Extremely fast Holocene coastal landscape evolution in the Kachchh Upland (NW India): Clues from a multidisciplinary review
- Authors: Srivastava E.; Malik J.N.; Parrino N.; Burrato P.; Sharma N.; Gadhavi M.; Sulli A.; Di Maggio C.; Gasparo Morticelli M.
- Publication year: 2023
- Type: Articolo in rivista
- OA Link: http://hdl.handle.net/10447/590361
Abstract
The coastal landscape of the Kachchh Upland (KU) region (NW-India) changed over the last few thousand years from a shallow marine gulf to a salty desert (1-4 meters asl). In this area, bordered to the south by the Northern Hill Range (NHR), the tectonic-climatic interaction triggered the sea level fall from +2/4 m circa (6000-2000 BP) to zero. An ancient river pattern deposited a tidally regulated delta area during the sea level fall that stopped 2000-3000 years ago due to tectonic activity and a dry climate. Deltaic-alluvial fans (DAF) in front of the NHR suggest that the KU's tectonic activity led to fast landscape evolution. We explored such drastic changes by integrating scientific information from a multidisciplinary literature review, identifying terraces and DAFs, and inferring faults through landform recognition, quantitative morphometry, and field surveys. Our interpretation, summarized in a map, provides new information on active processes along the NHR.