Hindu Kush Mountains Research Articles

Quantification of spatial temporal variability of snow cover and hydro-climatic variables based on multi-source remote sensing data in the Swat watershed, Hindukush Mountains, Pakistan

The northern part of Hindukush Mountains has a perplexing environment due to the influence of adjacent mountains of Himalaya, Karakoram, and Tibetan Plateau. Although reliable evidences of climate change are available; however, a clear knowledge of snow cover dynamics in the context of climate change is missing for this region. In this study, we used various remotely sensed (TRMM precipitation product, while MODIS temperature and snow cover products) and gauge-based datasets to quantify the spatiotemporal variability of climatic variables and their turn effects over the snow cover area (SCA) and river discharge in the Swat watershed, northern Hindukush Mountains, Pakistan. The Mann–Kendall method and Sen’s slope estimator were used to estimate the trends in SCA and hydro-climatic variables, at 5% significant level (P = 0.05). Results show that the winter and springs temperatures have increased (at the rate of 0.079 and 0.059 °C year−1, respectively), while decreasing in the summer and autumn (at the rate of 0.049 and 0.070 °C year−1, respectively). Basin-wide increasing tendency of precipitation was identified with a highest increasing rate of 3.563 mm year−1 in the spring season. A decreasing trend in the winter SCA (at the rate of -0.275% year−1) and increasing trends in other seasons were identified. An increasing tendency of river discharge on annual and seasonal scales was also witnessed. The seasonal variations in discharge showed significant positive and negative relationships with temperature and SCA, respectively. We conclude that the future variations in the temperature and SCA in the higher altitudes of the Swat watershed could substantially affect the seasonality of the river discharge. Moreover, it implies that the effect of ongoing global warming on the SCA in the snowmelt-dominated river basins needs to be considered for sustainable regional planning and management of water resources, hydropower production, and downstream irrigation scheduling.

Deep Blue Geomediations: Following Lapis Lazuli in Three Ecological Assemblages

Deep Blue Geomediations:Following Lapis Lazuli in Three Ecological Assemblages Patricia Pisters (bio) Stones, like us, stand at the intersection of countless lines crossing one another and receding to infinity, at the center of a field of forces too unpredictable to be measured… (Yourcenar xix) Mining the Blue Mountain: Matter-Flow of the Machinic Phylum On my desk, next to my laptop, a small piece of lapis lazuli. My eye is captured by the intense blue from its most important component, the mineral lazurite. The stone also contains white calcite specks and some metallic glistering from its pyrite elements. Looking at the play of colors, feeling the weight and the surface of the rocky material, I am reminded of Marguerite Yourcenar's words at the end of her introduction to Caillois's The Writing of Stones when she invokes stones as force fields "at the intersection of countless lines crossing one another" (Yourcenar xix). And I wonder, what are the force fields and intersecting lines "receding to infinity" contained in this small piece of earthly material? How has this ultramarine blue become "the most perfect of all colors" (Cennini 36), as described by Cennini in his famous The Craftman's Handbook of the late Middle Ages? How has lapis lazuli traveled in the world, as an aesthetic object, as a perfect pigment for the most beautiful blue, but also been implicated in economic and political forces? What kind of "geomediations" traverse this deep blue stone? And if all these forces are too unpredictable to measure, as Yourcenar contended, is there another way to uncover some of the complex entanglements of the material and immaterial dimensions of this particular aspect of the lithosphere? A good starting place might be the Blue Mountain (Koh-e-Laguard) of the Sar-e-Sang mines in East Afghanistan where since 6,000 BC the best quality lapis lazuli has been extracted from the earth. In 2009, artist Pieter Paul Pothoven traveled to Afghanistan in search for the Sar-e-Sang mines.1 Intrigued by the extreme stability of the rocky [End Page 36] material in an extremely unstable environment (Afghanistan is a contested and mediated area in geopolitics, as will be discussed below), Pothoven started his investigations by traversing the inhospitable landscape of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Badakhshan, reaching the mines after an arduous journey. He was able to buy some of the stones from the local miners and, since then, has made a series of ongoing art works that invoke both the material and spiritual qualities of the stone and question the geophysical and political dimensions of art history and contemporary media culture. These works will be my guides in uncovering some of the hidden dimensions of the blue stone. Other guidelines are offered by new materialist philosophy that acknowledges the profound connections between the human and nonhuman, inspired by the work of Deleuze and Guattari.2 In A Thousand Plateaus, Deleuze and Guattari discuss mining in connection to metallurgy, miners and smiths being the first metallurgists that know how to follow and transform the forces of matter (404–415). While their remarks are mostly related to metal, Deleuze and Guattari indicate that also wood, clay, stones and minerals can be taken into account when they argue that metallurgy is not an exact science that discovers universal stable laws, since metallurgy is inseparable from several lines of variation: according to different qualities of the material itself (quality of the ore, varieties of the stones) and according to different processes of transformation (washing, polishing, grinding, mixing with wax and gum, heating, etc.). These variables make the materials both of singular order (each piece of rock is different), and according to its transformation processes, expressive of different levels of affective qualities. Deleuze and Guattari introduce the concept of a "machinic phylum," which they define as "materiality, natural or artificial, and both simultaneously; it is matter in movement, in flux, in variation, matter as a conveyor of singularities and traits of expression" (409). Because of its constant flow and variation, the machinic phylum is very hard to measure indeed. Therefore, Deleuze and Guattari argue that the "matter-flow can only be followed" (409).3 So let...

Phylogeny and biogeography of Artemisia subgenus Seriphidium (Asteraceae: Anthemideae)

AbstractArtemisia subg. Seriphidium is one of the largest groups within Artemisia, encompassing more than one hundred species, some of them having considerable ecological and economical importance. However, the evolution of subg. Seriphidium has received less attention in comparison to other subgenera of Artemisia, probably, apart from the difficulty of sampling throughout its very large distribution area, because of the low molecular and morphological variability observed in previous studies. Here, we use thorough taxonomic sampling within both Artemisia and subg. Seriphidium to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the subgenus, employing nuclear and plastid DNA sequences as well as various phylogenetic, biogeographic and diversification dynamics tools to analyse the data. Our results show that subg. Seriphidium is not monophyletic, but segregated into two main clades: one large monophyletic group corresponding to the formerly recognised sect. Seriphidium and a second, small clade, phylogenetically distant from the first. Biogeographic and diversification analyses indicate that a rapid radiation of species within sect. Seriphidium occurred in Central Asia during the Miocene‐Pliocene transition. The results of our biogeographic analysis suggest that this diversification process started around the Tian‐Shan, Pamir and Hindu Kush mountain ranges, subsequently expanding into the Eurasian continent. Finally, we uncovered numerous incongruences between taxonomic and genetic information in several sect. Seriphidium species, which could be explained by morphological uniformity, hybridisation and/or incomplete lineage sorting processes.

Precipitation‐driven glacier changes in the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains

AbstractGlaciers in the Pamir‐Hindu Kush‐Karakoram appear to be less influenced by global warming and have instead experienced slight gains in mass, unlike most other glaciers around the world. Here we apply laser altimetry and satellite‐derived precipitation products to characterize the relationship between the glaciers and precipitation. We found a strong correlation (r ≥ 0.92, p < 0.005) between the year‐to‐year changes in glacier thickness and precipitation in the Pamir and Hindu Kush from 2003 to 2008, indicating the primary role of precipitation in the glacier changes. The amount of precipitation in the glacial region is underestimated by approximately 7 ± 2 times in the gridded precipitation product. This underestimation is attributed to the low resolution and lack of orographic precipitation in the gridded products. The long‐term precipitation data show strong interannual variations, which probably cause similar variations in glaciers and biases in previous glacier mass change estimates.

Evaluating the impact of classification algorithms and spatial resolution on the accuracy of land cover mapping in a mountain environment in Pakistan

Satellite images of various spatial resolutions and different image classification techniques have been utilized for land cover (LC) mapping at local and regional scale studies. Mapping capabilities and achievable accuracies of LC classification in a mountain environment are, however, influenced by the spatial resolution of the utilized images and applied classification techniques. Hence, developing and characterizing regionally optimized methods are essential for the planning and monitoring of natural resources. In this study, the potential of four non-parametric image classification techniques, i.e., k-nearest neighbor (k-NN), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and neural network (NN) on the accuracy of LC classification was evaluated in the Hindu Kush mountains ranges of northern Pakistan. Moreover, we have assessed the impact of the spatial resolution of the utilized satellite imagery, i.e., SPOT-5 with 2.5 m and Landsat-8 with 30 m on the accuracy of the derived LC classification. For the classification of LC based on SPOT-5, we have achieved the highest overall classification accuracy (OCA) = 89% with kappa coefficient (KC = 0.86) using SVM followed by k-NN, RF, and NN. However, for LC classification derived from Landsat-8 imagery, we achieved the highest OCA = 71% with KC = 0.59 using RF and SVM followed by k-NN and NN. The higher accuracy derived from SPOT-5 versus Landsat-8 indicated that the results of LC classification based on SPOT-5 are more accurate and reliable than Landsat-8. The findings of the present study will be useful for the classification and mapping task of LC in a mountain environment using SPOT-5 and Landsat-8 at local and regional scale studies.

Morphometric Analysis of Gilgit River Basin in Mountainous Region of Gilgit-Baltistan Province, Northern Pakistan

Watershed morphometric analysis of a basin is key to understand the hydrological processes. The Gilgit river basin is situated in the Hindu Kush and Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan. The provincial capital of Gilgit-Baltistan is located in the lower part of the basin. Morphometric evaluation of the Gilgit river basin was carried out to study its drainage characteristics and overall water resource potential. The entire Gilgit river basin has been divided into six sub-basins to calculate and analyze the selected morphometric parameters. Morphometric parameters have been classified into linear, aerial and relief aspect. Geographic Information System (GIS) provides a viable method to extract and evaluate the characteristic of hydrological response behaviour of the basin. In the present study the utilization of remote sensing data such as Thermal Topography Mission and Global Elevation Model (ASTER-GDEM), Sentinel 2A image, coupled with geological and field data into GIS environment for morphometric analysis of Gilgit Basin. The drainage area of the basin is 13,538 km2 and shows a dendritic drainage pattern for all sub-basins. The analysis reveals that drainage network of entire Gilgit river basin constitutes a 7th order basin. Out of six sub-basins, Gilgit-Gahkuch (B1), Ishkoman (B2) and Phunder (B4) are 6th order sub-basins. Yasin (B3) and Gupis (B5) are 5th order sub-basins, while Bagrot (B6) is a 4th order sub-basin. The Gilgit Basin drainage density value is 0.50 km/km2, which indicates a well-drained basin. Morphometric parameters like stream number, order, length, bifurcation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, elongation ratio, circularity ratio, form factor, relief and relative relief, slope, length of overland flow, ruggedness number, and hypsometric integral are calculated. The results indicate that the entire drainage basin area reflects youthful to early mature stage of the fluvial geomorphic cycle and high potential of stream discharge which is dominated by high relief, rainfall, glacier and snow fed order streams.

“We are the soul, pearl and beauty of Hindu Kush Mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of Kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in Pakistan

ABSTRACTThe Kalasha are a marginalized ethnic and religious minority group in northern Pakistan. The Kalasha minority is known for their divergent polytheistic beliefs, and represents the outliers of the collectively monotheistic Muslim population of Pakistan. This study aimed to explore the psychological resilience beliefs and lived experiences of the Kalasha and to identify cultural protective factors and indigenous beliefs that help them maintain psychological wellbeing and resilience. Seven semi-structured interviews and two focus-group discussions were conducted. The total sample consisted of 6 women and 8 men, aged 20–58 years (Mage = 36.29, SD = 12.58). The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis qualitative method was chosen. Study findings identified that factors contributing to the wellbeing, happiness and resilience enhancement beliefs of Kalasha included five main themes, all influenced by their unique spirituality: contentment, pride in social identity, tolerance, gender collaboration and gratitude. The study also revealed the Kalasha’s perception of their marginalization related to challenges and threats. The Kalasha emphasized bringing these resilience enhancement beliefs into practice, as a mean to buffer against challenges. In conclusion, this study revealed Kalasha’s wellbeing and resilience enhancement factors, which they believed in and practiced as an element of their indigenous culture and religion.

PALEOLIMNOLOGY OF LAKE HAMOUN (E IRAN): IMPLICATION FOR PAST CLIMATE CHANGES AND POSSIBLE IMPACTS ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

Abstract: Environmental changes since the late deglaciation are reconstructed from the sediment of Lake Hamoun. Lake Hamoun is located at the border of Iran and Afghanistan where inflowing rivers originate from the drainage basins of SW Hindu Kush Mountains and westernmost Himalaya. The lake has experienced a complex hydrological history during the late Quaternary due to climatic changes. Geochemical, sedimentological, and paleontological proxies as well as geomorphological data were used to investigate environmental changes of the lake. The results demonstrate that since the late glacial, the basin has directly and/or indirectly received its moisture from various climatic systems. During the early Holocene, both the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and the mid-latitude westerlies (MLW) intensified and consequently the basin received higher precipitation. This interpretation is supported by higher content of total organic matter (mean: 8.2%), finer-grained sediments with low δ18O values (mean: -3.5‰), as well ...

Estimation of Discharge From Upper Kabul River Basin, Afghanistan Using the Snowmelt Runoff Model

In this study, we estimated discharge from Upper Kabul River basin in the Hindu Kush Mountain (Paghman range) in Afghanistan. The Upper Kabul River basin covers an area of 1633.8km2 with a maximum elevation of 4522 m and minimum elevation of 1877 m. The Kabul River is one of the main rivers in Afghanistan and sustains a significant flow of water in summer months due to the melting of snow. In this study, daily discharge from Upper Kabul River basin, west of Kabul basin, for 2009 and 2011 is estimated by using Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM) (Version 1.12, 2009), originally developed my J. Martinec in 1975. Daily precipitation, air temperature, discharge and snow cover data are used in the model as input variables. We calibrated the model for 2009 and validated in 2011. The observed and calculated annual average discharges in 2009 are 5.7m3/s and 5.6m3/s, respectively; and in 2011 are 1.33m3/s and 1.31m3/s, respectively. The model results are in good agreement with the measured daily discharges. With an increase of 1°C in temperature and 10% precipitation, the increase in discharge in winter, summer and annually relative to 2009 discharge are 39%, 18.5% and 17.9%, respectively. Similarly, with an increase of 2°C in temperature and 20% in precipitation, modeled discharge increases by 51.2%, 40.8% and 47.3%, respectively. The results obtained suggest that the SRM can be used efficiently for estimating discharge in the snow fed sub-catchment of the Upper Kabul River basin and other mountain basins in Afghanistan.Journal of Hydrology and Meteorology, Vol. 9(1) 2015, p.85-94

Application of the Snowmelt Runoff Model in the Salang River Basin, Afghanistan Using MODIS Satellite Data

This study is carried out on the Salang River basin, which is located at the northern part of the Kabul River basin, and in the south facing slope of the Hindu Kush Mountains. The basin drains through the Salang River, which is one of the tributaries of the Panjshir River. The basin covers an area of 485.9km2 with a minimum elevation of 1653 m a.s.l. and a maximum elevation of 4770 m a.s.l. The Salang River sustains a substantial flow of water in summer months due to the melting of snow. In this study, we estimate daily discharge of Salang River from 2009 to 2011 using the Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM, Version 1.12, 2009), originally developed by J. Martinec in 1975. The model uses daily observed precipitation, air temperature and snow cover data as input variables from which discharge is computed. The model is calibrated for the year 2009 and validated for 2010 and 2011. The observed and calculated annual average discharges for the calibration year 2009 are 11.57m3s-1 and 10.73m3s-1, respectively. Similarly, the observed and calculated annual average discharges for the validation year 2010 are 11.55m3s-1 and 10.07m3s-1, respectively and for 2011, the discharges are 9.05 m3s-1 and 9.6m3s-1, respectively. The model is also tested by changing temperature and precipitation for the year 2009. With an increase of 1°C in temperature and 10% in precipitation, the increases in discharge for winter, summer and annually are 21.8%, 13.5% and 14.8%, respectively. With an increase of 2°C in temperature and 20% in precipitation, the increases are 48.5%, 43.3% and 44.1%, respectively. The results obtained suggest that the SRM can be used as a promising tool to estimate the river discharge of the snow fed mountainous river basins of Afghanistan and to study the impact of climate change on river flow pattern of such basins.Journal of Hydrology and Meteorology, Vol. 9(1) 2015, p.109-118

Ecological Assessment of Plant Communities and Associated Edaphic and Topographic Variables in the Peochar Valley of the Hindu Kush Mountains

This study quantified the effect of environmental variables on plant species composition in the Peochar Valley, located in the Hindu Raj mountains of the Hindu Kush. A mixture of quadrat and transect methods were used. Quadrat sizes were 10 × 10 m, 2 × 5 m, and 1 m2 for trees, shrubs, and herbs, respectively, determined using the minimal area method. Twenty-seven stations were established along 6 elevation transects on slopes with various aspects. Density, cover, and frequency were recorded for all species in each quadrat. Aspect, elevation, rock types, soil nature, and grazing pressure were also considered as edaphic and topographic variables. Preliminary results showed that the Peochar Valley hosts 120 species. Presence/absence data for these species were analyzed with cluster and 2-way cluster techniques to elaborate species composition in the study area; this resulted in 4 plant communities. Species abundance and environmental data matrices were developed to evaluate the ecological gradient of vegetat...

Spatial assessment of forest cover and land-use changes in the Hindu-Kush mountain ranges of northern Pakistan

Anthropogenic activities and natural processes are continuously altering the mountainous environment through deforestation, forest degradation and other land-use changes. It is highly important to assess, monitor and forecast forest cover and other land-use changes for the protection and conservation of mountainous environment. The present study deals with the assessment of forest cover and other land-use changes in the mountain ranges of Dir Kohistan in northern Pakistan, using high resolution multi-temporal SPOT-5 satellite images. The SPOT-5 satellite images of years 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013 were acquired and classified into land-cover units. In addition, forest cover and land-use change detection map was developed using the classified maps of 2004 and2013.The classified maps were verified through random field samples and Google Earth imagery (Quick birds and SPOT-5). The results showed that during the period 2004 to 2013 the area of forest land decreased by 6.4%, however, area of range land and agriculture land have increased by 22.1% and 2.9%, respectively. Similarly, barren land increased by 1.1%, whereas, area of snow cover/glacier is significantly decreased by 21.3%. The findings from the study will be useful for forestry and landscape planning and can be utilized by the local, provincial and national forest departments; and REDD+ policy makers in Pakistan.

Comparison of two successive versions 6 and 7 of TMPA satellite precipitation products with rain gauge data over Swat Watershed, Hindukush Mountains, Pakistan

AbstractSwat watershed in Hindukush Mountains was selected for the evaluation of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi‐satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) Versions 6 and 7 using rain‐gauge data. Agreement between the satellite and gauge estimates was good at monthly scale but poor at daily and seasonal (monsoon and westerlies, particularly for monsoon) scales. Over and underestimations were observed at foothills and high‐altitude areas, respectively. Although, bias was still present, but overall performance of TMPA‐V7 was improved compared with TMPA‐V6. Bias corrected‐TMPA‐V7 estimates were better than corrected‐TMPA‐V6. Basin average bias‐corrected precipitation estimates of TMPA‐V7 were estimated at daily, monthly, westerlies, monsoon, and annual scales [means (mm) 1.60, 48, 190, 173 and 582, respectively] for the period 1998–2014. Results suggest that regional bias correction of satellite‐precipitation products is critical and can yield to the substantial improvement in capturing the precipitation.

Comparative assessment of spatiotemporal snow cover changes and hydrological behavior of the Gilgit, Astore and Hunza River basins (Hindukush–Karakoram–Himalaya region, Pakistan)

The Upper Indus Basin (UIB), situated in the Himalaya–Karakoram–Hindukush (HKH) mountain ranges, is the major contributor to the supply of water for irrigation in Pakistan. Improved management of downstream water resources requires studying and comparing spatiotemporal changes in the snow cover and hydrological behavior of the river basins located in the HKH region. This study explored in detail the recent changes that have occurred in the Gilgit River basin (12,656 km2; western sub-basin of UIB), which is characterized by a mean catchment elevation of 4250 m above sea level (m ASL). The basin’s snow cover was monitored through the snow products provided by the MODIS satellite sensor, while analysis of its hydrological regime was supported by hydrological and climatic data recorded at different altitudes. The Gilgit basin findings were compared to those previously obtained for the lower-altitude Astore basin (mean catchment elevation = 4100 m ASL) and the higher-altitude Hunza basin (mean catchment elevation = 4650 m ASL). These three catchments were selected because of their different glacier coverage, contrasting area distribution at high altitudes and significant impact on the Upper Indus River flow. Almost 7, 5 and 33 % of the area of the Gilgit, Astore and Hunza basins, respectively, are situated above 5000 m ASL, and approximately 8, 6 and 25 %, respectively, are covered by glaciers. The UIB region was found to follow a stable or slightly increasing trend in snow coverage and had a discharge dominated by snow and glacier melt in its western (Hindukush–Karakoram), southern (Western-Himalaya) and northern (Central-Karakoram) sub-basins.

Status of insecticide resistance in high-risk malaria provinces in Afghanistan.

BackgroundInsecticide resistance seriously threatens the efficacy of vector control interventions in malaria endemic countries. In Afghanistan, the status of insecticide resistance is largely unknown while distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets has intensified in recent years. The main objective of this study was thus to measure the level of resistance to four classes of insecticides in provinces with medium to high risk of malaria transmission.MethodsAdult female mosquitoes were reared from larvae successively collected in the provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar, Badakhshan, Ghazni and Laghman from August to October 2014. WHO insecticide susceptibility tests were performed with DDT (4 %), malathion (5 %), bendiocarb (0.1 %), permethrin (0.75 %) and deltamethrin (0.05 %). In addition, the presence of kdr mutations was investigated in deltamethrin resistant and susceptible Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes collected in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar.ResultsAnalyses of mortality rates revealed emerging resistance against all four classes of insecticides in the provinces located east and south of the Hindu Kush mountain range. Resistance is observed in both An. stephensi and Anopheles culicifacies, the two dominant malaria vectors in these provinces. Anopheles superpictus in the northern province of Badakhshan shows a different pattern of susceptibility with suspected resistance observed only for deltamethrin and bendiocarb. Genotype analysis of knock down resistance (kdr) mutations at the voltage-gated channel gene from An. stephensi mosquitoes shows the presence of the known resistant alleles L1014S and L1014F. However, a significant fraction of deltamethrin-resistant mosquitoes were homozygous for the 1014L wild type allele indicating that other mechanisms must be considered to account for the observed pyrethroid resistance.ConclusionsThis study confirms the importance of monitoring insecticide resistance for the development of an integrated vector management in Afghanistan. The validation of the kdr genotyping PCR assay applied to An. stephensi collected in Afghanistan paves the way for further studies into the mechanisms of insecticide resistance of malaria vectors in this region.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-016-1149-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Evaluation of High-Resolution Satellite-Based Real-Time and Post-Real-Time Precipitation Estimates during 2010 Extreme Flood Event in Swat River Basin, Hindukush Region

Satellite-based real-time and post-real-time precipitation estimates of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA-3B42) were evaluated during an extreme heavy precipitation event (on 28–30 July 2010) over Swat River Basin and adjacent areas in Hindukush Region. Observations of 15 rain gauging stations were used for the evaluation of TMPA products. Results showed that the spatial pattern of precipitation in the event was generally captured by post-real-time product (3B42V7) but misplaced by real-time product (3B42RT), witnessed by a high spatial correlation coefficient for 3B42V7 (CC = 0.87) and low spatial correlation coefficient for 3B42RT (CC = 0.20). The temporal variation of the storm precipitation was not well captured by both TMPA products. 3B42V7 product underestimated the storm accumulated precipitation by 32.15%, while underestimation by 3B42RT was 66.73%. Based on the findings of this study, we suggest that the latest TMPA-based precipitation products, 3B42RT and 3B42V7, might not be able to perform well during extreme precipitation events, particularly in complex terrain regions like Hindukush Mountains. Therefore, cautions should be considered while using 3B42RT and 3B42V7 as input data source for the modelling, forecasting, and monitoring of floods and potential landslides in Hindukush Region.

Meteorological regimes modulating dust outbreaks in southwest Asia: The role of pressure anomaly and Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone on the 1–3 July 2014 case

Abstract The present work examines the characteristics (source regions, pathways, vertical profiles) as well as the meteorological conditions and the role of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during a dust event on 1–3 July 2014 over southwest (SW) Asia. NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, meteorological and satellite remote sensing (MODIS, Meteosat, CALIPSO) observations are utilized. The major dust storm (AOD 550 up to 1.5–2.0) was generated in the southern Karakum desert in Turkmenistan as a result of intense north winds (Levar), due to enhanced pressure gradient between the Caspian Sea and Hindu Kush Mountains. The dust storm was vertically extended up to 5 km over the arid terrain of SW Asia, as a consequence of the deep mixing layer and increased convection, while over northern Arabian Sea it was mixed with another dust plume coming from Arabia and marine aerosols due to strong monsoon winds within the boundary layer. The regional topography, variations in pressure, monsoon circulation and the position of the ITCZ play a decisive role on modulation of the wind field, dust-storm pathways and vertical distribution of dust. Enhanced knowledge of atmospheric circulation and processes responsible for dust export over SW Asia and Arabian Sea in linkage to the Levar wind and Indian summer monsoon is essential for improving dust forecasts and simulations over the region.

Poverty Trends and Issues in the Remote Mountains of Northern Pakistan

This paper attempts to draw on experiences of policy interventions in fighting chronic poverty in remote rural areas (RRA) in the North of Pakistan, which straddle the Himalayan, Hindukush and Karakurum mountain ranges. Northern Areas, a classic spatial poverty trap, were landlocked until recently when the Karakurum Highway was constructed, connecting Islamabad to Southern China. Typically poor in geographical capital, with per capita incomes at a third of the national level, this area has recently been the subject of greater government investment, partly because of its strategic proximity to the Siachin Glacier and Kashmir. This paper analyzes the dynamics and challenges in an RRA opening up to new opportunities and livelihood options. The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (a Pakistani NGO) helped in this process through building on and enhancing social capital in these marginalized areas and leveraging it to improve the quantity and quality of human and produced capital. Not discounting the issues of attribution, this experience of fighting poverty through community driven development has recorded doubling of per capita incomes in real terms over a two-decade period.

The Kalash Genetic Isolate: Ancient divergence, drift and selection

The Kalash represent an enigmatic isolated population of Indo-European speakers who have been living for centuries in the Hindu Kush mountain ranges of present-day Pakistan. Previous Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA markers provided no support for their claimed Greek descent following invasion of this region by Alexander III of Macedon and analysis of autosomal loci provided evidence of a strong genetic bottleneck. To understand their origins and demography further, we genotyped 23 unrelated Kalash samples on the Illumina HumanOmni 2.5M-8 BeadChip and sequenced one male individual at high coverage on an Illumina Hi-Seq 2000. Comparison with published data from ancient hunter-gatherers and European farmers show that the Kalash share drift with the Paleolithic Siberian hunter-gatherer and may represent an extremely drifted ancient North Eurasian population which also contributed to European and Near Eastern ancestry. Since the split from other South Asian populations the Kalash have maintained a low long-term effective population size (2,319-2,603) and experienced no detectable gene flow from their geographic neighbors in Pakistan or from other extant Eurasian populations. The mean time of divergence between Kalash and other populations currently residing in this region, was estimated to be 11.8 (10.6 -12.6) thousand years ago, and thus they represent present day descendants of some of the earliest migrants into the Indian sub-continent from West Asia.

Two micro-areal developments in northwestern South Asia: Causative involuntatives and causee marking postpositions

Abstract This paper focuses on two language clusters in the region comprising the Hindu Kush mountains; Swat, Dir and Indus Kohistan (Pakistan); and the Himalayan foothills (HKKH region). The languages considered are Kalasha, Khowar, Palula, Dameli, Torwali, Kohistani, Shina, Kashmiri, Pashai and some of the Nuristani languages. One cluster of languages shares the expression of non-volitional semantics by derived transitive/causative verb forms, previously discussed as “causative involuntatives” or “impersonal causative expressions”. Two apparent subtypes are identified and mapped. A second, partially overlapping, cluster shares the use of a grammaticized conjunctive participle of a causative form of a reflex of the OIA √sañj as a postposition marking the secondary agent in causative constructions. The paper presents data illustrating these features, delimits the regions in which they appear, and characterizes these two microareas. The data indicate a clear geographical split between those languages in which reflexes of √sañj express this cluster of meanings, which seem to share descent from Gāndhārī Prakrit and possibly other unrecorded MIA varieties, and those which have developed words with similar meanings from √lag.