Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T14:17:15.798Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Interaction of fluvial and eolian sedimentation processes, and response to climate change since the last glacial in a semiarid environment along the Yellow River

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 May 2018

Xianyan Wang ,
Junfei Ma ,
Shuangwen Yi ,
Jef Vandenberghe ,
Yan Dai  and
Huayu Lu
Xianyan Wang*
Affiliation:
School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Junfei Ma
Affiliation:
School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Shuangwen Yi
Affiliation:
School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Jef Vandenberghe*
Affiliation:
School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China Institute of Earth Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Yan Dai
Affiliation:
School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Huayu Lu
Affiliation:
School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
*
*Corresponding authors at: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China (X. Wang); Institute of Earth Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands (J. Vandenberghe). E-mail addresses: [email protected] (X. Wang); [email protected] (J. Vandenberghe).
*Corresponding authors at: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China (X. Wang); Institute of Earth Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands (J. Vandenberghe). E-mail addresses: [email protected] (X. Wang); [email protected] (J. Vandenberghe).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Interactions of fluvial and eolian processes are prominent in dryland environments and can significantly change Earth surface morphology. Here, we report on sediment records of eolian and fluvial interactions since the last glacial period, in the semiarid area of northwest China, at the limit of the Southeast Asian monsoon. Sediment sequences of last glacial and Holocene terraces of the Yellow River are composed of channel gravels, overlain by flood sands, eolian dunes, and flood loams. These sequences, dated by optically stimulated luminescence, record interlinks between fluvial and eolian processes and their response to climate change. Sedimentologic structures and grain-size analysis show flood loams, consisting of windblown sediment, deposited from floodwater suspended sediment. The gravel and sand were deposited during cold periods. During transitions from cold to warm phases, the river incised, and dunes were formed by deflation of channel and floodplain deposits (>70 and 21–16 ka). Dunes also formed at ~0.8 ka, probably after human intervention. After dune formation, flood loam covered dunes without erosion during peak discharges at the beginning of the subsequent warm period. The fluctuations of the Southeast Asian monsoon as a moisture-transporting agent have perhaps been the driving force for interactions between fluvial and eolian processes in this semiarid environment.

Keywords

Fluvial processesEolian processGrain sizeOptically stimulated luminescence datingGeomorphological responseClimate changeYellow River
Type
Thematic Set: Fluvial Archives Group (FLAG) Poland
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 91 , Issue 2 , March 2019 , pp. 570 - 583
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2018 

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

REFERENCES

Adamiec, G., Aitken, M.J., 1998. Dose-rate conversion factors: new data. Ancient TL 16, 37–50.Google Scholar
Aitken, M.J., 1976. Thermoluminescent age evaluation and assessment of error limits: revised system. Archaeometry 18, 233–238.Google Scholar
Aitken, M.J., Alldred, J.C. 1972. The assessment of error limits in thermo-luminescence dating. Archaeometry 14, 257–267.Google Scholar
An, Z., Colman, S., Zhou, W., Li, X., Brown, E., Timolthy, J., Cai, Y., et al., 2012. Interplay between the westerlies and Asian monsoon recorded in Lake Qinghai sediments since 32 ka. Scientific Reports 2, 619.Google Scholar
Belnap, J., Munson, S.M., Field, J.P., 2011. Aeolian and fluvial processes in dryland regions: the need for integrated studies. Ecohydrology 4, 615–622.Google Scholar
Bohncke, S., Kasse, C., Vandenberghe, J., 1995. Climate induced environmental changes during the Vistulian Lateglacial at Zabinko, Poland. Quaestiones Geographicae, Special Issue 4, 43–64.Google Scholar
Bohncke, S., Vandenberghe, J., Huijzer, A.S., 1993. Periglacial environments during the Weichselian Late Glacial in the Maas valley, the Netherlands. Geologie en Mijnbouw 72, 193–210.Google Scholar
Bourke, M.C., Pickup, G., 1999. Fluvial form variability in arid central Australia. In: Miller, A.J., Gupta, A. (Eds.), Varieties of Fluvial Form. Wiley, Chichester, UK, pp. 249–271.Google Scholar
Bridgland, D., Westaway, R., 2008. Climatically controlled river terrace staircases: a worldwide Quaternary phenomenon. Geomorphology 98, 285–315.Google Scholar
Bullard, J.E., Livingstone, I., 2002. Interactions between aeolian and fluvial systems in dryland environments. Area 34, 8–16.Google Scholar
Bullard, J.E., McTainsh, G.H., 2003. Aeolian-fluvial interactions in dryland environments: examples, concepts and Australia case study. Progress in Physical Geography 27, 471–501.Google Scholar
Buylaert, J.P., Vandenberghe, D., Murray, A.S., Huot, S., De Corte, F., Van den haute, P., 2007. Luminescence dating of old (>70 ka) Chinese loess: a comparison of single-aliquot OSL and IRSL techniques. Quaternary Geochronology 2, 9–14.70+ka)+Chinese+loess:+a+comparison+of+single-aliquot+OSL+and+IRSL+techniques.+Quaternary+Geochronology+2,+9–14.>Google Scholar
Cohen, T.J., Nanson, G.C., Larsen, J.R., Jones, B.G., Price, D.M., Coleman, M., Pietsch, T.J., 2010. Late Quaternary aeolian and fluvial interactions on the cooper Creek Fan and the association between linear and source-bordering dunes, Strzelecki Desert, Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews 29, 455–471.Google Scholar
Cooperative Holocene Mapping Project Members. 1988. Climatic changes of the last 18,000 years: observations and model simulations. Science 241, 1043–1052.Google Scholar
De Ploey, J., 1961. Morfologie en kwartair-stratigrafie van de Antwerpse Kempen. Acta Geographica Lovaniensia 1, 1–130.Google Scholar
Duller, G.A.T., 2003. Distinguishing quartz and feldspar in single grain luminescence measurements. Radiation Measurements 37, 161–165.Google Scholar
Ellwein, A.L., Mahan, S.A., McFadden, L.D., 2015. Impacts of climate change on the formation and stability of late Quaternary sand sheets and falling dunes, Black Mesa region, southern Colorado Plateau, USA. Quaternary International 362, 87–107.Google Scholar
Field, J.P., Breshears, D.D., Whicker, J.J., 2009. Toward a more holistic perspective of soil erosion: why aeolian research needs to explicitly consider fluvial processes and interactions. Aeolian Research 1, 9–17.Google Scholar
Fitzsimmons, K.E., Miller, G.H., Spooner, N.A., Magee, J.W., 2012. Aridity in the monsoon zone as indicated by desert dune formation in the Gregory Lakes basin, northwestern Australia. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 59, 469–478.Google Scholar
Fitzsimmons, K.E., Rhodes, E.J., Magee, J.W., Barrows, T.T., 2007. The timing of linear dune activity in the Strzelecki and Tirari Deserts, Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, 2598–2616.Google Scholar
Habeck-Fardy, A., Nanson, G., 2014. Environmental character and history of the Lake Eyre Basin, one seventh of the Australian continent. Earth-Science Reviews 132, 39–66.Google Scholar
Han, G., Zhang, G., You, L., Wang, Y., Yang, L., Yang, J., Zhou, L., Yuan, M., Zou, X., Cheng, H., 2016. Deflated rims along the Xiangshui River on the Xiliaohe Plain, northeast China: a case of active fluvial-aeolian interactions. Geomorphology 257, 47–56.Google Scholar
Hu, G., Huang, C., Zhou, Y., Pang, J., Zha, X., Guo, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhao, X., 2016. Hydrological studies of the historical and palaeoflood events on the middle Yihe River, China. Geomorphology 274, 152–161.Google Scholar
Hu, Z., Pan, B., Bridgland, D., Vandenberghe, J., Guo, L., Fan, Y., Westaway, R., 2017. The linking of the upper-middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River as a result of fluvial entrenchment. Quaternary Science Reviews 166, 324–338.Google Scholar
Huang, C., Pang, J., Zha, X., Su, H., Jia, Y., Zhu, Y., 2007. Impact of monsoonal climatic change on Holocene overbank flooding along Sushui River, middle reach of the Yellow River, China. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, 2247–2264.Google Scholar
Huisink, M., 2000. Changing river styles in response to Weichselian climate changes in the Vecht valley, eastern Netherlands. Sedimentary Geology 133, 115–134.Google Scholar
Jacobberger, P.A., 1988. Mapping abandoned river channels in Mali through directional filtering of Thematic Mapper data. Remote Sensing of the Environment 26, 161–170.Google Scholar
Jain, M., Murray, A.S., Bøtter-Jensen, L., 2003. Optically stimulated luminescence dating: how significant is incomplete light exposure in fluvial environments? Quaternaire 15, 143–157.Google Scholar
Jia, L., Hu, D., Wu, H., Zhao, X., Chang, P., You, B., Zhang, M., et al., 2017. Yellow River terrace sequences of the Gonghe–Guide section in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibet: implications for plateau uplift. Geomorphology 295, 323–336.Google Scholar
Jones, L.S., Blakey, R.C., 1997. Eolian-fluvial interaction in the Page Sandstone (Middle Jurassic) in south-central Utah, USA—a case study of erg-margin processes. Sedimentary Geology 109, 181–198.Google Scholar
Kocurek, G., Lancaster, N., 1999. Aeolian system sediment state: theory and Mojave Desert Kelso dunefield example. Sedimentology 46, 505–515.Google Scholar
Konert, M., Vandenberghe, J., 1997. Comparison of laser grain size analysis with pipette and sieve analysis: a solution for the underestimation of the clay fraction. Sedimentology 44, 523–535.Google Scholar
Liu, B., Coulthard, T.J., 2015. Mapping the interactions between rivers and sand dunes: implications for fluvial and aeolian geomorphology. Geomorphology 231, 246–257.Google Scholar
Long, H., Fuchs, M., Yang, L., Cheng, H., 2016. Abrupt sand-dune accumulation at the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau challenges the wet MIS3a inferred from numerous lake-highstands. Scientific Reports 6, 25820.Google Scholar
Lu, H., Wang, X., An, Z., Tan, H., Zhu, R., Ma, H., Li, Z., Miao, X., Wang, X.Y., 2004. Geomorphologic evidence of phased uplift of the northeastern Qinhai-Tibet Plateau since 14 million years ago. Science in China, Series D: Earth Sciences 47, 822–833.Google Scholar
Lu, H., Yi, S., Mason, J.A., Jiang, D., Cheng, J., Stevens, T., Xu, Z., et al., 2013. Variation of East Asian monsoon precipitation during the past 21 k.y. and potential CO2 forcing. Geology 41, 1023–1026.Google Scholar
Lu, H., Zhao, C., Mason, J., Yi, S.W., Zhao, H., Zhou, Y., Ji, J., Swinehart, J., Wang, C., 2011. Holocene climatic changes revealed by aeolian deposits from the Qinghai Lake area (northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau) and possible forcing mechanisms. Holocene 21, 297–304.Google Scholar
Martin, W., 2015. Interactions between fluvial and eolian geomorphic systems and processes: examples from the Sahara and Australia. Catena 134, 4–13.Google Scholar
Mason, J.P., Swinehart, J.B., Loope, D.B., 1997. Holocene history of lacustrine and marsh sediments in a dune-blocked drainage, southwestern Nebraska Sand Hills, USA. Journal of Palaeolimnology 17, 67–83.Google Scholar
McIntosh, R.J., 1983. Floodplain geomorphology and human occupation of the upper inland delta of the Niger. Geographical Journal 149, 182–201.Google Scholar
Mejdahl, V., 1979. Thermoluminescence dating: beta attenuation in quartz grains. Archaeometry 21, 61–73.Google Scholar
Miall, A., 1996. The Geology of Fluvial Deposits. Springer, Berlin.Google Scholar
Miao, X., Lu, H., Li, Z., Cao, G., 2008. Paleocurrent and fabric analyses of the imbricated fluvial gravel deposits in Huangshui Valley, the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China. Geomorphology 99, 433–442.Google Scholar
Murray, A.S., Funder, S., 2003. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of a Danish Eemian coastal marine deposit: a test of accuracy. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, 1177–1183.Google Scholar
Murray, A.S., Olley, J.M., 2002. Precision and accuracy in the optically stimulated luminescence dating of sedimentary quartz: a status review. Geochronometria 21, 1–16.Google Scholar
Murray, A.S., Wintle, A.G., 2000. Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiation Measurements 32, 57–73.Google Scholar
North Greenland Ice Core Project members, 2004. High-resolution record of Northern Hemisphere climate extending into the last interglacial period. Nature 431, 147–151.Google Scholar
Owen, L.A., Finkel, R.C., Ma, H., Barnard, P.L., 2006. Late Quaternary landscape evolution in the Kunlun Mountains and Qaidam Basin, northern Tibet: a framework for examining the links between glaciation, lake level changes and alluvial fan formation. Quaternary International 154–155, 73–86.Google Scholar
Pan, B., Su, H., Hu, Z., Hu, X., Gao, H., Li, J., Kirby, E., 2009. Evaluating the role of climate and tectonics during non-steady incision of the Yellow River: evidence from a 1.24 Ma terrace record near Lanzhou, China. Quaternary Science Reviews 28, 3281–3290.Google Scholar
Prescott, J.R., Hutton, J.T., 1994. Cosmic ray contributions to dose rates for luminescence and ESR dating: large depths and long-term time variations. Radiation Measurements 23, 497–500.Google Scholar
Prins, M.A., Vriend, M., Nugteren, G., Vandenberghe, J., Lu, H., Zheng, H., Weltje, G., 2007. Late Quaternary aeolian dust input variability on the Chinese Loess Plateau: inferences from unmixing of loess grain-size records. Quaternary Science Reviewer 26, 242–254.Google Scholar
Qiang, M.R., Chen, F.H., Wang, Z.T., Niu, G.M., Song, L., 2010. Aeolian deposits at the southeastern margin of the Tengger Desert (China): implications for surface wind strength in the Asian dust source area over the past 20,000 years. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 286, 66–80.Google Scholar
Ravi, S., Breshears, D.D., Huxman, T.E., D’Odorico, P., 2010. Land degradation in drylands: interactions among hydrologic-aeolian erosion and vegetation dynamics. Geomorphology 116, 236–245.Google Scholar
Rittner, M., Vermeesch, P., Carter, A., Bird, A., Stevens, T., Garzanti, E., Vezzoli, G., Dutt, R., Xu, Z., Lu, H., 2016. The provenance of Taklamakan desert sand. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 437, 127–137.Google Scholar
Shen, J., Liu, X., Wang, S., Matsumoto, R., 2005. Palaeoclimatic changes in the Qinghai Lake area during the last 18,000 years. Quaternary International 136, 131–140.Google Scholar
Stokes, M., Mather, A.E., Belfoul, M., Faik, F., Bouzid, S., Geach, M.R., Cunha, P.P., Boulton, S.J., Thiel, C., 2017. Controls on dryland mountain landscape development along the NW Saharan desert margin: insights from Quaternary river terrace sequences (Dadès River, south-central High Atlas, Morocco). Quaternary Science Reviews 166, 363–379.Google Scholar
Tooth, S., 1999. Downstream changes in floodplain character on the Northern Plains of arid central Australia. In: Smith, N.D., Rogers, J. (Eds.), Fluvial Sedimentology VI. International Association of Sedimentologists, Special Publication No. 28. Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 93–112.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, D., De Corte, F., Buylaert, J.P., Kučera, J., Van den haute, P., 2008. On the internal radioactivity in quartz. Radiation Measurements 43, 771–775.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, D., Derese, C., Kasse, C., Van den haute, P., 2013. Late Weichselian (fluvio-)aeolian sediments and Holocene drift-sands of the classic type locality in Twente (E Netherlands): a high-resolution dating study using optically stimulated luminescence. Quaternary Science Reviews 68, 96–113.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., 1995. Timescales, climate and river development. Quaternary Science Reviewer 14, 631–638.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., 2002. The relation between climate and river processes, landforms and deposits during the Quaternary. Quaternary International 91, 17–23.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., 2013. Grain size of fine-grained windblown sediment: a powerful proxy for process identification. Earth-Science Reviews 12, 18–30.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., 2015. River terraces as a response to climatic forcing: formation processes, sedimentary characteristics and sites for human occupation. Quaternary International 370, 3–11.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., Krook, L., 1981. Stratigraphy and genesis of Pleistocene deposits at Alphen (southern Netherlands). Geologie en Mijnbouw 60, 417–426.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., Renssen, H., van Huissteden, J., Nugteren, G., Konert, M., Lu, H., Dodonov, A., Buylaert, J., 2006. Penetration of Atlantic westerly winds into central and East Asia. Quaternary Science Reviews 25, 2380–2389.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., Sun, Y., Wang, X., Abels, H.A, 2018. Grain-size characterization of reworked fine-grained aeolian deposits. Earth-Science Reviews 177, 43–52.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., Wang, X.Y., Lu, H.Y., 2011. The impact of differential tectonic movement on fluvial morphology and sedimentology along the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Geomorphology 134, 171–185.Google Scholar
Van Huissteden, J., Vandenberghe, J., Van der Hammen, T., Laan, W., 2000. Fluvial and aeolian interaction under permafrost conditions: Weichselian Late Pleniglacial, Twente, eastern Netherlands. Catena 40, 307–321.Google Scholar
Wang, X., Lu, H., Vandenberghe, J., Zheng, S., Van Balen, R., 2012. Late Miocene uplift of the NE Tibetan Plateau inferred from basin filling, planation and fluvial terraces in the Huang Shui catchment. Global and Planetary Change 88–89, 10–19.Google Scholar
Wang, X., Van Balen, R., Yi, S., Vandenberghe, J., Lu, H., 2014. Differential tectonic movements in the confluence area of the Huang Shui and Huang He rivers (Yellow River), NE Tibetan Plateau, as inferred from fluvial terrace positions. Boreas 43, 469–484.Google Scholar
Wang, X., Vandenberghe, D., Yi, S., Vandenberghe, J., Lu, H., Van Balen, R., Van den Haute, P., 2013. Late Quaternary paleoclimatic and geomorphological evolution at the interface between the Menyuan basin and the Qilian Mountains, northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Quaternary Research 80, 534–544.Google Scholar
Wang, X., Vandenberghe, J., Yi, S., Van Balen, R., Lu, H., 2015a. Climate-dependent fluvial architecture and processes on a suborbital timescale in areas of rapid tectonic uplift: an example from the NE Tibetan Plateau. Global and Planetary Change 133, 318–329.Google Scholar
Wang, X., Yi, S., Lu, H., Vandenberghe, J., Han, Z., 2015b. Aeolian process and climatic changes in loess records from the northeastern Tibetan Plateau: response to global temperature forcing since 30 ka. Paleoceanography 30, 612–620.Google Scholar
Wang, Z., Ta, W., 2016. Hyper-concentrated flow response to aeolian and fluvial interactions from a desert watershed upstream of the Yellow River. Catena 147, 258–268.Google Scholar
Xu, Z., Lu, H., Yi, S., Vandenberghe, J., Mason, J.A., Zhou, X., Wang, X., 2015. Climate-driven changes to dune activity during the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation in the Mu Us dune field, north-central China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 427, 149–159.Google Scholar
Yan, P., Li, X., Ma, Y., Wu, S., Qian, Y., 2015. Morphological characteristics of interactions between deserts and rivers in northern China. Aeolian Research 19, 225–233.Google Scholar
Yang, X., Zhu, Z., Jaekel, D., Owen, L.A., Han, J., et al., 2002. Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental change and landscape evolution along the Keriya River, Xingjiang, China: the relationship between high mountain glaciation and landscape evolution in foreland desert regions. Quaternary International 97–98, 155–166.Google Scholar
Zhao, X., Wang, J., Wei, M., Lai, Z., Fan, M., Zhao, J., Pan, B., Zhao, Y., Li, X., Zhao, Q., 2017. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of Holocene palaeoflood deposits in the middle reach of the Yongding River, China. Quaternary International 453, 37–47.Google Scholar
Zielinski, P., Sokołowski, R.J., Woronko, B., Fedorowicz, S., 2016. Sandy deposition in a small dry valley in the periglacial zone of the Last Glacial Maximum: a case study from the Józefów site, SE Poland. Quaternary International 399, 58–71.Google Scholar