Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T15:19:17.709Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Late Quaternary fluvial terraces near the Daocheng Ice Cap, eastern Tibetan Plateau

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Liubing Xu  and
Shangzhe Zhou
Liubing Xu*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Shangzhe Zhou
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: + 86 20 85215910. E-mail address:[email protected] (L. Xu).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The timing of terrace formation relative to the glacial–interglacial cycle and what factors control that timing, such as changes in climate and/or uplift, are controversial. Here we present a study of the terraces along the Yazheku River using electron spin resonance (ESR) dating and analysis of the sedimentary characteristics in order to establish the timing of terrace formation and to assess the forcing mechanisms that have been proposed. The Yazheku River flows in glacial trough leading from the Haizi Shan, on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. The range was uplifted during the Quaternary and repeatedly glaciated by ice caps. The four highest major terraces (T5, T4, T3, and T2) are the result of both climatic and tectonic influences. Strath terraces T5–T2 were created during Haizi Shan glacial expansions during MIS 16, 12, 6 and 3–4, respectively. The major aggradation phases of the four terraces occurred during the deglaciations at the ends of MIS 16, 12, 6, and 2. Down-cutting, which led to the generation of the four terraces, immediately followed the deposition of the T5–T2 gravel units. These incisions occurred during the transitions between MIS 16–15, MIS 12–11, MIS 6–5, and MIS 2–1.

Keywords

Fluvial terraceGlaciationTectonic upliftClimate changeHaizi ShanEastern Tibetan Plateau
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 81 , Issue 3 , May 2014 , pp. 452 - 463
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

Adamiec, G., and Aitken, M.J. Dose-rate conversion factors: update. Ancient TL 16, (1998). 37–50.Google Scholar
Andrews, J.T. Pattern and cause of variability of postglacial uplift and rate of uplift in Arctic Canada. J. Geol. 76, (1968). 404–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brevik, E.C., and Reid, J.R. Uplift-based limits to the thickness of ice in the Lake Agassiz basin of North Dakota during the Late Wisconsinan. Geomorphology 32, (2000). 161–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bridgland, D.R. River terrace systems in north-west Europe: an archive of environmental change, uplift and early human occupation. Quat. Sci. Rev. 19, (2000). 1293–1303.Google Scholar
Bridgland, D.R., Westaway, R., Howard, A.J., Innes, J.B., Long, A.J., Mitchell, W.A., White, M.J., and White, T.S. The role of glacio-isostasy in the formation of post-glacial river terraces in relation to the MIS 2 ice limit: evidence from northern England. Proc. Geol. Assoc. 121, (2010). 113–127.Google Scholar
Bull, W.B. Stream-terrace genesis: implications for soil development. Geomorphology 3, (1990). 351–367.Google Scholar
Bull, W.B. Geomorphic response to climatic change. (1991). Oxford University Press, New York. 12–34.Google Scholar
Cui, Z., Wu, Y., and Liu, G. Discovery of the “Kunlun–Huanghe Movement”. Chin. Sci. Bull. 42, (1997). 1986–1989.Google Scholar
Cui, Z., Wu, Y., and Liu, G. On the “Kunlun–Huanghe Movement”. Sci. China (Ser. D) 28, (1998). 53–59.Google Scholar
Cunha, P.P., Martins, A.A., Daveau, S., and Friend, P.E. Tectonic control of the Tejo River fluvial incision during the late Cenozoic, in Ródão-central Portugal (Atlantic Iberian border). Geomorphology 64, (2005). 271–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Demir, T., Yesilnacar, I., and Westaway, R. River terrace sequences in Turkey: sources of evidence for lateral variations in regional uplift. Proc. Geol. Assoc. 115, (2004). 289–311.Google Scholar
Fisk, H.N. Loess and Quaternary geology of the Lower Mississippi Valley. J. Geol. 59, (1951). 333–356.Google Scholar
Gilbert, G.K. Geology of the Henry Mountains (Utah). Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountains Region. (1877). U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C.. (170 pp.)Google Scholar
Grün, R. Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating. Quat. Int. 1, (1989). 65–109.Google Scholar
Hou, Z., Qu, X., and Zhou, J. Collision-orogenic processes of the Yidun Arc in the Sanjiang region: records of granites. Acta Geol. Sin. 75, 4 (2001). 484–497. (In Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Hou, Z., Yang, Y., and Qu, X. Tectonic evolution and mineralization systems of the Yidun Arc orogen in the Sanjiang region, China. Acta Geol. Sin. 78, 1 (2004). 109–120. (In Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Hsieh, M.L., and Knuepfer, P.L.K. Middle-late Holocene river terraces in the Erhien River Basin, southwestern Taiwan—implications of river response to climate change and active tectonic uplift. Geomorphology 38, (2001). 337–372.Google Scholar
Jin, S.Z., Deng, Z., and Huang, P.H. Study on optical effects of quartz E' center in loess. Chin. Sci. Bull. 36, (1991). 1865–1870.Google Scholar
Laurent, M., Falgueres, C., Bahain, J.J., Rousseau, L., and Lanoe, V.V. ESR dating of quartz extracted from Quaternary and Neogen sediments: method potential and actual limits. Quat. Geochronol. 17, (1998). 1057–1062.Google Scholar
Li, J. Glaciers in the Hengduan Mountains. (1996). Science Press, Beijing. (In Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Li, J., and Fang, X. Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and paleo-environmental changes. Chin. Sci. Bull. 43, 15 (1998). 1569–1574.Google Scholar
Li, J., Fang, X., and Ma, H. Landform evolution of the upper Huanghe River and uplift of the Tibetan Plateau in the Late Cenozoic. Sci. China (Ser. D) 26, (1996). 316–322.Google Scholar
Li, J., Xie, S., and Kuang, M. Geomorphic evolution of the Yangtze Gorges and the time of their formation. Geomorphology 41, (2001). 125–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Z., and Wu, X. A study on the path of moisture transportation in the Tibetan Plateau. Geogr. Res. 9, (1990). 33–39. (In Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Lisiecki, L.E., and Raymo, M.E. A Pliocene–Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic δ18O records. Paleoceanography 20, (2005). (PA1003) Google Scholar
Litchfield, N.J., and Berryman, K.R. Correlation of fluvial terraces within the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand: implications for climate and baselevel controls. Geomorphology 68, (2005). 291–313.Google Scholar
Mackin, J.H. Erosional history of the Big Horn basin, Wyoming. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 48, (1937). 813–893.Google Scholar
Maddy, D. Uplift driven valley incision and River Terrace formation in Southern England. J. Quat. Sci. 12, (1997). 539–545.Google Scholar
Maddy, D., and Bridgland, D.R. Accelerated uplift resulting from Anglian glacioisotatic rebound in the Middle Thames Valley, UK?: evidence from the river terrace record. Quat. Sci. Rev. 19, (2000). 1581–1588.Google Scholar
Maddy, D., Bridgland, D.R., and Green, C.P. Crustal uplift in southern England: evidence from the river terrace records. Geomorphology 33, (2000). 167–181.Google Scholar
Maddy, D., Bridglandm, D., and Westawaym, R. Uplift-driven valley incision and climate-controlled river terrace development in the Thames Valley, UK. Quat. Int. 79, (2001). 23–36.Google Scholar
Mejdahl, V. Thermoluminescence dating: beta-dose attenuation in quartz grains. Archaeometry 21, (1979). 61–72.Google Scholar
Merritts, D.J., Vincent, K.R., and Wohl, E.E. Long river profiles, tectonism, and eustasy: a guide to interpreting fluvial terraces. J. Geophys. Res. 99, B7 (1994). 14031–14050.Google Scholar
Motyka, R.J. Little Ice Age subsidence and post Little Ice Age uplift at Juneau, Alaska, inferred from dendrochronology and geomorphology. Quat. Res. 59, (2003). 300–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, L.A., Finkel, R.C., and Caffee, M.W. A note on the extent of glaciation throughout the Himalayan during the global Last Glacial Maximum. Quat. Sci. Rev. 21, (2002). 147–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, L.A., Finkel, R.C., Barnard, P.L., Haizhou, M., Asahi, K., Caffee, M.W., and Derbyshire, E. Climatic and topographic controls on the style and timing of Late Quaternary glaciation throughout Tibet and the Himalaya defined by 10Be cosmogenic radionuclide surface exposure dating. Quat. Sci. Rev. 24, (2005). 1391–1411.Google Scholar
Pan, B., Burbank, D., Wang, Y., Wu, G., Li, J., and Guan, Q. A 900 ky record of strath terrace formation during glacial–interglacial transitions in northwest China. Geology 31, 11 (2003). 957–960.Google Scholar
Pan, B., Gao, H., Wu, G., Li, J., Li, B., and Ye, Y. Dating of erosion surface and terraces in the eastern Qilian Shan, northwest China. Earth Surf. Process. Landforms 32, (2007). 143–154.Google Scholar
Pazzaglia, F.J., and Brandon, M.T. A fluvial record of long-term steady-state uplift and erosion across the Cascadia forearc high, western Washington State. Am. J. Sci. 30, (2001). 385–431.Google Scholar
Penck, A., and Brückner, E. Die alpen im Eiszeitalter. (1909). Tauchnitz, Leipzig. 1199 Google Scholar
Prescott, J.R., and Hutton, J.T. Cosmic ray contributions to dose rates for luminescence and ESR dating: large depths and long-term time variations. Radiat. Meas. 23, (1994). 497–500.Google Scholar
Prescott, J.R., and Robertson, G.B. Sediment dating by luminescence: a review. Radiat. Meas. 27, (1997). 893–922.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rick, W.J. Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating and ESR applications in Quaternary science and archaeometry. Radiat. Meas. 27, (1997). 975–1025.Google Scholar
Schwarcz, H.P. Current challenges to ESR dating. Quat. Sci. Rev. 13, (1994). 601–605.Google Scholar
Shi, Y. Characteristics of late Quaternary monsoonal glaciation on the Tibetan Plateau and in East Asia. Quaternary International (2002). 79–91. (97/98) CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shi, Y. The Quaternary glaciations and environmental variations in China. (2006). Hebei Science and Technology Publishing, Shijiazhuang. (In Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Shi, Y., Zheng, B., Li, S., and Ye, B. Studies on altitude and climatic environment in the middle and eastern parts of the Tibetan Plateau during Quaternary maximum glaciation. J. Glaciol. Geocryol. 17, (1995). 97112 Google Scholar
Sigvaldason, G.E., Annertz, K., and Nilsson, M. Effect of glacier loading/deloading on volcanism: postglacial volcanic production rate of the Dyngjufjiill area, central Iceland. Bull. Volcanol. 54, (1992). 385–392.Google Scholar
Starkel, L. Climatically controlled terraces in uplifting mountain areas. Quat. Sci. Rev. 22, (2003). 2189–2198.Google Scholar
Toyoda, S., Voinchet, P., Falguères, C., Dolo, J.M., and Laurent, M. Bleaching of ESR signals by the sunlight: a laboratory experiment for establishing the ESR dating of sediments. Appl. Radiat. Isot. 52, (2000). 1357–1362.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, J. Climate forcing of fluvial system development: an evolution of ideas. Quat. Sci. Rev. 22, (2003). 2053–2060.Google Scholar
Walther, R., and Zilles, D. ESR studies on bleached sedimentary quartz. Quat. Sci. Rev. 13, (1994). 611–614.Google Scholar
Wang, J., Raisbeck, R., Xu, X., Yiou, F., and Bai, S. In situ cosmogenic 10Be dating of the Quaternary glaciations in the southern Shaluli Mountain on the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Sci. China (Ser. D) 49, (2006). 1291–1298.Google Scholar
Watchman, A.L., and Twidale, C.R. Relative and ‘absolute’ dating of land surfaces. Earth Sci. Rev. 58, (2002). 1–49.Google Scholar
Wegmann, K.W., and Pazzaglia, F.J. Holocene strath terraces, climate change, and active tectonics: the Clearwater River basin, Olympic Peninsula, Washington State. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 114, 6 (2002). 731–744.Google Scholar
Wen, X., Xu, X., Zheng, R., Xie, Y., and Wan, C. Average slip rate and earthquake rupturing of the Ganzi–Yushu fault zone. Sci. China (Ser. D) 33, (2003). 199–208.Google Scholar
Westaway, R., Maddy, D., and Bridgland, D.R. Flow in the lower continental crust as a mechanism for the Quaternary uplift of southeast England: constraints from the Thames terrace record. Quat. Sci. Rev. 21, (2002). 559–603.Google Scholar
Xu, L., and Zhou, S. River Terraces in the Shuoqu River and their response to mountain uplift and climate changes in Western Sichuan Province. J. Glaciol. Geocryol. 4, (2007). 603–612.Google Scholar
Xu, L., and Zhou, S. Quaternary glaciations recorded by glacial and fluvial landforms in the Shaluli Mountains, southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Geomorphology 103, (2009). 268–275.Google Scholar
Xu, X., Wen, X., Yu, G., Zheng, R., Luo, H., and Zheng, B. Average slip rate, earthquake rupturing segmentation and recurrence behavior on the Litang fault zone, western Sichuan Province, China. Sci. China (Ser. D: Earth Sci.) 48, (2005). 1183–1196.Google Scholar
Yang, N., Zhang, Y., Meng, H., and Zhang, H. Terraces in the Minjiang River, western Sichuan Plateau. J. Geomech. 9, (2003). 363–370.Google Scholar
Zeuner, F.E. The Pleistocene Period: its Climate, Chronology and Faunal Successions. 1st ed. (1945). Royal Society, Publication No. 130, London. 322 Google Scholar
Zhang, Q., Zhou, Y., Lu, X., and Xu, Q. Uplifting rate of the modern Tibetan Plateau. Chin. Sci. Bull. 35, 7 (1990). 529–531.Google Scholar
Zheng, B., and Ma, Q. A study on the geomorphological characteristics and glaciations in Paleo-Daocheng Ice Cap, western Sichuan. J. Glaciol. Geocryol. 17, (1995). 23–32. (In Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Zheng, X., Xu, J., and Li, X. Characteristics of water vapour transfer in upper troposphere over the Tibetan Plateau. Plateau Meteorol. 16, (1997). 274–281. (In Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Zhao, J, Song, Y, King, J.W., Liu, S, Wang, J, and Wu, M Glacial geomorphology and glacial history of the Muzart River valley, Tianshan range, China. Quat. Sci. Rev. 29, (2010). 1453–1463.Google Scholar
Zhao, J, Zhou, S, He, Y, Ye, Y, and Liu, S ESR dating of glacial tills and glaciations in the Urumqi River headwaters, Tianshan Mountains, China. Quat. Int. 144, (2006). 61–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, R., Ma, S., and Cai, C. Late Quaternary active features of the Ganzi–Yushu fault zone. Earthq.Res. China 12, (1996). 250–260.Google Scholar
Zhuo, G., Xu, X., and Chen, L. Water distribution feature of summer precipitation on the Tibetan Plateau. Sci. Meteorol. Sin. 22, (2002). 1–8. (In Chinese with English abstract) Google Scholar
Ziegler, M. Orbital forcing of the late Pleistocene boreal summer monsoon: links to North Atlantic cold events and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Geol. Ultraiect. 313, (2009). 141 Google Scholar
Ziegler, M., Lourens, L.J., Tuenter, E., and Reichart, G.-J. High Arabian Sea productivity conditions during MIS 13 — odd monsoon event or intensified overturning circulation at the end of the Mid-Pleistocene transition?. Clim. Past 6, (2010). 63–76.Google Scholar