Quaternary paleolake development in the Fen River basin, North China

The episodic geomorphological-sedimentary evolution of different basins in the Fenwei Graben and its tectonic implication

“…The episodic geomorphological-sedimentary evolution in the Graben was not the result of paleoclimate changes. This is because: 1) the occurrences of several lake regressions in the LB, TB and XB are almost synchronous with the formation of some paleosols, when the paleoclimate was warm and wet and was accompanied by high annual precipitation, raising paleolake levels (An et al, 1991b, Porter andAn, 1995); 2) although several paleolake regressions in the WB and DB occurred when some loess units were depositing and the paleoclimate was dry, the other episodes of loess deposition did not cause regressions and paleolake regressions identified do not coincide with the dry-wet climate changes recorded by loess-paleosol sequences during the Quaternary; 3) there are no calcium carbonate crystals on the surface of each lacustrine terrace, indicating that the paleoclimate was not dry enough to make the lake levels regress significantly; and 4) previous research has shown that paleoclimate changes during the Mid-Late Quaternary brought about only minor paleolake level fluctuations of ~2-3 m in these outflow basins (Hu et al, 2005). All these factors suggest that not climate but tectonic movement may be the primary factor affecting episodic geomorphological-sedimentary evolution in the Graben.…”

“…Because of the constraint of some mountains or highlands, these rivers belong to different drainage basins. During the Quaternary, all these basins were occupied by outflow lakes, which experienced many regressions and transgressions (Mo, 1991;Xia, 1992;Wang et al, 1996;Hu et al, 2005). The area therefore saw the development of thick lacustrine sedimentary (in addition to alluvial) deposits and landforms.…”

“…The Fenwei Graben was tectonically active during the Late Cenozoic (Chen, 1987;Wang, 1987;Zhang et al, 1995;Zhang et al, 1998, Qu et al, 2014Yang et al, 2014). Previous research has demonstrated that some geomorphological events in some basins of the Graben coincided with some TP uplift episodes such as "Kunlun-Huanghe Movement" and "Gonghe Movement" during the Quaternary (Li et al, 1996;Cui et al, 1998;Wang et al, 2001;Hu et al, 2005). This would suggest that landform development in the Graben was most likely controlled by the tectonic movements of the Plateau, although there is at present little additional evidence to confirm this.…”

Holocene geomorphic evolution and settlement distribution patterns in the mid-lower Fen River basins, China

“…Fig.5. a. Geomorphic-sedimentary cross-section of the A-A' in the Taiyuan Basin (see Fig.1); b. Geomorphic-sedimentary cross-section of the B-B' in the Linfen Basin (see Fig.1; the paleosols older than S5 are not included here; revised from Hu et al (2005)). Fig.6.…”

Morpho-Sedimentary evidence of the Huoshan Fault’s late Cenozoic right-lateral movement in the Linfen Graben, Shanxi Graben System, North China

“…Loess is a kind of Aeolian sediment from the Quaternary in North China. Not only does it record the Quaternary paleoclimatic changes in eastern Asia, but it has also been used as a dating method to determine the age of other Quaternary sediments (Porter et al, 1992;Hu et al, 2005). No paleosols in the loess overlying the fans indicates that the loess was deposited in the late Pleistocene or the Holocene.…”