Geological Features and Evolution of Yardangs in the Qaidam Basin, Tibetan Plateau (NW China): A Terrestrial Analogue for Mars

Abstract

Wind‐eroded ridges known as yardangs are common in most arid desert regions on Earth, as well as on other planets, notably in the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) and Gale Crater on Mars. However, the formation and evolution of these various yardangs are not well understood, which, therefore, requires further studies by more terrestrial analogues. Here we report a detailed investigation of the terrestrial yardang fields in the Qaidam Basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China. Most of them are distributed in the northwestern and central eastern parts, with dominant orientations northwest to north‐northeast and approximately west to east, respectively. Based on their morphologies and distributions, yardangs within the Qaidam Basin have been classified into 11 different types out of four main groups. Wind is the dominant driver of yardang erosion, but water, salt, and mass wasting may also have played important roles in their formation and modification. A four‐step evolution model, including embryonic, adolescent, mature, and receding stages, is proposed to reveal their formation and evolution in the basin. Meanwhile, yardangs in the MFF and Gale Crater on Mars have morphologic and geometric characteristics that show striking similarities to those in the Qaidam Basin. The fact that some yardang fields in MFF on Mars also show overlapping relationships suggests that they possibly have experienced a multistage evolution, during which the evolution processes may have been interrupted at some stages due to differences in the competence of rocks and/or the changes of the environment.

A new approach to study terrestrial yardang geomorphology based on high-resolution data acquired by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs): A showcase of whaleback yardangs in Qaidam Basin, NW China

“…Line 4 may represent the largest visible extent of the yardang. We have measured the lengths and widths of the different period yardang parts, and find their aspect ratios to be 2.9:1, 3.2:1, 2.8:1, and 3.3:1 for the lines 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, which are consistent with previous data for whaleback yardangs under wind erosion (Li JY et al, ; Hu CQ, ; Wang J et al, ).…”

“…Data sets of this sort have great potention to shed light onto past local wind characteristics. Comparative planetary study. Previous studies have shown that the yardangs in Qaidam Basin are closely analogous to yardangs on Mars (Xiao L et al, ; Anglés and Li YL, ; Wang J et al, ). However, the relatively low resolution of the terrestrial satellite data could not support a comprehensive comparative study of the yardangs on both planets.…”

“…Then we evaluate the accuracy of heights measured in the DEMs. The heights of whaleback yardangs can be up to 30 m, but most heights are between 2 and 8 m (Halimov and Fezer, ; Li JY et al, ; Hu CQ, ; Wang J et al, ). We selected a platform in Test Region 1 (Table ) with a height of ~3.4 m. We measured the heights of 10 points on the platform edge to the ground by a Geomax ZT30R total station ( http://www.geomax.cn/) whose accuracy is ~2 mm.…”

“…They provide important geology and climate information. Numerous yardangs are identified in northwestern China, especially in Kumtagh Desert and Qaidam Basin (Fan XP, ; Halimov and Fezer, ; Dong ZB et al, ; Li JY et al, ; Xiao L et al, ; Anglés and Li YL, ; Wang J et al, ). Halimov and Fezer () identified eight types of yardang in Qaidam Basin: mesa, saw‐toothed crest, cone, pyramid, long ridge, hogback, whaleback, and low streamlined whaleback, and proposed a scenario for the evolution of the yardangs.…”

Quantifying Wind Erosion During the Late Quaternary in the Qaidam Basin, Central Asia

“…The modern yardangs formed nearly simultaneously since~105 ka (section 6.1) and are up to 20-30 m high (Wang et al, 2018) in the QB, corresponding to a wind erosion rate of~0.19-0.29 mm/a. However, the pattern of faster wind erosion in the last glacial period than the present-day interglacial period can be expected for the entire QB.…”