Flexural deformation controls on Late Quaternary sediment dispersal in the Garo-Rajmahal Gap, NW Bengal Basin

Jean Louis Grimaud; Celine Grall; Steven Goodbred; Michael S. Steckler; Ryan Sincavage; Jennifer L. Pickering; Chris Paola; Leonardo Seeber; Md Saddam Hossain

doi:10.1111/bre.12425

Flexural deformation controls on Late Quaternary sediment dispersal in the Garo-Rajmahal Gap, NW Bengal Basin

Jean Louis Grimaud, Celine Grall, Steven Goodbred, Michael S. Steckler, Ryan Sincavage, Jennifer L. Pickering, Chris Paola, Leonardo Seeber, Md Saddam Hossain

Earth and Environmental Sciences-Twin Cities

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6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Subsurface deformation is a driver for river path selection when deformation rates become comparable to the autogenic mobility rate of rivers. Here we combine geomorphology, soil and sediment facies analyses, and geophysical data of the Late Quaternary sediments of the central Garo-Rajmahal Gap in Northwest Bengal to link subsurface deformation with surface processes. We show variable sedimentation characteristics, from slow rates ('0.8 mm/year) in the Tista megafan at the foot of the Himalaya to nondeposition at the exposed surface of the Barind Tract to the south, enabling the development of mature soils. Combined subsidence in the Tista fan and uplift of the Barind Tract are consistent with a N-S flexural response of the Indian plate to loading of the Himalaya Mountains given a low value of elastic thickness (15–25 km). Provenance analysis based on bulk strontium concentration suggests a dispersal of sediment consistent with this flexural deformation—in particular the abandonment of the Barind Tract by a Pleistocene Brahmaputra River and the current extents of the Tista megafan lobes. Overall, these results highlight the control by deeply rooted deformation patterns on the routing of sediment by large rivers in foreland settings.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1252-1270
Number of pages	19
Journal	Basin Research
Volume	32
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12425
State	Published - Oct 1 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the SAFL Industrial Consortium for Experimental Stratigraphy and the BanglaPIRE project, NSF Partnerships for International Research and Education grant OISE 09‐68354. We are grateful to Robert Hall, Neils Hovius and his colleagues at GFZ Postdam, and Christian France‐Lanord for discussions and comments on this work. We thank the Bureau Gravimétrique International (BGI)/International Association of Geodesy for access to data. Lamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory publication number 8371.

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the SAFL Industrial Consortium for Experimental Stratigraphy and the BanglaPIRE project, NSF Partnerships for International Research and Education grant OISE 09-68354. We are grateful to Robert Hall, Neils Hovius and his colleagues at GFZ Postdam, and Christian France-Lanord for discussions and comments on this work. We thank the Bureau Gravim?trique International (BGI)/International Association of Geodesy for access to data. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory publication number 8371.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Authors. Basin Research © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers and International Association of Sedimentologists

Keywords

geophysics
river
sediment routing
tectonics
weathering

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title = "Flexural deformation controls on Late Quaternary sediment dispersal in the Garo-Rajmahal Gap, NW Bengal Basin",

abstract = "Subsurface deformation is a driver for river path selection when deformation rates become comparable to the autogenic mobility rate of rivers. Here we combine geomorphology, soil and sediment facies analyses, and geophysical data of the Late Quaternary sediments of the central Garo-Rajmahal Gap in Northwest Bengal to link subsurface deformation with surface processes. We show variable sedimentation characteristics, from slow rates ('0.8 mm/year) in the Tista megafan at the foot of the Himalaya to nondeposition at the exposed surface of the Barind Tract to the south, enabling the development of mature soils. Combined subsidence in the Tista fan and uplift of the Barind Tract are consistent with a N-S flexural response of the Indian plate to loading of the Himalaya Mountains given a low value of elastic thickness (15–25 km). Provenance analysis based on bulk strontium concentration suggests a dispersal of sediment consistent with this flexural deformation—in particular the abandonment of the Barind Tract by a Pleistocene Brahmaputra River and the current extents of the Tista megafan lobes. Overall, these results highlight the control by deeply rooted deformation patterns on the routing of sediment by large rivers in foreland settings.",

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note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the SAFL Industrial Consortium for Experimental Stratigraphy and the BanglaPIRE project, NSF Partnerships for International Research and Education grant OISE 09‐68354. We are grateful to Robert Hall, Neils Hovius and his colleagues at GFZ Postdam, and Christian France‐Lanord for discussions and comments on this work. We thank the Bureau Gravim{\'e}trique International (BGI)/International Association of Geodesy for access to data. Lamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory publication number 8371. Funding Information: This work was supported by the SAFL Industrial Consortium for Experimental Stratigraphy and the BanglaPIRE project, NSF Partnerships for International Research and Education grant OISE 09-68354. We are grateful to Robert Hall, Neils Hovius and his colleagues at GFZ Postdam, and Christian France-Lanord for discussions and comments on this work. We thank the Bureau Gravim?trique International (BGI)/International Association of Geodesy for access to data. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory publication number 8371. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 The Authors. Basin Research {\textcopyright} 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers and International Association of Sedimentologists",

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AU - Sincavage, Ryan

AU - Pickering, Jennifer L.

AU - Paola, Chris

AU - Seeber, Leonardo

AU - Hossain, Md Saddam

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Flexural deformation controls on Late Quaternary sediment dispersal in the Garo-Rajmahal Gap, NW Bengal Basin

Abstract

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Keywords

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