Distribution and characteristics of debris flows in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

Abstract

This dataset, based on historical data collection, field survey and remote sensing images interpretation, combined with ASTER GDEM (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model) V3 and geological maps, provides the latest debris flow inventory, distribution and characteristic information of debris flows in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Debris flows are mainly distributed in the northern mountainous areas in Pakistan and part of China in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, ranging from 34.0°N to 39.5°N, 71.0°E to 77.0°E, including the western Kunlun Mountains, the northern Kara Kunlun Mountains, the eastern Hindu Kush Mountains and the northern Himalayas, with a total area of around 169,000 km2. Three sub-datasets are provided as follows: extent of the region where debris flows distribute in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in shapefile format, Debris flow watersheds in shapefile format, and parameter statistics for each debris flow gully. The parameters for each debris flow gully include: debris flow type, longitude of outfall, latitude of outfall, left or right bank, watershed area, average elevation, relative elevation difference, maximum slope , average slope, gully bed gradient, lithology classification value, fault density, average annual precipitation, maximum temperature, river network density, etc. The extraction of debris flow basins mainly adopts the hydrological analysis method in ArcGIS, taking into account the accuracy limitations of DEM, and combining with Google Earth images for necessary manual correction. The precipitation and temperature parameter information is taken from daily precipitation and Temperature data from 1961 to 2015. This debris flow dataset is the latest debris flow cataloging data in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The data information is reliable and can be used as a fundamental dataset for the debris flow researches in this region.