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Abstract

Rainfall is an important driver of erosion processes. The mean rainfall rate is often used to account for the erosive impact of a particular climate. However, for some erosion processes, erosion rate is a nonlinear function of rainfall, e.g., due to a threshold for erosion. When this is the case, it is important to take into account the full distribution of rainfall, instead of just the mean. In light of this, we have characterized the variability of daily rainfall over the Himalayan orogen using high spatial and temporal resolution rainfall data sets. We find significant variations in rainfall variability over the Himalayan orogen, with increasing rainfall variability to the west and north of the orogen. By taking into account variability of rainfall in addition to mean rainfall rate, we find a pattern of rainfall that, from a geomorphological perspective, is significantly different from mean rainfall rate alone. Using these findings, we argue that short-term rainfall variability may help explain observed short and long-term erosion rates in the Himalayan orogen.