A review of atmospheric and land surface processes with emphasis on flood generation in the Southern Himalayan rivers

A P Dimri; R J Thayyen; K Kibler; A Stanton; S K Jain; D Tullos; V P Singh

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.206

A review of atmospheric and land surface processes with emphasis on flood generation in the Southern Himalayan rivers

Sci Total Environ. 2016 Jun 15:556:98-115. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.206. Epub 2016 Mar 11.

Authors

A P Dimri¹, R J Thayyen², K Kibler³, A Stanton⁴, S K Jain², D Tullos⁴, V P Singh⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
² National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India.
³ University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
⁴ Water Resources Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
⁵ Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, and Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, USA.

PMID: 26974566
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.206

Abstract

Floods in the southern rim of the Indian Himalayas are a major cause of loss of life, property, crops, infrastructure, etc. They have long term socio-economic impacts on the habitat living along/across the Himalayas. In the recent decade extreme precipitation events have led to numerous flash floods in and around the Himalayan region. Sporadic case-based studies have tried to explain the mechanisms causing the floods. However, in some of the cases, the causative mechanisms have been elusive. Various types of flood events have been debated at different spatial and temporal scales. The present study provides an overview of mechanisms that lead to floods in and around the southern rim of the Indian Himalayas. Atmospheric processes, landuse interaction, and glacier-related outbreaks are considered in the overview.

Keywords: Cloudburst; Flood; Glacial lake outburst; Himalayas; Lake dam outburst; Precipitation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review