Luminescence chronology of incision and channel pattern changes in the River Ganga, India

The River Ganga in the central Gangetic plain shows the incision of ∼20 m of Late Quaternary sediments that form a vast upland terrace (T2). The incised Ganga River Valley shows two terraces, namely the river valley (terrace-T1) and the present-day flood plain (terrace-T0). Terrace-T1 shows the presence of meander scars, oxbow lakes, scroll plains, which suggests that a meandering river system prevailed in the past. The present-day river channel flows on terrace-T0 and is braided, sensu stricto. It is thus inferred that the River Ganga experienced at least two phases of tectonic adjustments: (1) incision and (2) channel metamorphosis from meandering to braided. l dating of samples from three different terraces has bracketed the phase of incision to be <6 and 4 ka. Different ages of the top of terrace-T2 show that this surface experienced differential erosion due to tectonic upwarping in the region, which also caused the river incision. River metamorphosis occurred some time during 4 and 0.5 ka.