Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/J012750/1
Predicting the distribution of major debris flow hazard using coupled 10Be erosion records and 1m resolution digital topography
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor SM Mudd, University of Edinburgh, Sch of Geosciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor H Sinclair, University of Edinburgh, Sch of Geosciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Edinburgh, Sch of Geosciences
- Science Area:
- Earth
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Earth
- ENRIs:
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Regional & Extreme Weather
- Geohazards
- Earth Surface Processes
- Abstract:
- On the 6th of August 2010 intense storms triggered widespread debris flows in the Indus Valley centred near Leh, India. Initially over 3000 people were unaccounted for and the final toll was over 200 dead and over 600 houses destroyed. Our group has been working in the area for over a decade and we visited the area in May 2011 to resurvey and resample channels where we had pre-event data. We discovered that debris flows concentrated near the mountain front, somewhat contrary to expectations: channels near the mountain front are on low relief alluvial fan surfaces whereas in the high mountains the main channel is deeply incised and would appear at first glance more active. However, we noted that the hillslopes near the mountain front were rougher (rockier) and were more dissected than the high elevation portions of the catchment; it is from these rough, dissected hillslopes that the debris flows originated. We believe that the rough hillslopes correlate with debris flow activity and seek to test this hypothesis with a combination of detailed field surveys of debris flow channels and previously unavailable high resolution topographic data. We will also quantify if the spatial distribution of debris flows persists over long time scales by measuring the concentration of 10Be in stream sediments. These measurements and our analysis will help us to understand debris flow hazard in remote mountainous areas in the Himalayas and beyond.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/J012750/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Small Grants (FEC)
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Small Grants
This grant award has a total value of £41,520
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S | DA - Other Directly Allocated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £19,473 | £5,398 | £10,466 | £2,731 | £3,300 | £152 |
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