The Meghalaya Plateau: Landscapes in the Abode of the Clouds

Prokop, Paweł

doi:10.1007/978-94-017-8029-2_17

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…These 'incised channels' are almost exclusively eroding basement rocks ( Fig. 9) and changes in slope along the river profiles were found to not always coincide with recorded changes in lithology within the basement units (see also Prokop, 2014).…”

Section: Spatial Patterns Of Channel Steepnessmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…1). Numerous studies have noted the prominent headward erosion signals propagating through the rivers draining the southern plateau margin, evidenced by large-scale knickzones in the channel network (e.g., Biswas et al, 2007;Prokop, 2014;Rosenkranz et al, 2018) (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The high relief of the southern plateau margin orographically focusses extreme Indian Summer Monsoon precipitation and makes it officially the wettest place in the world; annual precipitation can exceed a record breaking 26000 mm and single day rainfall totals of >1500 mm have been recorded (Murata et al, 2007). There is a strong orographic precipitation gradient increasing north to south across the Shillong Plateau, with annual precipitation varying from 1600 mm in the Brahmaputra valley to the north to 6000-12000 mm on the southern edge of the plateau (Murata et al, 2007;Prokop, 2014).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Shillong Plateau exhibits a mix of characteristic features from both tectonically active settings and ancient cratonic landscapes (Migoń and Prokop, 2013;Prokop, 2014). Active, crustal scale thrust faults (Bilham and England, 2001;Mitra et al, 2005) and high relief, fluvially dissected plateau margins are juxtaposed against a relatively low-relief plateau interior complete with mature multi-concave topography and the deep weathering of crystalline basement rocks (Migoń and Prokop, 2013;Prokop, 2014). Based on understanding from many active mountain ranges, it is reasonable to suggest that the erosion of several kilometres of rock in response to sustained rock uplift should result in the development of incised, high-relief mountainous topography.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lithological control on the geomorphic evolution of the Shillong Plateau in Northeast India

et al. 2019

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The Shillong Plateau in Northeast India is a block of raised topography in the Himalayan foreland which consists of crystalline basement rocks partially covered by a Cretaceous to Miocene sedimentary succession. It is dominated by a mature, low relief landscape surrounded by high relief, fluvially dissected margins, particularly along its southern flank which is bounded by the Dauki thrust Fault. We use river profiles and geological relationships to show that the low relief plateau is a topographic expression of a re-exposed basement palaeosurface following the stripping of sedimentary cover by scarp retreat. We show that initiation of the wave of incision does not require surface rupture on the Dauki Fault or an increase in fault slip rate at the end of the Miocene, as suggested by previous studies. We propose that incision has been spatially controlled by the slope of the basement palaeosurface, likely moderated by an incision threshold. River profiles in the Shillong Plateau cannot be interpreted as simple records of surface uplift. The observed heterogeneous spatial pattern of steepness is a function of a dynamic landscape response to the erosion of layered lithology with contrasting erodibility. Such dynamics have *Revised manuscript with no changes marked Click here to view linked References implications for fluvial geomorphology, highlighting that near-horizontal lithological contacts can strongly influence river profiles and topography, even when no longer physically preserved. The topography of the northern Shillong Plateau is controlled by the structure of basement rocks and is reminiscent of stable cratonic interior landscapes, consistent with its surface exposure during late Cretaceous times.

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Section: Spatial Patterns Of Channel Steepnessmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lithological control on the geomorphic evolution of the Shillong Plateau in Northeast India

et al. 2019

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“…Shilong belongs to the Meghalaya state of India, which literally means "The Abode of Clouds". The particular geographic landscape of Shilong makes it the first orographic barrier encountered by the humid southwesterly monsoon winds (Prokop 2014). Hence, annual precipitation is anomalously higher than the regional average.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Using MODIS/Terra and Landsat imageries to improve surface water quantification in Sylhet, Bangladesh

Tseng

Kuo

et al. 2019

Terr. Atmos. Ocean. Sci.

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Bangladesh has experienced multiple freshwater issues including salinization from monsoonal floods and groundwater over-pumping that induces severe land subsidence. Therefore, using satellite observations to virtually build a monitoring network becomes an efficient and innovative means. We focus on the Sylhet Mymensingh haor area that has the highest annual precipitation and the largest inundation area in northeastern Bangladesh. The modified normalized difference water index is first used to extract water area from MODIS and Landsat-5/-7/-8 optical imageries. A weekly flood chance model is then created from a sequence of images to recover water extent from the cloud-covered images. Using MODIS images for water identification achieves an overall accuracy of 84% in rainy season and 41% in dry season as validated with Sentinel-1A radar images. This model can be further used to refine the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission digital elevation model (DEM). As compared with ICESat laser altimetry, the root-mean-square of the height difference is improved from 1.65 m to 1.16 m after DEM modification. By combining the recovered water area and the refined DEM, surface water volume (WV) is quantified. A comparison with the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) gravimetry retrieved equivalent water heights (EWHs) in 2002-2015 is conducted, where the correlation coefficient and root-mean-square of the EWH difference are 91.7% and 0.09 m, respectively.

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