The Interaction of climate-tectonic-landscape and erosion in the Hindikush Himalayas: Integrated approach of remotes sensing techniques, laboratory experiment simulations and ground truth validation
Résumé
Extreme and hardly accessible terrain in the High Himalayas make field studies on a large scale impossible. Yet, an integrative approach of several remote sensing techniques in combination with field studies, task oriented experimental simulation and numeric modeling provides the necessary tools to the understanding coupling processes. Climate, tectonic uplift, erosion and landscape morphology are key issues for the global understanding of environmental processes. New remote sensing technologies have the capability of measuring physical parameters, such as precipitation, landuse, vegetation coverage, soil moisture and tectonic uplift with an area wide coverage and an high spatial resolution. Integrated experimental simulations can provide insights on principal properties and about the parameter interaction, responsible for the landscape evolution. In theory landscapes evolution depends on the coupling feedbacks effects, e.g. when erosion does not compensate uplift, the topography becomes uplifted, which is defined as surface uplift (surface uplift = tectonic uplift - erosion). So far no physical demonstration supports this theoretical approach, which presently is based on intuitive assumptions concerning geomorphological processes. Numeric modulation on the basis of the principle properties from experimental simulations and with remotely acquired area wide parameter input, provides a powerful tool to understand the acting processes in the Himalayas.