Determining the geomorphic changes in Srinagar (Garhwal) valley, NW Himalaya in last two centuries using landscape painting

There are present several methods to study the landscape changes at decadal and thousand to million year time scale. However, there are rare methods to examine landscape changes at century scale. The datasets are even rarer to make such kind of studies in the Himalaya, one of the most dynamic areas. Landscape painting has been used successfully in the past in several areas to detect changes at century scale. In this study it is being used for the first time in the Himalaya to detect changes (since similar to 1790) at Srinagar valley (Garhwal) along the Alaknanda River, tributary of a large and important river of the Indian continent i.e., Ganga River. Results show rapid rate of erosion and incision resulting in formation of a terrace in past two centuries. The study also demonstrates southward shifting of the Alaknanda River during this period, which is in agreement with the long-term shifting pattern of the river. It is concluded that the rates of geomorphic processes at century scale are very important to understand the evolution of the landscape and more efforts are required to quantify these geomorphic rates.