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Dendrochronological reconstruction of snow avalanche activity in the Lahul Himalaya, Northern India

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  • Sarah Laxton
  • Dan Smith

Abstract

Mass wasting and avalanche events substantially impact the landscape morphology and consequently human habitation throughout the Himalaya. There is, however, a paucity of snow avalanche documentation for the region. The application of dendrochronologic research methods introduces a sensitive approach to document the recurrence of snow avalanche events in a region where historical records are either non-existent or difficult to access. An exploratory dendrochronologic study was undertaken in the Lahul Himalaya of Northern India during the summer of 2006. Included within the fieldwork was an assessment of avalanche track morphology to enable identification of the slope characteristics that might be associated with an increase in avalanche activity. Thirty-six trees growing on the Ratoli avalanche track were sampled. The oldest tree was a Cedrus deodara with a pith date of 1950. A tree-ring-derived avalanche response curve highlights four avalanche events that occurred from 1972 to 2006. The successful scientific results based on the application of the method used provide the basis for local planners to quantify slope failure hazards in forested areas throughout the western Himalaya. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Laxton & Dan Smith, 2009. "Dendrochronological reconstruction of snow avalanche activity in the Lahul Himalaya, Northern India," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 49(3), pages 459-467, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:49:y:2009:i:3:p:459-467
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-008-9288-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Kyoo-Man Ha, 2015. "Animals as valuable instinctive and ‘learned’ beings in the field of disaster management: a comparative perspective," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 75(2), pages 1047-1056, January.

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