Himalayan geology, low-temperature thermochronology, millennial-scale erosion rates, and topographic analysis compilation, December 2023

Published data on the geology, low-temperature thermochronology, and catchment-mean erosion rates derived from cosmogenic 10Be concentrations in alluvial sediment at catchment outlets were compiled (final compilation December 14, 2023) and combined with topographic analyses to characterize spatial and temporal patterns in erosion rates throughout the Himalaya from ~72° E to ~93° E. Compiled published data and GIS layers include: (1) a synthesis of mapped traces of major faults (as shapefiles); (2) a geologic map of major fault-bound tectono-stratigraphic rock packages (shapefile); (3) apatite (U-Th)/He (ApHe) cooling ages (shapefile and data table); (4) apatite fission track (ApFT) cooling ages (shapefile and data table); (5) zircon (U-Th)/He (ZrnHe) cooling ages (shapefile and data table); and (6) cosmogenic 10Be catchment-mean erosion rates (shapefiles and data table). Topographic analyses supporting interpretation of these data published here include: (1) the mapped trace of the high Himalayan topographic front (HHTF) (shapefile); (2) a small circle fit to the HHTF (shapefile); (3) topographic and climate-variable statistics characterizing each cosmogenic 10Be catchment (shapefiles and data table); (4) rainfall-weighted channel steepness index values along Himalayan stream networks (shapefile); (5) a continuous grid of the rainfall-weighted channel steepness index for the Himalaya (geotif raster); and (6) a continuous grid of estimated millennial-scale erosion rates for the Himalaya (geotif raster). References for all previously published data included in these compilations are included in the associated paper (Whipple et al., 2024, Journal of Geology https://doi.org/10.1086/731260).