Inferring Relationship of Landslides, Tectonics, and Climate
Landslides, despite being the surficial impression of climate-tectonic-erosion linkage, are rarely explored in this context in Himalaya. The need for such study becomes more crucial in the evaluation of the regional hillslope denudation budget. We are of the understanding that the distributional pattern of landslides can reveal the relative significance of tectonic and climate. To test this hypothesis, ~ 55 landslides of the Tons River valley, Himalaya along with the tectonic and climate proxies are used in the present study. Steepness index and valley floor width to valley height ratio are used to infer the tectonic regime whereas; Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission based daily rainfall data and swath profile of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index are used to deduce spatial variability in climate. The study revealed the possible existence of a positive feedback system in the Higher Himalaya Crystalline and the simultaneous role of tectonic-climate in the Lesser Himalaya Crystalline. The LHS is found to possess a zone of landslide cluster, possibly due to local fault.