Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T17:47:44.915Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Identification of a late Quaternary alluvial–aeolian sedimentary sequence in the Sichuan Basin, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jin-Liang Feng ,
Jian-Ting Ju ,
Feng Chen ,
Zhao-Guo Hu ,
Xiang Zhao  and
Shao-Peng Gao
Jin-Liang Feng*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Jian-Ting Ju
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Feng Chen
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Zhao-Guo Hu
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China Shandong Zhengyuan Institute of Geological Exploration, China Central Bureau of Metallurgy and Geology, Jinan 264002, China
Xiang Zhao
Affiliation:
Southwestern Architectural Design Institute, Chengdu 610081, China
Shao-Peng Gao
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
*
⁎Corresponding author. E-mail address:[email protected] (J.-L. Feng).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The late Quaternary sedimentary sequence in the northwestern part of the Sichuan Basin consists of five lithological units and with increasing depth include the: Chengdu Clay; Brown Clay; Red Clay; Sandy Silt; and basal Muddy Gravel. The genesis, provenance and age of the sediments, as well as the possible presence of hiatuses within this sequence are debated. Measurements of grain-size, magnetic susceptibility, quartz content, quartz δ18O values, element composition, and Sr–Nd isotopic concentrations of samples from a typical sedimentary sequence in the area provides new insights into the genesis and history of the sequence. The new data confirm that the sediments in study site are alluvial–aeolian in origin, with basal alluvial deposits overlain by aeolian deposits. Like the uppermost Chengdu Clay, the underlying Brown Clay and Red Clay are aeolian in origin. In contrast, the Silty Sand, like the basal Muddy Gravel, is an alluvial deposit and not an aeolian deposit as previously thought. Moreover, the succession of the aeolian deposits very likely contains two significant sedimentary hiatuses. Sedimentological analysis demonstrates that the source materials for the aeolian deposits in the northwestern part of the Sichuan Basin and those on the eastern Tibetan Plateau are different. Furthermore, the loess deposits on the eastern Tibetan Plateau are derived from heterogeneous local sources.

Keywords

Sichuan BasinTibetan PlateauAlluvial sedimentAeolian depositCompositional maturityIsotopic tracingDust provenancePedogenic concretionsSedimentary hiatusStrata age
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 85 , Issue 2 , March 2016 , pp. 279 - 289
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agrawal, S., Sanyal, P., Balakrishnan, S., Dash, J.K. (2013). Exploring the temporal change in provenance encoded in the late Quaternary deposits of the Ganga Plain. Sedimentary Geology 293, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
An, Z. (2014). Late Cenozoic Climate Change in Asia: Loess, Monsoon and Monsoon-arid Environment Evolution. Springer, Dordrecht.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anders, E., Grevesse, N. (1989). Abundances of the elements: meteoritic and solar. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 53, 197–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Begét, J., Stone, D., Hawkins, D. (1990). Paleoclimate forcing of magnetic susceptibility variations in Alaskan loess. Geology 18, 40–43.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhatia, M.R. (1983). Plate tectonics and geochemical composition of sandstones. Journal of Geology 91, 611–627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blott, S.J., Pye, K. (2001). Gradistat: a grain size distribution and statistics package for the analysis of unconsolidated sediments. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 26, 1237–1248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blum, J.D., Erel, Y. (2003). Radiogenic isotopes in weathering and hydrology.Holland, H.D., Turekian, K.K. Surface and Ground Water, Weathering and Soils Elsevier, New York.365–392.Google Scholar
Bowles, G.T. (1934). A preliminary report of archaeological investigations on the Sino-Tibetan border of Szechwan. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China 13, 119–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Z.-R., He, Y.-W. (1990). A preliminary discussion on date determination of Guanghan clay and Chengdu Clay with 14C dates. Mountain Research 8, 167–173.(in Chinese)Google Scholar
Cherniak, D.J. (2002). Ba diffusion in feldspar. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 66, 1641–1650.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chu, L.T. (1937). A reconnaissance soil survey of Chengtu area, Szechuan. Soil Bulletin 18, 1–70.Google Scholar
Clayton, R.N., Mayeda, T.K. (1963). The use of bromine pentafluoride in the extraction of oxygen from oxides and silicates for isotopic analysis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 27, 43–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, R.N., Rex, R.W., Syers, J.K., Jackson, M.L. (1972). Oxygen isotope abundance in quartz from Pacific pelagic sediments. Journal of Geophysical Research 77, 3907–3915.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DePaolo, D.J., Wasserburg, G.J. (1979). Petrogenetic mixing models and Nd–Sr isotopic patterns. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 43, 615–627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derbyshire, E., Meng, X.M., Kemp, R.A. (1997). Climate change, loess and palaeosols: proxy measures and resolution in North China. Journal of the Geological Society of London 154, 793–805.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ding, Z.L., Sun, J.M., Liu, T.S., Zhu, R.X., Yang, S.L., Guo, B. (1998). Wind-blown origin of the Pliocene red clay formation in the central Loess Plateau, China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 161, 135–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dutta, P.K., Zhou, Z., dos Santos, P.R. (1993). A theoretical study of mineralogical maturation of Eolian sand.Johnsson, M.J., Basu, A. Processes Controlling the Composition of Clastic Sediments Geological Society of America Special Paper284, 203–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fang, X. (1995). The origin and provenance of the Malan loess along the eastern margin of the Qinghai–Xizang (Tibetan) Plateau and its adjacent area. Science in China-Series B 38, 876–887.Google Scholar
Fang, X., Han, Y., Ma, J., Song, L., Yang, S., Zhang, X. (2004). Dust storms and loess accumulation on the Tibetan Plateau: a case study of dust event on 4 March 2003 in Lhasa. Chinese Science Bulletin 49, 953–960.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, J.-L., Zhu, L.-P., Ju, J.-T., Zhou, L.-P., Zhen, X.-L., Zhang, W., Gao, S.-P. (2008). Heavy dust fall in Beijing, on April 16–17, 2006: geochemical properties and indications of the dust provenance. Geochemical Journal 42, 221–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, J.-L., Hu, Z.-G., Cui, J.-Y., Zhu, L.-P. (2010). Distributions of lead isotopes with grain size in aeolian deposits. Terra Nova 22, 257–263.Google Scholar
Feng, J.-L., Hu, Z.-G., Ju, J.-T., Zhu, L.-P. (2011). Variations in trace element (including rare earth element) concentrations with grain sizes in loess and their implications for tracing the provenance of eolian deposits. Quaternary International 236, 116–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, J.-L., Hu, Z.-G., Ju, J.-T., Lin, Y.-C. (2014a). The dust provenance and transport mechanism for the Chengdu Clay in the Sichuan Basin, China. Catena 121, 68–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, J.-L., Zhao, Z.-H., Zhao, X., Zhao, Q.-H., Peng, S.-Q. (2014b). The origin, provenance, age and climatic links of the Chengdu Clay: a review. Mountain Research 32, 526–534.(in Chinese with English abstract)Google Scholar
Forster, T., Evans, M.E., Heller, F. (1994). The frequency dependence of low field susceptibility in loess sediments. Geophysical Journal International 118, 636–642.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garzanti, E., Andò, S., Vezzoli, G., Lustrino, M., Boni, M., Vermeesch, P. (2012). Petrology of the Namib Sand Sea: long-distance transport and compositional variability in the wind-displaced Orange Delta. Earth-Science Reviews 112, 173–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garzanti, E., Resentini, A., Andò, S., Vezzoli, G., Pereira, A., Vermeesch, P. (2015). Physical controls on sand composition and relative durability of detrital minerals during ultra-long distance littoral and aeolian transport (Namibia and southern Angola). Sedimentology 62, 971–996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, W., Fang, X., Yang, S., King, J. (2010). Differences between East Asian and Indian monsoon climate records during MIS3 attributed to differences in their driving mechanisms: evidence from the loess record in the Sichuan basin, southwestern China and other continental and marine climate records. Quaternary International 218, 94–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harland, W.B. (1945). On the physiographical history of Western Szechuan with special reference to the ice age in the red basin. Journal of the West China Border Research Society (Chengtu), Series B 16, 1–19.Google Scholar
Heller, F., Liu, T.S. (1982). Magnetostratigraphical dating of loess deposits in China. Nature 300, 431–433.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, M.L., Sayin, M., Clayton, R.N. (1976). Hexafluorosilicic acid reagent modification for quartz isolation. Soil Science Society of America Journal 40, 958-910 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobsen, S.B., Wasserburg, G.J. (1980). Sm–Nd isotopic evolution of chondrites. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 50, 139–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jahn, B., Gallet, S., Han, J. (2001). Geochemistry of the Xining, Xifeng and Jixian sections, Loess Plateau of China: eolian dust provenance and paleosol evolution during the last 140 ka. Chemical Geology 178, 71–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jin, C.-S., Liu, Q.-S. (2011). Remagnetization mechanism and a new age model for L9 in Chinese loess. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 187, 261–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kapp, P., Pelletier, J.D., Rohrmann, A., Heermance, R., Russell, J., Ding, L. (2011). Wind erosion in the Qaidam Basin, central Asia: implications for tectonics, paleoclimate, and the source of the loess plateau. GSA Today 21, 4–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kautz, C.Q., Martin, C.E. (2007). Chemical and physical weathering in New Zealand's Southern Alps monitored by bedload sediment major element composition. Applied Geochemistry 22, 1715–1735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kogarko, L.N., Ryabchikov, I.D., Kuzmin, D.V. (2012). High-Ba mica in olivinites of the Guli massif (Maimecha–Kotui province, Siberia). Russian Geology and Geophysics 53, 1209–1215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kong, D.-F. (1994). Fractured Clay. Geological Publishing House, Beijing.(in Chinese)Google Scholar
Kukla, G., Heller, F., Liu, X.M., Chun, X.T., Liu, T.S., An, Z.S. (1988). Pleistocene climates in China dated by magnetic susceptibility. Geology 16, 811–814.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laurent, B., Marticorena, B., Bergametti, G., Mei, F. (2006). Modeling mineral dust emissions from Chinese and Mongolian deserts. Global and Planetary Change 52, 121–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le Borgne, E. (1955). Susceptibilité magnétique anormale du sol superficiel. Annales Geophysicae 11, 399–419.Google Scholar
Liang, B., Wang, Q.-W., Zhu, B., Hao, X.-F., Ying, L.-C., Liu, L., Fu, X.-F. (2013). Optically stimulated luminescence dating of the Chengdu Clay in the west Sichuan Basin. Quaternary Sciences 33, 823–828.(in Chinese)Google Scholar
Licht, A., Pullen, A., Kapp, P., Abell, J., Giesler, N. (2016). Eolian cannibalism: reworked loess and fluvial sediment as the main sources of the Chinese Loess Plateau. Geological Society of America Bulletin10.1130/B31375.1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Y.-C., Feng, J.-L. (2015). Aeolian dust contribution to the formation of alpine soils at Amdo (Northern Tibetan Plateau). Geoderma 259, 260 104–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, X.-S. (1983). Quaternary in the Sichuan Basin. Sichuan Science and Technology Press, Chengdu.(in Chinese)Google Scholar
Liu, T.S. (1985). Loess and the Environment. China Ocean Press, Beijing.Google Scholar
Liu, T.S., Chang, T.H. (1964). The ‘Huangtu’ (loess) of China. Rept. 6th INQUA Congress Warsaw 1961 503–524.(4, )Google Scholar
Lü, L., Fang, X., Lu, H., Han, Y., Yang, S., Li, J., An, Z. (" et al., 2004). Millennial-scale climate change since the last glaciation recorded by grain sizes of loess deposits on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Chinese Science Bulletin 49, 1157–1164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lu, H.Y., Stevens, T., Yi, S.W., Sun, X.F. (2006). An erosional hiatus in Chinese loess sequences revealed by closely spaced optical dating. Chinese Science Bulletin 51, 2253–2259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lu, Y.C., Wang, X.L., Wintle, A.G. (2007). A new OSL chronology for dust accumulation in the last 130,000 yr for the Chinese Loess Plateau. Quaternary Research 67, 152–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ma, R.Z. (1944). Formation of Chinese loess. Geological Review 9, 205–224.(in Chinese)Google Scholar
McLennan, S.M. (1993). Weathering and global denudation. Journal of Geology 101, 295–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milnes, A.R. (1992). Calcrete.Martini, I.P., Chesworth, W. Weathering, Soils and Paleosols Elsevier, Amsterdam.309–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muhs, D.R. (2004). Mineralogical maturity in dune fields of North America, Africa and Australia. Geomorphology 59, 247–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nesbitt, H.W., Young, G.M., McLennan, S.M., Keays, R.R. (1996). Effects of chemical weathering and sorting on the petrogenesis of siliciclastic sediments, with implications for provenance studies. Journal of Geology 104, 525–542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nichols, G. (2009). Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (2nd). A John Wiley & Sons, Oxford.Google Scholar
Nie, J., Peng, W., Möller, A., Song, Y., Stockli, D.F., Stevens, T., Horton, B.K., Liu, S., Bird, A., Oalmann, J., Gong, H., Fang, X. (2014). Provenance of the upper Miocene–Pliocene Red Clay deposits of the Chinese loess plateau. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 407, 35–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nie, J., Stevens, T., Rittner, M., Stockli, D., Garzanti, E., Limonta, M., Bird, A., Andò, S., Vermeesch, P., Saylor, J., Lu, H., Breecker, D., Hu, X., Liu, S., Resentini, A., Vezzoli, G., Peng, W., Carter, A., Ji, S., Pan, B. (2015). Loess Plateau storage of Northeastern Tibetan Plateau-derived Yellow River sediment. Nature Communications 6, 8511 10.1038/ncomms9511CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Porter, S.C., An, Z. (1995). Correlation between climate events in the North Atlantic and China during the last glaciation. Nature 375, 305–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pullen, A., Kapp, P.A., Chang, H., McCallister, A.T., Garzione, C.N., Gehrels, G.E., Heermance, R., Ding, L. (2011). Qaidam Basin and northern Tibetan Plateau as dust sources for the Chinese Loess Plateau and paleoclimatic implications. Geology 39, 1031–1034.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qi, L., Hu, J., Gregoire, D.C. (2000). Determination of trace elements in granites by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Talanta 51, 507–513.Google Scholar
Qiao, Y., Zhao, Z., Li, Z., Wang, Y., Fu, J., Wang, S., Li, C., Yao, H., Jiang, F. (2007). Aeolian origin of the red earth formation in the Chengdu Plain. Quaternary Sciences 27, 286–294.(in Chinese)Google Scholar
Richardson, H.L. (1942). Soils and Agriculture of Szechwan. Ministry Agriculture and Forestry, Chungking.Google Scholar
Richardson, H.L. (1943). The ice age in west China. Journal of the West China Border Research Society (Chengtu), Series B 14, 1–27.Google Scholar
Richthofen, F. (1882). On the mode of origin of the loess. Geological Magazine 9, 283–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salfeld, H. (1936). Über die diluviale vereisung von West-Szechuan (China) und insbesonders der Chengtu-Ebene. Zentralblatt für Mineralogie, Geologie und Paläontologie 9, 353–357.Google Scholar
Solano-Acosta, W., Dutta, P.K. (2005). Unexpected trend in the compositional maturity of second-cycle sand. Sedimentary Geology 178, 275–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stauch, G. (2015). Geomorphological and palaeoclimate dynamics recorded by the formation of aeolian archives on the Tibetan plateau. Earth-Science Reviews 150, 393–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevens, T., Armitage, S.J., Lu, H.Y., Thomas, D.S.G. (2006). Sedimentation and diagenesis of Chinese loess: implications for the preservation of continuous, high-resolution climate records. Geology 34, 849–852.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stiles, C.A., Mora, C.I., Driese, S.G. (2001). Pedogenic iron-manganese nodules in Vertisols: a new proxy for paleoprecipitation?. Geology 29, 943–946.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, J.M. (2002). Provenance of loess material and formation of loess deposits on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 203, 845–859.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, D., Bloemendal, J., Rea, D.K., An, Z., Vandenberghe, J., Lu, H., Su, R., Liu, T. (2004). Bimodal grain-size distribution of Chinese loess, and its palaeoclimatic implications. Catena 55, 325–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, J.M., Li, S.H., Muhs, D.R., Li, B. (2007). Loess sedimentation in Tibet: provenance, processes, and link with Quaternary glaciations. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, 2265–2280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tan, Y.-L., Qiao, Y.-S., Zhao, Z.-Z., Wang, Y., Qi, L., Fu, J.-L., Liu, Z.-X., Yao, H.-T., Wang, S.-B., Jiang, F.-C. (2013). Geochemical characteristics of eolian deposits in the Chengdu Plain of Sichuan Province and the implications for provenance. Acta Geologica Sinica 87, 1712–1723.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, S.R., McLennan, S.M. (1985). The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution. Blackwell Scientific Publications, London.Google Scholar
Taylor, S.R., McLennan, S.M., McCulloch, M.T. (1983). Geochemistry of loess, continental crustal composition and crustal model ages. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 47, 1897–1905.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, R., Oldfield, F. (1986). Environmental Magnetism. Allen & Unwin, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorp, J. (1939). Geography of the Soils of China. The National Geological Survey of China, Peking.Google Scholar
Thorp, J., Dye, D.S. (1936). The Chengtu Clays — deposits of possible loessial origin in western and northwestern Szechuan Basin. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China 15, 225–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, S., Fang, X., Shi, Z., Lehmkuhl, F., Song, C., Han, Y., Han, W. (2010a). Timing and provenance of loess in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 292, 144–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, S., Fang, X., Yan, M., Shi, Z., Song, C., Han, Y. (2010b). Grain size profiles in the Chengdu Clay, eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau: implications for significant drying of Asia since 500 ka B.P.. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 38, 57–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, C.C. (1937). New Triassic and Cretaceous reptiles in China. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China 17, 109–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, X.Y., Gong, S.L., Zhao, T.L., Arimoto, R., Wang, Y.Q., Zhou, Z.J. (2003). Sources of Asian dust and role of climate change versus desertification in Asian dust emission. Geophysical Research Letters 30, 2272 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, Z., Qiao, Y., Wang, Y., Fu, J., Wang, S., Li, C., Yao, H., Jiang, F. (2007). Magnetostratigraphic and paleoclimatic studies on the red earth formation from the Chengdu Plain in Sichuan Province. Science in China-Series D 50, 927–935.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, L.P., Oldfield, F., Wintle, A.G., Robinsonet, S.G., Wang, J.T. (1990). Partly pedogenic origin of magnetic variations in Chinese loess. Nature 346, 737–739.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Feng et al. supplementary material

Supplementary Material 1

Download Feng et al. supplementary material(File)
File 89.1 KB
Supplementary material: File

Feng et al. supplementary material

Supplementary Material 2

Download Feng et al. supplementary material(File)
File 139.8 KB
Supplementary material: File

Feng et al. supplementary material

Supplementary Material 3

Download Feng et al. supplementary material(File)
File 51.7 KB