Erosion of the Tsangpo Gorge by megafloods, Eastern Himalaya

Research Article| September 01, 2013 Erosion of the Tsangpo Gorge by megafloods, Eastern Himalaya Karl A. Lang; Karl A. Lang * Department of Earth and Space Sciences and Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA *E-mail: karllang@uw.edu. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Katharine W. Huntington; Katharine W. Huntington Department of Earth and Space Sciences and Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David R. Montgomery David R. Montgomery Department of Earth and Space Sciences and Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2013) 41 (9): 1003–1006. https://doi.org/10.1130/G34693.1 Article history received: 23 Jan 2013 rev-recd: 29 Apr 2013 accepted: 06 May 2013 first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share MailTo Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Karl A. Lang, Katharine W. Huntington, David R. Montgomery; Erosion of the Tsangpo Gorge by megafloods, Eastern Himalaya. Geology 2013;; 41 (9): 1003–1006. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G34693.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract At the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, the Yarlung-Tsangpo River plunges through the Himalaya to drop >2 km through the Tsangpo Gorge. Upstream, relict glacial dams and impounded lake terraces suggest that Quaternary lakes as large as 800 km3 catastrophically drained through the gorge as megafloods. We report on new megaflood deposits downstream of the gorge and use detrital zircon U-Pb provenance data to demonstrate that these high-magnitude events originated in Tibet, and more effectively focused erosion in the gorge than both the extremely erosive modern peak flows and one of the largest landslide-dam outburst floods ever documented. Our findings support the proposition that in this steep, narrow gorge, where hillslope angles are near the threshold angle of bedrock failure, megafloods provide a mechanism to rapidly evacuate hillslope material and focus erosion on channel-adjacent hillslopes. Although megaflood frequency remains unconstrained, we demonstrate the capability of these events to contribute substantially to rapid exhumation in this region. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.