{"title":"Quaternary foreland tectonics and landscape changes - a case study of Himalayan piedmont zone of Jaldhaka river system, eastern Himalaya, India","authors":"Adrija Raha, Mery Biswas","doi":"10.1007/s12665-025-12181-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Jiti–Khuji Diana interfluve of the Himalayan piedmont zone has been considered to reanalyse the tectonic character of the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and Main Frontal Thrust (MFT), which are two major east–west trending structural units of the Himalayan orogen. The MBT marks a tectonic boundary between the Lesser and sub-Himalayan sequences (Gansser, Geology of Himalayas, Wiley Interscience, New York, 1964), while the MFT is the youngest deforming front that carries the Siwalik Group of rocks over the Quaternary deposits (Yin, Earth Sci Rev 76:1–131, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2005.05.004, 2006). This area is dissected by three main steams of the Jaldhaka system, i.e. rivers Jiti, Khuji Diana, and Thaljhora; amongst which the Thalhjora flows from east to west and the other two rivers flow roughly from NNE to SSW. Thaljhora and Chalsa fault scarps are observed, respectively, at and near the MBT and MFT. The present research focuses on significance of active Thaljhora and Chalsa fault scarps, which represent the monocline faults that deformed the geomorphic landscape. The displacement along these faults have formed a synform that uplifted over time and formed river terraces by incision processes of rivers. The analysis of morphometric indices confirms the recent neotectonic activities going on in the region. The deformed landforms, emerged as terrace and Doon-shaped valley, are observed between the Jiti fault (MBT) and Chalsa scarp (MFT). The doon-shaped valley is developed as a flat-lying surface situated between the Jiti fault and Thaljhora scarp. This study has deciphered the application of morphometric indices to study the active neotectonics.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"84 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Earth Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12665-025-12181-9","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The Jiti–Khuji Diana interfluve of the Himalayan piedmont zone has been considered to reanalyse the tectonic character of the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and Main Frontal Thrust (MFT), which are two major east–west trending structural units of the Himalayan orogen. The MBT marks a tectonic boundary between the Lesser and sub-Himalayan sequences (Gansser, Geology of Himalayas, Wiley Interscience, New York, 1964), while the MFT is the youngest deforming front that carries the Siwalik Group of rocks over the Quaternary deposits (Yin, Earth Sci Rev 76:1–131, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2005.05.004, 2006). This area is dissected by three main steams of the Jaldhaka system, i.e. rivers Jiti, Khuji Diana, and Thaljhora; amongst which the Thalhjora flows from east to west and the other two rivers flow roughly from NNE to SSW. Thaljhora and Chalsa fault scarps are observed, respectively, at and near the MBT and MFT. The present research focuses on significance of active Thaljhora and Chalsa fault scarps, which represent the monocline faults that deformed the geomorphic landscape. The displacement along these faults have formed a synform that uplifted over time and formed river terraces by incision processes of rivers. The analysis of morphometric indices confirms the recent neotectonic activities going on in the region. The deformed landforms, emerged as terrace and Doon-shaped valley, are observed between the Jiti fault (MBT) and Chalsa scarp (MFT). The doon-shaped valley is developed as a flat-lying surface situated between the Jiti fault and Thaljhora scarp. This study has deciphered the application of morphometric indices to study the active neotectonics.
期刊介绍:
Environmental Earth Sciences is an international multidisciplinary journal concerned with all aspects of interaction between humans, natural resources, ecosystems, special climates or unique geographic zones, and the earth:
Water and soil contamination caused by waste management and disposal practices
Environmental problems associated with transportation by land, air, or water
Geological processes that may impact biosystems or humans
Man-made or naturally occurring geological or hydrological hazards
Environmental problems associated with the recovery of materials from the earth
Environmental problems caused by extraction of minerals, coal, and ores, as well as oil and gas, water and alternative energy sources
Environmental impacts of exploration and recultivation – Environmental impacts of hazardous materials
Management of environmental data and information in data banks and information systems
Dissemination of knowledge on techniques, methods, approaches and experiences to improve and remediate the environment
In pursuit of these topics, the geoscientific disciplines are invited to contribute their knowledge and experience. Major disciplines include: hydrogeology, hydrochemistry, geochemistry, geophysics, engineering geology, remediation science, natural resources management, environmental climatology and biota, environmental geography, soil science and geomicrobiology.