Evolution of the Upper Yellow River as Revealed by Changes in Heavy-Mineral and Geochemical (REE) Signatures of Fluvial Terraces (Lanzhou, China)

Abstract

Despite decades of study, the factors that controlled the formation and evolution of theupper reaches of the Yellow River, including uplift of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, Pliocene-Pleistocene climate change, and autogenetic processes are still poorly constrained. The stratigraphicrecord of such paleogeographic evolution is recorded in the sequence of nine terraces formed duringprogressive incision of the Yellow River in the last 1.7 Ma. This article investigates in detail forsediment provenance in terraces of the Lanzhou area, based on heavy-mineral and geochemical(REE) signatures. Two main provenance changes are identified, pointing each to a majorpaleogeographic reorganization coupled with expansion of the upper Yellow River catchment andenhanced sediment fluxes. The first change took place between the deposition of terrace T9 (formedaround 1.7 Ma) and terrace T8 (formed around 1.5 Ma), when rapid fluvial incision point to tectoniccontrol and active uplift of northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The second change took place betweendeposition of terrace T4 (formed around 0.86 Ma) and terrace T3 (formed around 0.14 Ma), duringa period of low incision rates and notably enhanced sediment fluxes as a response to enhanced EastAsian Summer Monsoon and consequently increased precipitations, pointing instead chiefly toclimatic control.

Provenance of Neogene sandstones in western Taiwan traced with garnet geochemistry and zircon geochronology

“…Envisaged paleogeographic scenario. In the Miocene, the paleo‐Yangtze and paleo‐Pearl River systems were established (He et al., 2019; Zheng, 2015), whereas the Huang He (Yellow River) may have not formed until the Pliocene (Wang, Nie, et al., 2019; Wang, Zhang, et al., 2019). Detrital garnet geochemistry and zircon geochronology concur to indicate that sediment deposited on the Chinese passive margin facing the present Taiwan Strait was largely derived from the paleo‐Yangtze.…”

The Effect of Gravel and Sand Mining on Groundwater and Surface Water Regimes—A Case Study of the Velika Morava River, Serbia

“…Researchers have also studied river basins and changes in certain components of the mineral composition over time in connection with heavy metals as a result of geological evolution. Wang et al [30] analyze sediment changes in the Yellow River (China), identifying nine river terraces created by the uplifting of the Tibetan Plateau and climate change through geologic history. Similar research is reported by Llena et al [31], who analyze the effect of geomorphological processes over time on mountain rivers.…”

Editorial for Special Issue “Heavy Minerals”

“…The first article, by Wei Yue and co-authors of the Jiangsu Normal University (Xuzhou), Tongji University (Shanghai), Binzhou University (Binzhou) and Ludong University (Yantai) [10], is a quantitative analysis of textural and compositional modifications of detrital sediments used to unravel the sediment provenance and environmental changes in the Changjiang basin. The second article, by Zhao Wang and co-workers of diverse universities in China, United States, and Italy [11], investigates the early evolution of the upper reaches of the Yellow River based on heavy-mineral and REE geochemical signatures recorded in the sequence of nine terraces formed during the progressive incision of the Yellow River in the last 1.7 Ma. The volume is closed by the article by João Cascalho [12], a regional study of heavy minerals from the Portuguese continental margin, that points to the existence of contrasting sources, namely felsic igneous and metamorphic rocks and igneous basic rocks next to dolomitic limestones affected by thermal metamorphism.…”