on the role played by local spirits and deities. It argues that while textual representations employing the unified and symmetrical imagery of the maṇḍala – a schematic representation of the palace of a divinity – depict the landscape as it might be known to a transcendent observer, stories about places and the spirits associated with them (lhande in Ladakhi) point to an indeterminate, fragmented and culturally unbounded world that has yet to be integrated within any single system of knowledge. This world is pieced together from multiple sources and truth claims, and from the imperfections inherent in ordinary perception; but the inconsistencies and uncertainties involved in this are not usually apparent, and are only made manifest in illness, experiences of disorder and encounters with spirits at night. These persistent uncertainties can be overcome in ritual contexts, in acts of writing or through the invocation of the faculty of divine vision: the palatial image of the maṇḍala is used to counteract the presence of the night outside. This thesis draws attention to the often overlooked role played by the limitations of perception and knowledge in understandings of landscape, and is intended to partly bridge a disciplinary divide by reconstructing the invisible context within which textual representations are created and employed.
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Walker, James David. "The structure and metamorphic evolution of the High Himalayan Slab in SE Zanskar and NW Lahaul." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1998. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:fc8b8fd3-e155-4f2f-9256-3667c2b31f4f.
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This thesis attempts to unravel the complex thermal and structural history of part of the High Himalayan Slab in NW India and combines reconnaissance-style field structural mapping of an area covering ~10,000 km2 with petrography, microstructural analysis, thermobarometry and geochronology techniques. The results of this work show that the oldest protoliths of the High Himalayan Slab are at least Cambrian in age and that they may have experienced a major pre-Himalayan metamorphism at c.500 Ma. The youngest protoliths are Mesozoic in age (the Tandi Group) and demonstrate that the High Himalayan Slab represents the metamorphosed equivalents of the Tibetan Sedimentary Series. Metamorphism was achieved via substantial crustal shortening and thickening following the India-Asia collision at 50-54 Ma ago. Phase relationships demonstrate that metamorphism was a regional Barrovian-type event associated with the growth of biotite-, garnet-, staurolite-, kyanite- and sillimanite-bearing assemblages in metapelites. Quantitative thermobarometry demonstrates that near-peak conditions of c.6-8 kbar and 550-650°C were attained in the deepest exposed levels. Growth of metamorphic assemblages was underway by at least 30 Ma, as indicated by U-Pb ages of metamorphic monazites. Exhumation of the High Himalayan Slab was achieved through a combination of extensional unroofing along major detachments (namely the Zanskar Shear Zone), thermal doming, thrusting along the Main Central Thrust and surface erosion. Exhumation is closely associated with the growth of sillimanite- and cordierite-bearing assemblages in pelites and the generation and emplacement of crustal melt leucogranites in the upper parts of the slab. U-Pb dating of accessory phases from one of the crustal melt leucogranites (the Gumburanjon leucogranite) constrains its crystallisation and emplacement age at c.21-22 Ma. This is only slightly older than its 40Ar/39Ar muscovite and biotite cooling ages of c.20-21 Ma, which is attributed to the emplacement of the Gumburanjon leucogranite into the immediate footwall of the ZSZ. Field and geochronological data therefore support a strong temporal and spatial relationship between upper crustal melting and extension in a convergent orogen.
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Brezina, Cynthia A. "The detrital mineral record of Cenozoic sedimentary rocks in the Central Burma Basin : implications for the evolution of the eastern Himalayan orogen and timing of large scale river capture." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6730.
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This study contributes to the understanding of major river evolution in Southeast Asia during the Cenozoic. In order to trace the evolution of a hypothesized palaeo-Yarlung Tsangpo-Irrawaddy River, this work undertakes the first systematic provenance study of detrital minerals from Cenozoic synorogenic fluvial and deltaic sedimentary rocks of the Central Burma Basin, employing a combination of high precision geochronology, thermochronology, and geochemistry analytical techniques on single grain detrital zircon and white mica. The dataset is compared to published isotopic data from potential source terranes in order to determine source provenance and exhumation history from source to sink. A Yarlung Tsangpo-Irrawaddy connection existed as far back as ca. 42 Ma and disconnection occurred at 18–20 Ma, based on provenance changes detected using a combination of U-Pb ages and εHf(t) values on detrital zircons, and ⁴ºAr/³⁹Ar dating on detrital micas. During the Eocene and Oligocene, units are dominated by U-Pb age and high positive εHf(t) values, characteristic of a southern Lhasa Gangdese magmatic arc source. An antecedent Yarlung Tsangpo-Irrawaddy River system formed the major river draining the eastern Himalaya at this time. A significant change in provenance is seen in the early Miocene, where detritus is predominantly derived from bedrock of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis, western Yunnan and Burma, a region drained by the modern Irrawaddy-Chindwin river system characterized by Cenozoic U-Pb ages and negative εHf(t) values. This is attributed to the disconnection of the Yarlung-Irrawaddy River and capture by the proto-Brahmaputra River, re-routing Tibetan Transhimalayan detritus to the eastern Himalayan foreland basin. Re-set zircon fission track ages of 14-8 Ma present in all units is used to infer post-depositional basin evolution related to changes in the stress regime accommodating the continued northward migration of India. The early Miocene initiation of the Jiali-Parlung-Gaoligong-Sagaing dextral shear zone and the continued northward movement of the coupled India-Burma plate aided in focusing deformation inside the syntaxis contributing to the disconnection of the Yarlung Tsangpo-Irrawaddy system, linking surface deformation and denudation with processes occurring at deeper crustal levels.
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Furze, Brian James 1957. "Protected areas and socio-environmental justice : the case for participatory protected area management." Monash University, School of Humanities, Communications and Social Sciences, 2002. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/8744.
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Nodari, Maria Luisa. "Climbing for the nation : epics of mountaineering in Tibet." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.648226.
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Mallon, David Paul. "Ecology and conservation of mountain ungulates in Ladakh, India." Thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.267359.
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Research was carried out in a 15,000 km2 study area in central Ladakh, India. The study area is Transhimalayan in character with ecological affinities to Tibet and Central Asia. The main study species were Ladakh urial Ovis vignei, bharal Pseudois nayaur and Himalayan ibex Capra sibirica, with additional data collected on two species occurring marginally within the study area, argali Ovis ammon and kiang Equus klang. Distributions were mapped in detail. Distribution of urial was restricted to a band along the Indus valley and its tributaries. Bharal and ibex were widely distributed and apparently share the study area. Bharal occur in the eastern part of the Zanskar Range and across the eastern plateau of Ladakh. Ibex occur mainly in the western part of the Zanskar range, along the northern slopes of the Himalayan range and the southern slopes of the Ladakh range. Argali and kiang occur across eastern Ladakh and just reach the eastern edge of the study area; both have occasionally established a presence farther west. Current estimated numbers in the study area were: 500-700 urial; 6,000-10,000 bharal, 3150-6150 ibex, <50 kiang and c. 12 argali. Urial use even terrain between 3000-4250m and avoid areas with cliffs. Ibex and bharal both use altitudes up to 5000m and prefer broken, more rugged terrain which they use as escape cover. Discriminant function analysis showed a clear differentiation between urial habitat and that of ibex and bharal, but a substantial overlap in the habitat used by ibex and bharal. The habitat preferences recorded are similar to what is known of other Caprini species. The ungulate community consisted of three main species, each occupying separate parts of the study area. The abrupt boundary between the distributions of ibex and bharal was examined in the framework of parapatry theory. Conservation prospects for mountain ungulates in the study area are currently satisfactory.
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Skog, Lindsay Ann. "Beyul Khumbu: Sherpa Constructions of a Sacred Landscape." PDXScholar, 2010. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2183.
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Khumbu, part of Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park in eastern Nepal and an UNESCO World Heritage site, is home to the Sherpa people, ethnic Tibetan Buddhists who migrated to the region more than 500 years ago. Sherpas animate the landscape with localized water, tree, rock, and land spirits, identify sacred mountains, mainly associated with the Bönpo and Tibetan yullha traditions, and some view the landscape as a beyul, a sacred place and hidden valley protecting Buddhist people and beliefs in times of turmoil and need. These beliefs protect the natural environment through religious practices and taboos against environmentally harmful behaviors and activities. Associated ritual practice, perceptions, and mythology encode Sherpa culture and beliefs in the landscape. This research contributes to discussions of place, sacred landscapes, and conservation by documenting older Sherpa residents’ constructions of Khumbu as a sacred landscape in two Khumbu villages. Interviews and participant observations reveal a socially constructed sacred landscape expressing a distinct Khumbu Sherpa identity.
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Ramsay, William James Hope. "Erosion in the middle Himalaya, Nepal with a case study of the Phewa Valley." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/24902.
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Data on erosion processes and other aspects of environmental change in the Himalaya are scarce and unreliable, and consequently policy decisions have been taken in a quantitative vacuum. Published estimates of denudation for large catchments in Nepal vary from 0.51 to 5.14 mm/yr, and indicate a dynamic geomorphological environment A review of the literature on erosion in Nepal revealed a consensus that: (1) mass wasting is the dominant hillslope process; (2) activity is seasonal, with virtually all failures occurring during the monsoon; (3) geological factors are the most important determinants of slope stability; (4) sediment delivery to channels is high; (5) little quantitative evidence exists to link landsliding to deforestation. Although few data exist, loss of forest cover does appear to be related to surface erosion and gullying, and a hypothesis linking the expansion of unmanaged, eroding areas to reduced nutrient subsidies from the forest is proposed.
A reconnaissance survey of sediment production and transfer mechanisms in the 122 km² Phewa Valley in the Middle Mountains of Nepal identified a variety of mass movement processes. The commonest events were shallow translational failures on slopes of, typically, 36° to 45°, with volumes ≤1 x 10³ m³ and with recovery taking less than ten years. Larger slides occurred on slopes oversteepened by fluvial action. Flows developed in areas of weak rock and unfavourable structure, and were associated with groundwater discharge. Flow velocities accelerated during the monsoon. The highly fractured and deeply weathered zones around faults were the sites of "mass movement catchments", complex failures responsible for approximately 90% of all sediment production by mass wasting in the watershed. A first estimate of surface lowering by mass movement processes in the Phewa Valley is 2-3 mm/yr. Locally, surface erosion on overgrazed pasture may be 5-6 mm/yr. No data were available on soil losses from cultivated areas, and, similarly, losses due to shallow creep, gullying and solution remain unknown.
The fluvial transport system in the valley bottom is unable to transport all the material with which it is supplied. Sediment yield to the lake was not calculated owing to insufficient data. Discharge estimates and intensity-duration-frequency analysis of rainfall records indicate that in Pokhara storms of 275 mm/day have a return period of approximately 10 years.
The primary controls on mass movement processes in the Middle Himalaya of Nepal are geological and climatic, and therefore are not amenable to modification by man. However, surface erosion is a consequence of poor land management, and therefore can be controlled, given the right institutional environmentForestry, Faculty of
Graduate
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Foster, Gavin Lee. "The pre-Neogene thermal history of the Nanga Parbat Haramosh Massif and the NW Himalaya." Thesis, Open University, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.326594.
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Poore, Heather Rachel. "Neogene epeirogeny and the Iceland Plume." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.612116.
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Dey, Saptarshi [Verfasser], and Manfred R. [Akademischer Betreuer] Strecker. "Tectonic and climatic control on the evolution of the Himalayan mountain front : a case study from the Kangra intermontane basin and the Dhauladhar range in the Northwestern Himalaya / Saptarshi Dey ; Betreuer: Manfred R. Strecker." Potsdam : Universität Potsdam, 2016. http://d-nb.info/1218401532/34.
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Dey, Saptarshi [Verfasser], and Manfred [Akademischer Betreuer] Strecker. "Tectonic and climatic control on the evolution of the Himalayan mountain front : a case study from the Kangra intermontane basin and the Dhauladhar range in the Northwestern Himalaya / Saptarshi Dey ; Betreuer: Manfred R. Strecker." Potsdam : Universität Potsdam, 2016. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-103390.
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Chilibeck, Gillian. "Moving mountains through women's movements : the"feminization" of development discourse and practice in the Indian Himalayas." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=82696.
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This thesis examines the varied and contradictory ideas about rural women and their needs that are produced and circulate within development discourses and projects. It pays particular attention to the multiple actors involved in the production of such ideas and the relations of power that determine which ideas gain authority. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh, India, it looks at women's participation in three different development projects: a women's savings and credit group, a broad-based development NGO, and the women's village organizations (mahila mandals ). These case studies demonstrate how development organizations engage with local gender meanings, often working to reinforce or even exploit inequalities, rather than challenge them. As women are targeted by such projects, they creatively receive, shape, and negotiate the ideas and representations that they encounter about themselves. These encounters limit, and sometimes foster, women's potential for new political identities and agency.
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Bridges, Sarah Ann. "Disability in the Mountains: Culture, Environment, and Experiences of Disability in Ladakh, India." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1442843791.
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Miles, Luke G. "Global Digital Elevation Model Accuracy Assessment in the Himalaya, Nepal." TopSCHOLAR®, 2013. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1313.
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Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are digital representations of surface topography or terrain. Collection of DEM data can be done directly through surveying and taking ground control point (GCP) data in the field or indirectly with remote sensing using a variety of techniques. The accuracies of DEM data can be problematic, especially in rugged terrain or when differing data acquisition techniques are combined. For the present study, ground data were taken in various protected areas in the mountainous regions of Nepal. Elevation, slope, and aspect were measured at nearly 2000 locations. These ground data were imported into a Geographic Information System (GIS) and compared to DEMs created by NASA researchers using two data sources: the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (STRM) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). Slope and aspect were generated within a GIS and compared to the GCP ground reference data to evaluate the accuracy of the satellitederived DEMs, and to determine the utility of elevation and derived slope and aspect for research such as vegetation analysis and erosion management. The SRTM and ASTER DEMs each have benefits and drawbacks for various uses in environmental research, but generally the SRTM system was superior. Future research should focus on refining these methods to increase error discrimination.
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Hearn, Gareth. "An evaluation of geomorphological contributions to mountain highway design, with particular reference to the Lower Himalayas." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 1987. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3444/.
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Mass movement, fluvial erosion, sediment transport and earthworks - induced instability, often pose major problems for highway design and construction in mountain terrain. This thesis examines the contribution that geomorphological techniques can make to the evaluation of these hazards for highway design purposes in the Lower Himalaya. A review of the consequences of geomorphological hazards to highway stability is illustrated by reference to selected mountain roads in India and Nepal. The design, stability and construction costs of these roads are discussed in respect to their status or function in the road network and, more particularly, the severity of hazards and terrain conditions they encounter. Techniques of hazard and terrain assessment for highway design purposes are examined and tested in the remainder of the thesis. Techniques of medium-scale (1: 10 000-1: 50 000) landslide hazard mapping and large-scale (greater than 1: 10 000) geomorphological ground survey are discussed and tested in the Dharan-Dhankuta area of Nepal, in terms of their ability to provide useful information for alignment design, road stabilization and protection works. The contribution of geomorphological ground survey to highway design is critically assessed by reference to the Dharan-Dhankuta road, and its stability following a high magnitude storm in 1984. A proforma method for assessing flooding, erosion and sediment hazards in small mountain channels is developed. Discharge data for the 1984 storm are derived from these proformas and used to test a number of selected ungauged catchment equations, and to develop empirical relationships between peak discharge and catchment variables for purposes of high magnitude runoff prediction from small catchments. In addition, low-cost, low technology methods for monitoring discharge, slope erosion, sediment transport and mass movement are tested in terms of their ability to provide meaningful data in the short-term for design purposes. Finally, optimum strategies of hazard and terrain assessment for highway design are proposed. The potential for further application of geomorphological techniques and expertise to mountain highway design is discussed.
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Pandeya, Bhopal. "Understanding hydrological ecosystem services produced by the Indo-Gangetic basin and selected mountain catchments in the Himalayas." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2014. http://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/understanding-hydrological-ecosystem-services-produced-by-the-indogangetic-basin-and-selected-mountain-catchments-in-the-himalayas(faa2f55e-6bfa-497d-83dc-db123e6c4250).html.
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This research examines major hydrological ecosystem services produced by the Indo-Gangetic Basin and selected mountain catchments in the Himalayas. Key focus is given to quantity and quality related hydrological attributes that underpin many hydrological ecosystem services. A quantitative assessment of changes in these hydrological attributes in the context of plausible land use and cover change scenarios is crucial for policy making processes to sustain important hydrological benefits. Using a process-based advanced hydrological modelling tool, i.e. WaterWorld (www.policysupport.org/waterworld), the research estimates baseline hydrological fluxes and compares them with the same fluxes under future plausible land use scenarios. The research has used globally available datasets of hydro-climatic, bio-physical, and environmental properties available in the web-based ‘SimTerra’ database. Fieldwork was also conducted for selected catchments to improve the quality of datasets for modelling and to integrate the local understanding of watershed conservation and hydrological ecosystem services into the research. The vast expanses of croplands in the lowland areas are consuming the majority of available freshwater. The research also highlights the important role of crops carrying hydrological ecosystem services (in embedded form as ‘Virtual Water’) to local and distant consumers. Projected cropland growth uses additional water which will affect water availability for other hydrological ESs. In this situation, the agricultural and water resources related policies should be focused on the efficient use of freshwater resources. In addition, water consumed in crop production processes should be better integrated in hydrological ecosystem services research. Both Protected Area and human dominated catchments in the middle-mountainous region of the Himalayas are supplying valuable hydrological ecosystem services to downstream users. Conservation efforts of upland people have had a positive impact on water quantity and quality related attributes. Although the conservation intervention has improved the upland forest cover and increased annual evapotranspiration, the bigger increase in fog inputs at the same time has resulted a marginally increase of annual water availability in the downstream. Thus, a positive contribution of fog water inputs is a new phenomenon for the mountainous region. Upland communities’ voluntary role in watershed management is clearly reflected through their participation in various conservation activities. Since conservation practices are essential in improving hydrological ecosystem services, a payment for the ecosystem services programme might help them to achieve their goal.
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Anderson, Jennifer Leigh. "Lives, Livelihoods, and Landscapes: A Study of Land Use and Social Change in Northeastern Nepal." PDXScholar, 2006. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2238.
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This thesis explores the forces of change in lives and landscapes that have altered the Lamosangu-to-Everest route in northeastern Nepal and shows how a transect in photographs and conversations across the east-central Himalaya allows us insight and a greater understanding into the processes and consequences of this change.
Three forces of change over the last twenty-five years dominated discussions with local informants: the rise of the "People's War"-Nepal's Maoist Insurgency beginning in 1996; the Democratic Revolution of 1990; and dependence on tourism for livelihood after the establishment of Sagarmatha National Park in 1976. Understanding the cultural-historical context for these forces is necessary to understand the concerns of today's residents living along the Lamosangu-to-Mount Everest Base Camp transect.
The visual and ethnographic evidence discussed in this thesis takes a larger role than strict analysis of conspicuous large-scale land use change and I hope the comparative 200 I images will be used as benchmarks for future research as well as for further exploration into the ways people and place have been represented.
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Puschiasis, Ornella. "Des enjeux planétaires aux perceptions locales du changement climatique : pratiques et discours au fil de l’eau chez les Sherpa du Khumbu (région de l’Everest, Népal)." Thesis, Paris 10, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015PA100157.
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La région de haute montagne népalaise de l’Everest (Khumbu) est devenue un lieu emblématique de la diffusion des discours scientifiques et médiatiques sur le changement climatique en Himalaya. Les images de fonte des glaciers y alimentent une rhétorique alarmiste sur l’avenir de la ressource en eau et de sa disponibilité pour les populations himalayennes, cependant de nombreuses incertitudes demeurent. L’interprétation des modèles climatiques se heurte au manque de fiabilité des données et aux échelles appréhendées. Dans cette thèse, en interrogeant les habitants sur leurs pratiques impliquant la ressource en eau et sur leur perception du climat, nous apportons un éclairage susceptible de compléter ces modèles. Les variations du climat et leurs conséquences sur les usages et la gestion de l’eau sont étudiés en combinant les échelles et les disciplines, en confrontant des données relevant de l’hydrologie comme de la géographie, et en les replaçant dans un contexte où les changements sont aussi d’ordre social, économique et culturel. Les Sherpa ne se réduisent plus seulement à l’image de bouddhistes et de guides de haute montagne, ils constituent aujourd’hui une société fortement interconnectée depuis le virage touristique du Khumbu engagé dans les années 1950. L’étude de la gestion de l’eau révèle des logiques d’organisation et de restructuration d’un espace touristique fortement orienté vers l’international. Et il apparaît que les changements d’usages de l’eau au cours des dernières décennies sont davantage associés à l’insertion des habitants dans cette économie touristique qu’à des réponses au changement climatique. Les variations climatiques semblent donc être des préoccupations minimes à l’échelle locale tandis qu’elles alimentent les inquiétudes à une échelle mondiale. Ce décalage et les déformations discursives qui s'opèrent contribuent à alimenter un climat de tension dans la région où se pressent chercheurs, journalistes et experts internationauxThe region of the Everest high mountains in Nepal (Khumbu) became an emblematic place of the broadcast of science and media narratives about climate change in the Himalayas. The pictures of the glaciers melting feed an alarmist rhetoric on the future of water resources and its availability for the population of the Himalayas. However there are many uncertainties. The interpretation of climate models faces the lack of reliability of the data and at the featured scales. In this thesis, by questioning the population about their habits on water resource and their perception of climate, we bring a highlight prone to fill these models. The climate change and its consequences on water use and management are studied by combining the scales and disciplines, by comparing some data from hydrology as well as geography and by replacing them in a context where the changes are also of social, economic and cultural order. The Sherpas are not only seen as Buddhists and high mountains guides but are nowadays a highly interconnected society since the touristic turn that happened in Khumbu in the 1950’s. The study of water management reveals some organisational and restructuring logics of a touristic space highly headed for the international. It appears that the changes of water use during the last decades are rather lied to the insertion of inhabitants in this touristic economy than a response to the climate change. The climate variations seem to be minor concerns at the local scale whereas they feed worries at the global scale. This discrepancy and the ongoing narratives’ distortions contribute to create a climate of tensions in this region where researchers, journalists and international experts are rushing
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Jacquemet, Etienne. "La société sherpa à l’ère du « Yak Donald’s » : lutte des places pour l’accès aux ressources dans la région touristique de l’Everest (Népal)." Thesis, Bordeaux 3, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018BOR30026/document.
Full textAbstract:
Au-delà des représentations et des pratiques des alpinistes et trekkeurs, toujours plus nombreux, les conditions du développement et de la pérennisation du système touristique associées à la région népalaise de l’Everest – le Khumbu – semblent de plus en plus reposer sur la valorisation de ressources comme l’eau, l’électricité et l’emplacement foncier. Source de revenus considérables pour les populations locales, et plus particulièrement pour les hébergeurs touristiques, l’accès à ces différentes ressources ne va pourtant pas de soi. Tous les acteurs n’occupent pas les mêmes positions, ni ne possèdent les mêmes moyens pour les valoriser. Cet accès aux ressources, et par extension à de nouvelles positions socio-spatiales, donne lieu à de multiples stratégies fondées sur les capitaux, compétences et intérêts de chacun. Dans cette petite région, néanmoins hautement symbolique, ces stratégies d’accès aboutissent à une lutte des places entre d’une part les membres de la communauté sherpa – qui revendiquent une position d’insiders mais se déploient à l’extérieur du Khumbu par des modes d’habiter très polytopiques –, et d’autre part, de nouvelles populations originaires des basses vallées, en position d’outsiders, qui cherchent à s’y implanter. Dans le contexte d’un espace de plus en plus ouvert sur le monde, en pleine recomposition sociodémographique et culturelle, ce qu’incarne le « Yak Donald’s » – l’un des nombreux nouveaux pubs implantés dans la région –, se pose ainsi la question du partage et de la gouvernance des ressources et des revenus de ce haut-lieu du tourisme. Loin d’être passifs, mais plutôt à l’origine de ces nouvelles dynamiques, cette thèse montre comment les manipulateurs de symboles sherpas contrôlent encore largement le territoire et l’économie du tourismeBeyond the representations and practices of mountaineers and trekkers, conditions for the development and functioning of the touristic system linked to the Nepalese Mount Everest area (the Khumbu region) seem to be increasingly based upon resources such as water, electricity and property. With the rise of tourism, these various resources are source of considerable incomes for local populations, especially for lodge owners. However, sharing these resources is not simple. First, the different actors do not occupy the same positions in relation to them. Second, they don’t have the same capacities (i.e., capital and skills) to exploit them. Eventually, they do not have the same interests depending on their social status, so their cooperation is not always guaranteed. In this small but highly symbolic region, local access to resources leads to “locational struggles” (Lussault, 2009). This struggle opposes members of the Sherpa community - who claim to be deeply rooted inhabitants, but whose ways of life are very polytopic – and on the other hand, new populations from the lower valleys, who seek to establish themselves within the Khumbu region. In the context of intense interrelations with the rest of the world, as well as wide socio-demographic and cultural changes, which is embodied in one of the many new pubs established in the region; the "Yak Donald's", this questions the good resources governance of this tourist hub. Far from being passive, but rather very proactive, this thesis shows how the Sherpas still control the territory and its touristic economy
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Tunini, Lavinia. "The Central Asia collision zone: numerical modelling of the lithospheric structure and the present-day kinematics." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/336372.
Full textAbstract:
The Central Asia region is dominated by the Zagros orogen in the western sector and the Himalaya-Tibetan orogen in the eastern sector, which resulted from the subduction of the Tethys oceanic lithosphere towards the NNE and the subsequent collision of the Arabia and India plates with the Eurasia plate during the Cenozoic. The collisions produced tectonic escapes toward lateral regions (in Anatolia and south-eastern Tibet), oblique convergence in the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt, the formation of the Makran subduction zone and shortening in Himalaya, Karakorum and Tibetan Plateau. Different mountain belts also developed far into the continent interiors, e.g. Caucasus, Alborz, Kopet Dagh, Pamir and Tian Shan.
The lithosphere structure plays an important role in controlling the surface deformation and its propagation inside the continent. The compositional and strength heterogeneities within the lithosphere directly affect the tectonic behaviour of the region and, hence, the evolution of the orogenic systems. This Thesis focalizes on the characterization of the lithospheric structure of the Zagros and the Himalayan-Tibetan orogens and on the role of the lithospheric structure and rheology in the accommodation of the deformation related to the Arabia and India convergence against Eurasia.
The lithospheric structure of the Zagros and the Himalaya-Tibetan orogens has been characterized from the thermal, compositional and seismological viewpoint using an integrated geophysical-petrological modelling approach. The models make compatible seismic, density and thermal modelling findings, and allow quantifying the effect of mineral physics on previous results from integrated thermal models. The results obtained in the Zagros orogen reveal that the transition from the Arabian to the Eurasian lithosphere is characterized by a thinning of the lithospheric mantle extending from the suture zone beneath the Zagros range to the Alborz in the North and the Central Iran. The lithospheric mantle composition is compatible with a Proterozoic peridotitic mantle-type beneath the Arabian Platform, the Mesopotamian Foreland Basin and the accreted terrains of the Eurasia plate, and with a more depleted Phanerozoic harzburgitic mantle-type below the frontal parts of the Zagros range. In the Himalaya-Tibetan orogen, the results suggest that the present-day lithospheric mantle structure is laterally-varying within the Tibetan Plateau in the east-west direction. The lithospheric mantle is thicker and more buoyant in the western sector than in the north-eastern sector. The lherzolitic mantle-type is the dominant mantle composition, but it changes to a more fertile composition beneath the Tarim Basin, to a Fe-Mg-rich mantle beneath Tian Shan, Junggar and Altai regions, and to highly MgO-depleted mantle in the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau.
The results on the present-day lithospheric structure of the Zagros and the Himalaya-Tibetan orogens have been combined with the present-day kinematics, geodetic observations and stress data to characterize the current deformation patterns in the Central Asia region related to the tectonic convergence of the Arabia and India plates with Eurasia. The thin-sheet approach allowed investigating the effect of the lithospheric structure, rheology, boundary conditions, and friction coefficient on the predicted velocity and stress fields. The models reproduce the main directions of the velocities in Central Asia by only imposing the convergence of Arabia and India plates respect to the fix Eurasia, and varying the rheology parameters. The models simulate the observed kinematics including the counter-clockwise rotation of Arabia and Iran triggering the westward escape of Anatolia, and the eastward extrusion of the northern Tibetan Plateau structural domains. Besides the large scale, the models offer a coherent result in regions with little or no data coverage, as in the case of the Arabia-India inter-collision zone, over large areas of Pakistan and entire Afghanistan.
The study has been supported by the project ATIZA (CGL2009-09662-BTE), and the FPI grant associated to.Asia Central está dominada por dos importantes orógenos, el orógeno del Zagros y el sistema Himalaya-Tibet, resultantes de de la colisión de las placas Arábiga e India con el margen meridional de la placa Eurasiática. Esta Tesis se focaliza en: 1) la caracterización del manto litosférico a través de un metódo de modelización geofísico-petrológico integrado y 2) el estudio del efecto de la estructura litosférica y de la reología en la deformación neotectónica relacionada con la convergencia de Arabia y de India respecto a Eurasia utilizando una metodología basada en la aproximación de lámina delgada (thin-sheet). En el caso del orógeno del Zagros, los resultados revelan que el manto litosférico se adelgaza debajo de Irán Central, del Alborz y parcialmente debajo de la cordillera del Zagros. En el caso del sistema Himalaya-Tibet, los resultados indican una litosfera engrosada en el sector occidental, debajo de la cordillera Himalaya, Meseta del Tibet, Kunlun Shan y Tian Shan, y un adelgazamiento debajo de las cuencas de Tarim y de Junggar. En el sector oriental los resultados confirman que la Meseta del Tibet está suportada por una litosfera más adelgazada y caliente en el norte que en el sur. Ha sido necesario introducir variaciones laterales de composición mantélica, relacionadas con procesos del manto litosférico superior, en todos los perfiles modelados evidenciando la presencia de diferentes dominios litosféricos. El estudio de la deformación neotectónica ha revelado el rol clave de la reología en la reproducción del campo de esfuerzos y de velocidades en Asia Central, sugiriendo una litosfera menos rígida en la Meseta del Tibet que en la meseta de Irán. En conjunto, la deformación es más rápida en la zona de colisión India-Eurasia que en la zona de colisión Arabia-Eurasia. Finalmente, la presencia de un manto adelgazado en el noreste del Tibet y la consecuente disminución de viscosidad debida al aumento de temperatura explicarían la presencia de fallas extensionales en la Meseta del Tibet y reconciliarían el modelo con los datos de flujo de calor elevado y bajas velocidades sísmicas registrados en la región. Esta tesis ha sido financiada por el proyecto ATIZA (CGL2009-09662-BTE) y la beca FPI asociada.
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Tahir, Adnan Ahmad. "Impact of climate change on the snow covers and glaciers in the Upper Indus River basin and its consequences on the water reservoirs (Tarbela reservoir) – Pakistan." Thesis, Montpellier 2, 2011. http://www.theses.fr/2011MON20056/document.
Full textAbstract:
L'économie du Pakistan, fondée sur l'agriculture, est hautement dépendante de l'approvisionnement en eau issu de la fonte de la neige et des glaciers du Haut Bassin de l'Indus (UIB) qui s'étend sur les chaînes de l'Himalaya, du Karakoram et de l'Hindukush. Il est par conséquent essentiel pour la gestion des ressources en eau d'appréhender la dynamique de la cryosphère (neige et glace), ainsi que les régimes hydrologiques de cette région dans le contexte de scénarios de changement climatique. La base de données satellitaire du produit de couverture neigeuse MODIS MOD10A2 a été utilisée de mars 2000 à décembre 2009 pour analyser la dynamique du couvert neigeux de l'UIB. Les données journalières de débits à 13 stations hydrométriques et de précipitation et température à 18 postes météorologiques ont été exploitées sur des périodes variables selon les stations pour étudier le régime hydro-climatique de la région. Les analyses satellitaires de la couverture neigeuse et glaciaire suggèrent une très légère extension de la cryosphère au cours de la dernière décade (2000‒2009) en contradiction avec la rapide fonte des glaciers observée dans la plupart des régions du monde. Le modèle « Snowmelt Runoff » (SRM), associé aux produits neige du capteur MODIS a été utilisé avec succès pour simuler les débits journaliers et étudier les impacts du changement climatique sur ces débits dans les sous-bassins à contribution nivo-glaciaire de l'UIB. L'application de SRM pour différents scénarios futurs de changement climatique indique un doublement des débits pour le milieu du siècle actuel. La variation des écoulement de l'UIB, la capacité décroissante des réservoirs existants (barrage de Tarbela) à cause de la sédimentation, ainsi que la demande croissante pour les différents usages de l'eau, laissent penser que de nouveaux réservoirs sont à envisager pour stocker les écoulements d'été et répondre aux nécessités de l'irrigation, de la production hydro-électrique, de la prévention des crues et de l'alimentation en eau domestiqueAgriculture based economy of Pakistan is highly dependent on the snow and glacier melt water supplies from the Upper Indus River Basin (UIB), situated in the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindukush ranges. It is therefore essential to understand the cryosphere (snow and ice) dynamics and hydrological regime of this area under changed climate scenarios, for water resource management. The MODIS MOD10A2 remote-sensing database of snow cover products from March 2000 to December 2009 was selected to analyse the snow cover dynamics in the UIB. A database of daily flows from 13 hydrometric stations and climate data (precipitation and temperature) from 18 gauging stations, over different time periods for different stations, was made available to investigate the hydro-climatological regime in the area. Analysis of remotely sensed cryosphere (snow and ice cover) data during the last decade (2000‒2009) suggest a rather slight expansion of cryosphere in the area in contrast to most of the regions in the world where glaciers are melting rapidly. The Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM) integrated with MODIS remote-sensing snow cover products was successfully used to simulate the daily discharges and to study the climate change impact on these discharges in the snow and glacier fed sub-catchments of UIB. The application of the SRM under future climate change scenarios indicates a doubling of summer runoff until the middle of this century. This variation in the Upper Indus River flow, decreasing capacity of existing reservoirs (Tarbela Dam) by sedimentation and the increasing demand of water uses suggests that new reservoirs shall be planned for summer flow storage to meet with the needs of irrigation supply, increasing power generation demand, flood control and water supply
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Eeckman, Judith. "Caractérisation des systèmes hydro-climatiques à l'échelle locale dans l'Himalaya népalais." Thesis, Montpellier, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017MONTT103/document.
Full textAbstract:
La partie centrale de la chaîne himalayenne présente d’importantes hétérogénéités, en particulier en termes de topographie et de climatologie. La caractérisation des processus hydro-climatiques dans cette région est limitée par le manque de descriptif des milieux. La variabilité locale est alors difficilement représentée par les modélisations mises en œuvre à une échelle régionale.L’approche proposée dans ce travail est de caractériser les systèmes hydro-climatiques à l’échelle locale pour réduire les incertitudes liées à l’hétérogénéité du milieu. L’intégration de données localement précises est testée pour la modélisation de bassins versants peu instrumentés et fortement hétérogènes.Deux sous-bassins du bassin de la Dudh Koshi (Népal) sont utilisés comme échantillons représentatifs des milieux de haute et moyenne montagne, hors contribution glaciaire. Le schéma de surface ISBA est appliqué à la simulation des réponses hydrologiques des types de surface décrits à partir d’observations de terrain. Des mesures de propriétés physiques des sols sont intégrées pour préciser la paramétrisation des surfaces dans le modèle. Les données climatiques nécessaires sont interpolées à partir des observations in situ disponibles. Une approche non déterministe est appliquée pour quantifier les incertitudes liées à l’influence de la topographie sur les précipitations, ainsi que leur propagation aux variables simulées. Enfin, les incertitudes liées à la structure des modèles sont évaluées à l’échelle locale à travers la comparaison des paramétrisations et des résultats de simulation obtenus d'une part avec le schéma de surface ISBA, couplé à un module de routage à réservoir et d'autre part avec le modèle hydrologique J2000The central part of the Hindukush-Himalaya region presents tremendous heterogeneity, in particular in terms of topography and climatology. The representation of hydro-climatic processes for Himalayan catchments is limited due to a lack of knowledge regarding their hydrological behavior. Local variability is thus difficult to characterize based on modeling studies done at a regional scale. The proposed approach is to characterize hydro-climatic systems at the local scale to reduce uncertainties associated with environmental heterogeneity.The integration of locally reliable data is tested to model sparsely instrumented, highly heterogeneous catchments. Two sub-catchments of the Dudh Koshi River basin (Nepal) are used as representative samples of high and mid-mountain environments, with no glacier contribution. The ISBA surface scheme is applied to simulate hydrological responses of the surfaces that are described based on in-situ observations. Measurements of physical properties of soils are integrated to precise surface parametrization in the model. Necessary climatic data is interpolated based on available in-situ measurements. A non deterministic approach is applied to quantify uncertainties associated with the effect of topography on precipitation and their propagation through the modeling chain. Finally, uncertainties associated with model structure are estimated at the local scale by comparing simulation methods and results obtained on the one hand with the ISBA model, coupled with a reservoir routing module, and on the other hand, with the J2000 hydrological model
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Oatney, Emily M. "Geology and paleoseismology of the Trans-Yamuna active fault system, Himalayan foothills of northwest India." Thesis, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/33684.
Full textAbstract:
Satellite image interpretation, geologic mapping, and paleoseismic trenching are
used to investigate the Trans-Yamuna active fault system in the northwestern Doon Valley
of the Indian Himalayan foothills. This east-west fault system is subparallel to and crosses
the Main Boundary thrust near the structural transition from the Nahan salient to the
Dehra Dun reentrant. The Trans-Yamuna active fault system may terminate to the east at
a lateral ramp of the Main Boundary thrust. A south-side-up, relatively linear fault trace
with variable fault dips suggests that the fault system is high-angle reverse with a
component of strike-slip. It is subdivided into the Sirmurital, Dhamaun, and Bharli faults,
which probably connect at depth. The Dhamaun fault is exposed where it cuts the late
Holocene upper Bhatrog terrace deposit of the Giri River. A paleoseismic investigation of
the Sirmurital fault at another Giri River terrace did not expose the fault, but it suggests
that late Holocene terrace deposits there may be folded into a syncline parallel to fault
strike. The fold axis of the syncline continues into bedrock to the west. Earthquakes in
1905, 1803, or perhaps earlier may have been the source of folding of the fine-grained
sediments within this terrace deposit. The Trans-Yamuna active fault system is a
secondary hangingwall fault that may accommodate some strain release above the
decollement during large-magnitude earthquakes. Strike-slip motion may be related to the
lateral translation of the Karakoram fault block and east-west extension of the southern
Tibet block as a result of oblique convergence between the Indian and Eurasian plates in
the northwest Himalaya.Graduation date: 1999
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Schneider, David A. "An investigation on the evolution of a Himalayan gneiss dome : Nanga Parbat-Haramosh massif, western syntaxis /." Diss., 2000. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:9982858.
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Pogue, Kevin R. "Stratigraphic and structural framework of Himalayan foothills, northern Pakistan." Thesis, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/35578.
Full textAbstract:
The oldest sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks exposed
in the Himalayan foothills of Pakistan record a gradual transition
seaward from the evaporites of the Salt Range Formation to pelitic
sediments deposited in deeper water to the north. The Upper
Proterozoic Tanawal Formation was derived from erosion of a
northern highland produced during the early stages of Late
Proterozoic to early Ordovician tectonism. Early Paleozoic tectonism
is indicated by an angular unconformity at the base of the Paleozoic
section, the intrusion of the Mansehra Granite, and the local
removal of Cambrian strata. Paleozoic shallow-marine strata are
preserved in half-grabens created during extensional tectonism
that began during the Carboniferous and climaxed with rifting
during the Permian. Paleozoic rocks were largely or completely
eroded from northwest-trending highlands on the landward side of
the rift shoulder. Thermal subsidence of the rifted margin resulted
in transgression of the highlands and deposition of a Mesozoic
section dominated by carbonates. Compressional tectonism related
to the impending collision with Asia commenced in the Late
Cretaceous. Rocks north of the Panjal-Khairabad fault were
deformed and metamorphosed during Eocene subduction of
northern India beneath the Kohistan arc terrane. Following their
uplift and exhumation, rocks metamorphosed beneath Kohistan
were thrust southward over unmetamorphosed rocks along the
Panjal and Khairabad faults which are inferred to be connected
beneath alluvium of the Haripur basin. Contrasts in stratigraphy
and metamorphism on either side of the Panjal-Khairabad fault
indicate that shortening on this structure exceeds that of any other
fault in the foothills region. The migration of deformation towards
the foreland produced south- or southeast-vergent folds and thrust
faults in strata south of the Panjal-Khairabad fault and reactivated
Late Cretaceous structures such as the Hissartang fault. The
Hissartang fault is the westward continuation of the Nathia Gali
fault, a major structure that thrusts Proterozoic rocks in the axis of
a Late Paleozoic rift highland southward over Mesozoic strata.
Fundamental differences in stratigraphy, metamorphism, and
relative displacement preclude straightforward correlation of faults
and tectonic subdivisions of the central Himalaya of India and
Nepal with the northwestern Himalaya of Pakistan.Graduation date: 1994
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ČAPKOVÁ, Kateřina. "Biological soil crusts of cold deserts of W Himalaya." Doctoral thesis, 2016. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-380954.
Full textAbstract:
Proposed thesis is focused on the role of soil microbial crusts in the extreme environmental conditions of high-elevation cold desert of W Himalaya. Despite the importance of microbial soil crusts in arid soils, the biodiversity of their microbial communities, their role and function are still unclear. Our knowledge about functioning of these outlying ecosystems in this part of the world is still very insufficient in general. The area of Ladakh is perfect place for studying the microbial soil crust arid climate and extreme elevation aroud 6000 m a.s.l. represents unique condition for well-developed soil crusts communities. The whole region is unaffected by human activities or plant invasions, so we can study soil crusts in pristine natural condition. Our investigations is focused on soil microbial community of BSCc in Ladakh region. It combines range of aspects connected with BSCs such as taxonomical composition, changes of diversity and activity in relation to environmental condition. The thesis is the first compilation of studies concerned on microbial communities in area of Ladakh and one of the first work investigating the ecophysiology of BCSs in cold desert.
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Cheng, Yu-Yun, and 鄭喻云. "The Environment-Based Architecture Design Thinking:Taking 「2014 AIM International Design Competition of Tent Hotel」、「2015 Himalayan Mountain Hut Architecture Competition」as Example." Thesis, 2015. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/bv2t4f.
Full textAbstract:
碩士國立臺灣科技大學
建築系
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This research aims in the inspiration of architecture design from natural environment and strengthening the connection between architecture and environment through design thinking and more possibilies for solving issues. The author constantly modified the design process and assisted with design thinking by the experience of participating eight international competitions. And was very honered to be awarded “2014 AIM International Design Competition of Tent Hotel”for honerable mention. Architecture styles differ from different era, environments, social situation and trending. For a long time, changes of architecture are continuous. Universal architecture stand all over the world formed the urban jungle. Because the change of climate and the natural disasters, more and more designers think back to the environment, nature, and society, and then begin to introspect the relation among architecture, human and environment. Following the environment network and trace of urban makes the architecture site-specific and the unique regional form of architecture. This research attends to use design thinking in architecture with different environments, scales and types of architecture that respond to the original network of site and surrounding. By thus the author uses “2014 AIM International Design Competition of Tent Hotel” and “2015 Himalayan Mountain Hut Architecture Competition” two international competitions as case study. From discussing the issues of design, collecting and analyzing the data of site to discover and solve the problems. And also understanding the needs of user and taking brainstorming as a tool for developing concepts. Then select the final conceptual program from site analysis and perfect the concept by visualizing the ideas. Always applying an attitude toward environment and inspirated from the site to creat a vision for the future. Recently, types of international competition give designers the opportunities to be creative and understand the issues in space of generations, and designers have more chance to propose different ideas and attitude. Being creative, regional and feasible are been the key point of how to stand out from the other. Every designer has their own way of design thinking, and would always adjusts the design methods to suitable for themselves. This research proposes another kind of design thinking, hopes to learn from the nature and be humble to the regional network.
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Akhtar, Naveed. "Exploring patterns of phytodiversity, ethnobotany, plant geography and vegetation in the mountains of Miandam, Swat, Northern Pakistan." Doctoral thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-1735-0000-0022-604D-8.
Full textAbstract:
Das Miandam-Untersuchungsgebiet (35° 1′- 5′ N, 72° 30′-37′ E) liegt in der Swat-Region der Provinz Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (ehemals North West Frontier Province) im nördlichen Pakistan. Die vorliegende Arbeit berücksichtigt sowohl ethnobotanische und pflanzensoziologische Aspekte als auch die Pflanzenartendiversität innerhalb des Gebietes.
Aufgrund der hohen Habitatvielfalt weist das Miandam-Gebiet einen großen Reichtum von Medizinalpflanzen auf. Die im Rahmen der Arbeit durchgeführte ethnobotanische Studie dokumentiert das Vorkommen der Medizinalpflanzen sowie deren Nutzung in der Region. Weiterhin wurden die durch Sammlerpräferierten Lebensräume bestimmt und evaluiert inwiefern die Heilpflanzen durch Sammlung und Habitatzerstörung bedroht werden. Insgesamt wurden 106 traditionelle Heilpflanzen aus 54 Pflanzenfamilien verzeichnet. Zu den am häufigsten gefundenen Wuchsformen zählten mehrjährige (43%) und kurzlebige Kräuter (23%), Sträucher (16%) und Bäume (15%). Ein Großteil der untersuchten Heilpflanzen und ihrer Produkte wird zur Behandlung von Magen-Darm-Erkrankungen eingesetzt. Die Produkte werden vorrangig als Sud oder Pulver zubereitet und oral angewendet. Achtzig der 106 traditionellen Heilpflanzen gehören der Gruppe der einheimischen Arten an. Fast 50% der Pflanzenarten treten dabei in synanthroper Vegetation auf, während der Rest in naturnaher Umgebung (z.B. extensiv beweidete Wald- und Graslandbereiche) vorgefunden werden kann. Wälder sind der Ursprung der meisten nicht synanthropen einheimischen Medizinalpflanzen. Drei Arten (Aconitum violaceum, Colchicum luteum, Jasminum humile) können als Folge intensiven Sammelns als bedroht eingestuft werden.
Um die pflanzensoziologischen und phytogeografischen Aspekte des Projektes abzudecken wurde die Vegetation des Miandam-Gebietes mit einem Fokus auf Wäldern, Gebüschen und anderen Formationen untersucht. Die Ergebnisse der Vegetationserhebungen wurden mit denen anderer Studien in der weiteren Umgebung des Hindukush-Himalayas verglichen. Weiterhin wurde untersucht inwiefern die Waldökosysteme durch anthropogene Aktivitäten im Untersuchungsgebiet bedroht sind. Die im Gebiet verzeichneten Gefäßpflanzenarten umfassen insgesamt 33 Bäume, 52 Sträucher, 305 Kräuter und 11 Lianen. Basierend auf einer multivariaten Analyse konnten 12 Pflanzengesellschaften identifiziert werden. Die Spanne dieser Gesellschaften reichte von subtropischen semiariden Wäldern mit Ailanthus altissima im Tiefland zu alpinen Rasen von Sibbaldia cuneata durchsetzt mit Juniperus. Die dominierende Vegetation des Untersuchungsgebietes besteht aus von Abies pindrow und Viburnum grandiflorum Wäldern. Eine georeferenzierte Karte der Vegetation erleichtert die Lokalisierung der ökologisch interessanten Vegetation.
Artenreichtum und –diversität wurden entlang eines Höhengradienten untersucht. Dazu wurde die Alpha- sowie Beta-Diversität verschiedener Wuchsformtypen bestimmt. Der Artenreichtum aller Gefäßpflanzenarten erreichte sein Maximum zwischen 2200-2500 m. Dagegen zeigte der Artenreichtum der Sträucher einen glockenkurvenartigen Verlauf mit einem Maximum zwischen 2000 und 2200 m. Die höchste Alpha-Diversität der Gefäßpflanzenarten wurde in den tieferen Lagen des Untersuchungsgebietes verzeichnet. Die Beta-Diversität aller Wuchsformtypen zeigte entlang des gesamten Höhengradienten hohe Werte und somit einen starken Artenwechsel. Die Beta-Diversität der Straucharten fluktuiert entlang des Höhengradienten und zeigt damit ein einzigartiges Muster.