Researchers from India and the United Kingdom are collaborating to gain a deeper insight into the consequences of the devastating ice-rock mass avalanche in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand in 2021, which led to a rapid debris-filled flood claiming the lives of 200 individuals and causing extensive damage.
The project, worth Rs 110 million and supported by the Natural Environment Research Council under UK Research and Innovation, will concentrate on the Rishiganga-Dhauliganga catchment area along the 150km section of the Ganga river. Scientists will analyze the data collected by drones and satellite images after a disaster to track the changes in the environment and river basin, which will help predict the lasting impact of debris flow in future disasters.
We conducted numerous research projects in the past, but there is still a great deal more to understand about the lasting impacts of such disasters. For example, the significant sediment movement has caused erosion near the slopes leading to Reni village, potentially worsening the local land sinking.
Dr Kalachand Sain, Director of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun, stated that having knowledge of the numerous villages and communities in the region is essential for effectively guiding development work and enhancing disaster-mitigation efforts.
The project, called SUPERSLUG, which lasted for three years, is named after the massive amount of debris generated by these natural disasters in the river. The UK’s University of Plymouth will lead the project, joined by experts from the universities of Exeter, Hull, Leeds, Newcastle, and Staffordshire, Canada’s University of Calgary, and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, and the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun. The initial team is scheduled to travel to Chamoli in November of this year.
The main area of interest will be the significant amount of sediments carried during these destructive landslides, which can continue to affect the river basin for many years even after the initial threat has subsided. Matt Westoby, the project lead and an Associate Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Plymouth, emphasized the crucial need to comprehend how these impacts affect river catchments and the communities dependent on them for various needs such as water, power, and livelihoods. The study has significant consequences for the earthquake-prone Himalayan area, which is expected to experience more disasters due to climate change and heightened deforestation.
Mountainous areas like the Himalayas are some of the most dynamic and dangerous regions on Earth. Dr Westoby stated that the impact of a shifting worldwide climate will worsen the danger by causing more severe monsoons resulting in more landslides, and the shrinking of glacial ice leading to unstable landscapes and widespread floods.
The team plans to use the data in order to create and evaluate numerical models that can forecast the potential long-term effects of upcoming and past extreme events, including their timing and location. Seismic sensors and automatic water-level monitoring will be used to investigate the debris flow as well.
Frequently, the rocks, massive boulders, and large amount of sediment are responsible for the majority of the destruction, rather than the floodwater itself. It is believed that this large amount of sediment could move downstream in a manner similar to a wave or slug of sediment. However, the amount of time it takes for it to pass is mostly uncertain. It could be many years, decades, or centuries. Tom Coulthard, a Physical Geography Professor at the University of Hull, emphasized the importance of knowing how long a sediment slug remains in order to effectively control and anticipate their consequences.
Researchers from around the globe extensively analyzed the Chamoli tragedy, with some even making trips to the location to comprehend the factors that contributed to it. Dr. Sain, Director of WIHG, believes that this knowledge can be applied to conduct comparable research on other river basins at risk of similar disasters. We have been conducting these studies for many years. Nevertheless, this field of study will only prove beneficial if it is implemented to improve disaster prevention in the future. “It is essential that all individuals – including communities and officials – acknowledge and integrate these discoveries and alerts into the development of policies,” he commented.