Holocene loess sedimentation along the Qilian Shan (China): significance for understanding the processes and timing of loess deposition

Küster, Yvonne; Hetzel, Ralf; Krbetschek, Matthias; Tao, Mengchu

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.03.003

Cited by 89 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…The loess overlying on the Dahe terraces has a maximum thickness of ~16 m and thus is much thicker than the Holocene loess deposits studied by Stokes et al (2003) in the eastern Yumu Shan and reported by Küster et al (2006) in the western Qilian Shan. Recent studies of loess deposits near the Yumu Shan Zhang et al, 2015) also show that loess deposits are usually thinner than 3 m, and OSL dating on the loess sections mostly yields Holocene ages.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…Based on this evidence, it is argued that the loess accumulation in the western and central Qilian Shan was initiated ca. 13 ka (Küster et al, 2006). However, some old loess deposits in the western and central Qilian Shan were also discovered, such as the loess section with OSL ages up to 43.1 ± 3.5 ka in the central Qilian Shan and the loess section with OSL age of ca.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Folded fluvial terraces in a young, actively deforming intramontane basin between the Yumu Shan and the Qilian Shan mountains, NE Tibet

Pan

Fan

et al. 2017

Lithosphere

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Intramontane basins in actively deforming regions contain significant information about the evolution of orogenic belts. We explored the tectonic characteristics and evolution of an intramontane basin between the Qilian Shan and Yumu Shan mountains on the NE Tibetan Plateau. We utilized the deformation of fluvial terraces along the Dahe River to constrain the rate and pattern of Quaternary deformation across the basin. Fluvial landforms include a widespread Mid-Pleistocene alluvial-fluvial fan surface and five terrace levels inset below this surface. We dated deposits associated with these landforms by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) analyses on eolian loess and fluvial sediments. Our results yield ages of 142.8 ± 11.3 ka (Fs), 103-125 ka (T5), 96-115 ka (T4), 87-104 ka (T3), and 13-15 ka (T2), which we interpret to reflect the abandonment of fluvial terrace surfaces. Elevation surveys indicate that the terrace surfaces are folded along the Dahe anticline and are gently tilted northward across the basin. Analysis of terrace deformation suggests that the Dahe anticline grew by limb rotation and accommodated upper-crustal shortening at a rate of 0.14 +0.14/−0.03 mm/a. We determined the onset of deformation to have occurred between 0.3 and 0.9 Ma, based on the rotation rate of the southern limb of the anticline. This age is significantly younger than the onset ages of the thrust faults along the Qilian Shan (ca. 10 Ma) and the Yumu Shan (ca. 3.7 Ma). The character of the terrace deformation suggests that the Dahe anticline was growing from a south-dipping décollement, which also induced surface tilting across the entire basin. The Late Quaternary activation of the Dahe anticline folding and the detachment slipping provide evidence that the deformation of the intramontane basin occurred much later than that of the surrounding mountain ranges and accommodated part of the crustal shortening through basin narrowing.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Folded fluvial terraces in a young, actively deforming intramontane basin between the Yumu Shan and the Qilian Shan mountains, NE Tibet

Pan

Fan

et al. 2017

Lithosphere

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“…In other mountain belts of Asia, such as the Qilian Shan, it is also demonstrated that there was continuous loess deposition along the mountain front during the Holocene (e.g. Stokes et al, 2003;Küster et al, 2006). Thus, the aeolian dusts transported from the Junggar Desert to the northern piedmont of Tianshan (Sun, 2002) were very likely to be trapped at the surface ruptures and the loess deposits offer the possibility to constrain minimum ages of the scarps along the Hutubi and Manas faults in the study area.…”

Section: The Relationship Between Loess At the Ruptures And Faulting mentioning

confidence: 77%

Late Quaternary faulting on the Manas and Hutubi reverse faults in the northern foreland basin of Tian Shan, China

Gong

2015

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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The Tian Shan Range lies in the actively deforming part of the India-Asia collision zone. In the northern foreland basin of Tian Shan, the strata were intensively deformed by Cenozoic folding and faulting. Slip rate studies along these faults are important for understanding the dynamics of crustal deformation and evaluating the seismic hazards in the region. Two reverse faults (the Manas and Hutubi faults) in the northern foreland basin were investigated. Due to past faulting events along these faults, the terrace treads along the Manas River were ruptured, forming fault scarps several meters in height. Loess deposits were trapped and preserved at the surface ruptures along these scarps. The thickness of the trapped loess is dependent on the size of the ruptures. The minimum and maximum ages of these scarps are constrained by dating the loess preserved at the surface ruptures and the terrace treads, respectively, using the quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating technique. Our dating results suggest that the loess trapped at the ruptures was deposited from the early to mid-Holocene at the Hutubi Fault, and from the mid-to late-Holocene at the Manas Fault. The vertical displacements of the faults were evaluated by measuring the topographic profiles across the investigated fault scarps using the differential global position system (DGPS). Our results suggest that, during the late Quaternary in the studied region, the vertical slip rates of the Manas Fault were between ∼0.74 mm/yr and ∼1.6 mm/yr, while the Hutubi Fault had a much lower vertical slip rate between ∼0.34 mm/yr and ∼0.40 mm/yr.The tectonic implications of our results are discussed.

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“…Many loess studies, particularly those conducted in the Negev desert of southern Israel, have focused, perhaps unintentionally, on ubiquitous, thick fluvial/colluvial reworked (or partially reworked) loess. The findings, however, have been treated as direct evidence of climatic eolian processes, rather than processes masked by the secondary fluvial activity [e.g., Bruins, 1976;Magaritz, 1986;Goodfriend and Magaritz, 1988;Avni et al, 2006;Kuster et al, 2006;Lai et al, 2007]. Such chronological and paleoenvironmental interpretations are problematic owing to the highly complex eolian/fluvial deposition/erosion histories, as was previously suggested for the loess in China [Stevens et al, 2006] and in Israel [Zilberman, 1992].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significance of primary hilltop loess in reconstructing dust chronology, accretion rates, and sources: An example from the Negev Desert, Israel

Crouvi¹,

Amit²,

Porat³

et al. 2009

J. Geophys. Res.

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[1] Although high-latitude loess sequences have been studied extensively for reconstructing past climates, loess in desert margins has been mostly overlooked. Moreover, many low-latitude loess studies have focused on secondary, reworked sequences for which paleoclimatic inferences are complicated owing to postdepositional processes acting under local control. In this respect, the spatial distribution of the loess and its different types are crucial. In this study, we differentiate primary and secondary loess using remote sensing and field criteria. We present remote sensing and geographic information system procedures for mapping loess distribution, in general, and for identifying pristine hilltop loess sequences in particular. Then, we present the mineralogical and textural analyses combined with optically stimulated luminescence ages of one such primary, hilltop loess sequence in the Negev desert that show that the late Pleistocene Negev loess started accumulating at $95 ka, much earlier than previously proposed ($70 ka). It was preceded by a previously unknown middle Pleistocene period of loess formation at $180-130 ka. The ages also suggest that the threshold of dust accretion rate needed for loess formation is $0.02 mm a À1 ($30 g m À2 a À1 ), a factor of 2 or more lower than previously thought (0.04 to 1.0 mm a À1 ). Our results also provide insights into causes of late Pleistocene loess accretion and its close association with regional dune field activity. The methodology for mapping the loess distribution may potentially be generalized to help understanding loess formation in other, more remote desert areas.

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Holocene loess sedimentation along the Qilian Shan (China): significance for understanding the processes and timing of loess deposition

Cited by 89 publications

References 56 publications

Folded fluvial terraces in a young, actively deforming intramontane basin between the Yumu Shan and the Qilian Shan mountains, NE Tibet

Folded fluvial terraces in a young, actively deforming intramontane basin between the Yumu Shan and the Qilian Shan mountains, NE Tibet

Late Quaternary faulting on the Manas and Hutubi reverse faults in the northern foreland basin of Tian Shan, China

Significance of primary hilltop loess in reconstructing dust chronology, accretion rates, and sources: An example from the Negev Desert, Israel

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