U-series disequilibria in suspended river sediments and implication for sediment transfer time in alluvial plains: the case of the Himalayan rivers.

International audience238U–234U–230Th radioactive disequilibria were analyzed in suspended sediments (collected at different depths) from the Ganges River and one of its main tributaries: the Narayani–Gandak River. Results associated with bedload sediment data suggest that uranium-series (U-series) disequilibria in river sediments of the Ganges basin vary with grain size and sampling location. The range of observed U-series disequilibria is explained by a mixing model between a coarse-grained sediment endmember, represented by bedload and bank sediments, and a fine-grained end-member that both originate from Himalaya but undergo different transfer histories within the plain. The coarse-grained sediment end-member transits slowly (i.e. >several 100's ky) in the plain whereas the fine-grained sediment end-member is transferred much faster (