Aeolian deposits in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin, southern Tibetan Plateau: Spatial distribution, depositional model and environmental impact

doi:10.13745/j.esf.sf.2022.9.7

Abstract

Abstract:

Situated in the suture zone formed by the India-Euroasia collision, the Yarlung Zangbo River (YZR) basin in the southern Tibetan Plateau is a hotspot for Earth systems research, where Middle-Pleistocene aeolian deposits not only provide an important window into the history of climate change and atmospheric circulation in the Tibetan Plateau, but also help us to gain a deeper understanding of the link between tectonics, climate and landscapes in general. However, a systematic understanding of the distribution, depositional model, and environmental effects of aeolian sediments in this region is still lacking. Here, we construct a new atlas and a depositional model of aeolian sediments in the YZR basin based on extensive field investigation as well as laboratory analyses of typical sediment samples collected across the region, combined with existing research results. In general, aeolian sand and loess are distributed in patches and usually occur together. A close provenance relation between loess and nearby loose sediments such as sand dunes and river sands indicates that aeolian sediments cycle locally, hence they record spatial changes of regional climate; in contrast, the valley sediments not only receive dust from distant sources but also contribute dust materials to the world via upper-level westerly winds. Middle-Pleistocene aeolian dust activity in the YZR basin was controlled combinedly by tectonic movement and global climate change; whereas aeolian dust activity during the Holocene was relatively complex under the river valley environment, and regional climate change was generally influenced by the synergistic effect of the mid-latitude Westerlies and the Indian summer monsoon.

Key words: southern Tibetan Plateau, Yarlung Zangbo River, sand dune, loess, distribution, provenance, climate change, Holocene

CLC Number:

P532
P931

XIA Dunsheng, YANG Junhuai, WANG Shuyuan, LIU Xin, CHEN Zixuan, ZHAO Lai, NIU Xiaoyi, JIN Ming, GAO Fuyuan, LING Zhiyong, WANG Fei, LI Zaijun, WANG Xin, JIA Jia, YANG Shengli. Aeolian deposits in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin, southern Tibetan Plateau: Spatial distribution, depositional model and environmental impact[J]. Earth Science Frontiers, 2023, 30(4): 229-244.

Figures/Tables 7

Fig.1 The Yarlung Zangbo River (YZR) basin region, southern Tibetan Plateau. (a) Geological location of the study area and distribution of sampling sites along the river. (b) Near-surface wind field (adapted from [42]). (c, d) Main atmospheric circulation patterns (data adapted from international databases the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis 1) and precipitation data are from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC)).

Fig.2 Atlas of aeolian sediments in the YZR basin. Top: overview distribution map shows the spatial distribution of aeolian/loess deposits in the basin and indicate the location of 6 mapping regions indexed a-f. Middle: aeolian/loess deposition areas in regions a-f. Bottom: variation of streambed width across regions a-f.

Fig.3 High-resolution regional distribution maps of aeolian deposits in the YZR basin. Profile TB10 in c adapted from [21]; profiles TB1,7,8, Cha’er, LCP, RKZ, Lhainxiang and Dazhuka in d adapted from [21,23,57⇓⇓-60]; profiles QUX1, 2, JIN2, CHI1, DRE18, STA1, MOG1, GYA3, MOG4, LS, Jiangtang, SNP and SRP in e adapted from [23,27,58,61]; profiles LXP, YJP1 and Zeyi in f adapted from [23,62].

Fig.4 The south-north distribution of aeolian sediments in the wide valley region

Fig.5 Sediment provenance analysis revealing close provenance relation between loess and nearby loose sediments. (a) Discrimination diagram. (b, c) Sediment grain size distribution.

Fig.6 Multiple plots of mean annual precipitation/temperature and physicochemical proxies for surface soil/aeolian sediment samples collected cross the basin from west to east to show sedimentary response to climate change in the YZR basin

Fig.7 Depositional model of aeolian sand/loess and its response to regional climate

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