Drainage geomorphic evolution in response to paleoclimatic changes since 12.8 ka in the eastern Kunlun Mountains, NE Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

An, Fuyuan; Liu, Xiang-Jun; Zhang, Qixing; Wang, Yixuan; Chen, Tian-Yuan; Yu, Lupeng; Lu, Baoliang; Chang, Qiufang

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2018.07.016

Cited by 14 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…The Northeastern TP, with a series of high mountains, basins, alpine steppes, and deep-cutting gorges, covers an area of ∼580,000 km 2 (Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Qinghai Province, 1991). The extensively developed basinmountain systems are the distinguishing topographical feature in this region (Kapp et al, 2011;An et al, 2018b). The diastrophism in this region shows large-scale crustal shortening and strike-slip faults during the late Cenozoic (Yuan et al, 2011).…”

Section: Study Area and Environmental Parametersmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The alluvial fans associated with strong orographic weathering developed on the piedmonts along both sides of these high mountains. These alluvial fans are almost continuous within the tributary valleys and eventually join with the main valley fill that stretches along the margins of the basins (Owen et al, 2006;An et al, 2018b;Gao et al, 2018). In the southern margin of the Qaidam Basin, the alluvial landforms contain three subgeomorphic units: the piedmont alluvial fans along the slopes of the Kunlun Mountains, the main valley fill in the drainages, and the distal alluvial delta fan that cascades into the basin (An et al, 2018b).…”

Section: Study Area and Environmental Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using geomorphic processes to reconstruct paleoclimate changes often focuses on specific sedimentary or geomorphological archives such as fluvial terraces, eolian sediments, glacial landforms, lake shorelines, and alluvial fans (An et al, 2021). Geomorphic processes on the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP) have been intensively studied in recent decades due to its typical location of mountainbasin coupling and the interactional zone of diversiform atmospheric circulations (Owen et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2009;Chang et al, 2017;Stauch et al, 2017;An et al, 2018aAn et al, , 2018bLiu et al, 2019;Li et al, 2020b;Tao et al, 2020). For example, Owen et al (2006) carried out systemic investigations on the alluvial fans, river terraces, and moraines along the eastern Kunlun Mountain slopes that indicated links between climatic amelioration, deglaciation, lake desiccation, and terraced alluvial fan evolution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The groundwater in the Qilian Mountains was recharged by high piedmonts, flowed through the alluvial fans from south to north, and was finally discharged several decades later from springs located along the toe of the fan (Guo et al, 2017). Recent studies have found that glacier advance was a key factor for the development of alluvial fans due to the abundant detritus production at the piedmont belt in the eastern Kunlun Mountains (Owen et al, 2006;An et al, 2018b;Cui et al, 2020). These researchers argued that the alluvial Sanchahe Formation filled in the Golmud River valley, described as "a set of periglacial fanglomerates," originated from the piedmont outwash yielded in the high Kunlun Mountains (Van Der Woerd et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Glacier-Induced Alluvial Fan Development on the Northeast Tibetan Plateau Since the Late Pleistocene

BadingQiuying

Li³

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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The origin of alluvial fans at the drainage basin or the margins of the arid sedimentary basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP) has been a focus of debate among scientific communities. Extensive alluvial fans had developed in the mountain-basin systems of this region during the late Pleistocene. Based on geomorphic/stratigraphic studies and the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology, we investigated numerous alluvial sequences in the drainage basin of the coupled mountain-basin system on the NETP. Sedimentologic analyses showed that these alluvial sediments mainly comprise crudely meter and decimeter beds of fanglomerate and sandy lenticles, which occasionally contain boulders in the thinner layers. OSL dating results showed that the alluvial sediments were mainly developed during the late MIS 5, MIS 3, and Last Glaciation and Deglaciation (maximum aggradations), while little had occurred during the early Holocene. Comparing our ages and their probability density curves with those of glacial advances from the northeastern/eastern TP, the consistency of both records during different stages since the late Pleistocene suggested that the development of alluvial fans was driven by glacier activities, which yielded abundant outwash, feeding alluvial aggradations. Based on this finding, together with results of previous studies, we argued that the dynamics of alluvial geomorphic processes had a paleoclimatic origin rather than surface uplifts. Further studies indicated that the precipitation of glaciations originated from the ISM northward intrusion during the late MIS 5, MIS 3, and Holocene; however, it was mainly influenced by the westerlies during the Last Glaciation and Deglaciation. Therefore, the development of alluvial fans on the NETP represents coupling signals of the ISM and the westerlies on the interglacial–glacial cycle timescales. The coupling evolution of glacier activities and alluvial aggradations in the drainage basins of mountain-basin systems on the NETP provides a model for assessing the linkages between regional geomorphic processes and atmospheric circulations on hemispheric scales.

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Section: Study Area and Environmental Parametersmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Study Area and Environmental Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Glacier-Induced Alluvial Fan Development on the Northeast Tibetan Plateau Since the Late Pleistocene

BadingQiuying

Li³

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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“…The OSL age of sediment directly reflects its time of burial, i.e., when it was last exposed to sunlight (Aitken, 1998). Recent studies have successfully applied the OSL dating method to TP loess (Liu et al, 2012(Liu et al, , 2017Wang et al, 2018;Kang et al, 2020;Li et al, 2020), dunes (Chen T. Y. et al, 2019), sand wedges (Liu et al, 2010;Liu and Lai, 2013), river sediments (An et al, 2018) and lacustrine sediments (Liu et al, 2011(Liu et al, , 2015 in order to reveal their respective accumulation histories. Moreover, many recent studies have used a combination of 14 C and OSL dating to discuss the reliability of ages from lacustrine sediment cores.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiocarbon and Luminescence Dating of Lacustrine Sediments in Zhari Namco, Southern Tibetan Plateau

Wang

Zhang³

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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There are more than 1,000 lakes within the Tibetan Plateau (TP), all of which are sensitive to changes in regional climate and local hydrology. Lacustrine sediments within these lakes preserve a good record of these changes. However, determining their precise ages is difficult due to the complex nature of lake reservoir effects (LRE), which limit our understanding of paleoenvironmental changes. Focusing on an exposed 600 cm thick lacustrine sediment profile located in western Zhari Namco, we used a combination of both radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods in order to evaluate the carbon reservoirs of bulk organic matter (BOM) and aquatic plant remnants (APR), and to explore the age differences between 14C and OSL and their respective reliability. We demonstrated that (i) OSL ages were changed in stratigraphic order, and the OSL age just below the beach gravel layer was consistent with previously reported paleoshoreline ages; (ii) 14C ages were divergent between BOM and grass leaves; (iii) 14C ages of BOM were older than 14C ages of APR; and (iv) all 14C ages were older than OSL ages. This could be attributed to changing LRE in the past, causing the 14C ages to appear unstable during the deposition period. Although the 14C ages of terrestrial plant remnants (TPR) were not affected by LRE, an analyzed twig nonetheless returned a 14C age older than its respective layer’s OSL age, suggesting it may have been preserved on land prior to transportation into the lake. Our study suggests that OSL ages are more reliable than 14C ages with respect to Zhari Namco lacustrine sediments. We recommend caution when interpreting paleoenvironmental changes based on lacustrine sediment 14C ages alone.

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Formation, mechanism and significance of alluvial‐dammed lakes in Golmud River catchment, north‐eastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Chen

et al. 2021

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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This study investigated a series of dammed lakes and downstream-adjacent alluvial fans in the upstream to middle reaches of the Golmud River in the eastern Kunlun Mountain, on the north-eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). An optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology shows the sediments of five dammed lakes developed from c. 45-40, 30-25, 18-14, and 12-8 ka, corresponding to MIS 3b, late MIS 3a, Last Deglaciation, and early Holocene, respectively. The remote sensing data show these dammed lakes have a total area of 109.4 km 2 , with the lake volume of more than 4.0 km 3 . Symmetric alluvial fans from north-south tributary valleys produced OSL ages of c. 61-52, 42-31, 26-20, and 16-10 ka, corresponding to glaciation periods: the MIS 3c and MIS 3a, MIS 2, and the Last Deglaciation. This suggests that glacial activity is responsible for the alluvial fan development, where dammed rivers occurred first, but lake formation did not take place synchronously until later periods of strong hydrologic activity, resulting from northward intrusions of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) or glacier melt. Thus, the blocking pattern is that river valleys were dammed during periods of glacial activity and lakes formed during wet periods. The lake formation and subsequent drainage may have resulted in:(i) impeded headwater incision and strengthening of downstream dissection;(ii) enriched the halite and potash in the distal Qarhan Salt Lake through hydrologic and hydrochemical processes of abundant water input, the salt lake expansion, salt redissolution from playa and final resedimentation during later dry periods. The alluvial-dammed lake pattern in the mountain-basin systems of eastern Kunlun Mountain offers a model for assessing the linkages between monsoon dynamics, geomorphic processes and distal salt lake evolutions in other arid regions. K E Y W O R D S alluvial-dammed lakes, eastern Kunlun Mountain, OSL dating, paleoclimate changes, salt lake evolution 1 | INTRODUCTION Systematic investigation of the geomorphologic evolution of drainage basins can provide insight into the response of mountain-basin systems to global paleoclimate fluctuations (An, Liu et al., 2018c;Whipple, 2004;Whipple & Tucker, 1999). Reconstructed paleoclimate oscillations from geomorphic processes often focuses on specific sedimentary or geomorphological archives such as fluvial terraces, dammed lake relicts, aeolian sediment sections, and alluvial or glacial landforms. Studies of the coupling relationships between geomorphic dynamics and paleoclimate changes have been carried out worldwide in recent years, for example response of Late Quaternary terrace evolution to climate changes in western Europe and North America

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Drainage geomorphic evolution in response to paleoclimatic changes since 12.8 ka in the eastern Kunlun Mountains, NE Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 14 publications

References 65 publications

Glacier-Induced Alluvial Fan Development on the Northeast Tibetan Plateau Since the Late Pleistocene

Glacier-Induced Alluvial Fan Development on the Northeast Tibetan Plateau Since the Late Pleistocene

Radiocarbon and Luminescence Dating of Lacustrine Sediments in Zhari Namco, Southern Tibetan Plateau

Formation, mechanism and significance of alluvial‐dammed lakes in Golmud River catchment, north‐eastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

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Drainage geomorphic evolution in response to paleoclimatic changes since 12.8 ka in the eastern Kunlun Mountains, NE Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 14 publications

References 65 publications

Glacier-Induced Alluvial Fan Development on the Northeast Tibetan Plateau Since the Late Pleistocene

Glacier-Induced Alluvial Fan Development on the Northeast Tibetan Plateau Since the Late Pleistocene

Radiocarbon and Luminescence Dating of Lacustrine Sediments in Zhari Namco, Southern Tibetan Plateau

Formation, mechanism and significance of alluvial‐dammed lakes in Golmud River catchment, north‐eastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

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Drainage geomorphic evolution in response to paleoclimatic changes since 12.8 ka in the eastern Kunlun Mountains, NE Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau