Effects of tectonics and lithology on long profiles of 16 rivers of the southern Central Massif border between the Aude and the Orb (France)

The analysis of longitudinal profiles of river channels and terraces in the southern Central Massif border, between the Aude and the Orb, allows the detection of anomalies caused by lithology and/or tectonic distortions. The rivers which have abnormally high slope and non-lithological knickzones indicate the main uplifted zones: the Montagne Noire and the Saint-Chinian ridge. A geomorphological and sedimentological analysis of detrital deposits was carried out as a basis for correlating the different formations, reconstructing the palaeodrainage and finding the main uplift and fluvial incision stages. During the Miocene, uplift remains limited as it is shown by the correlative fine deposits in the Languedocian piedmont. The Messinian incision (5.7–5.3 Ma) does not cross the Saint-Chinian ridge. On the other hand, fluvial incision becomes widespread in the Montagne Noire during the Upper Pliocene (3.4–2 Ma) when coarse deposits overlie either the Pliocene clay in the Orb palaeovalley or the Messinian conglomerates at the Cesse outlet. An Upper Pliocene uplift of the Montagne Noire and of the Saint-Chinian ridge is the cause of this incision and also of the diversion of the Cesse towards the Aude. Where the uplift rate was higher than incision rate, knickzones have developed like in the Avant-Monts south-side. The knickzones of lithological origin maintain a strong vertical stability during all the river incision stages. On the other hand, those of tectonic origin or base level lowering record upstream migration and their rate of retreat is controlled by the river discharge. As incision occurs only during the cold/temperate transition periods during the Quaternary, upward erosion slowly migrates (15 km since the Upper Pliocene, on the Orb) and so does not reach the riverheads.     

Climatic and tectonic controls on the fluvial morphology of the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau (China)

The geomorphological evolution of the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP) could provide valuable information for reconstructing the tectonic movements of the region. And the considerable uplift and climatic changes at here, provide an opportunity for studying the impact of tectonic and monsoon climate on fluvial morphological development and sedimentary architecture of fluvial deposits. The development of peneplain-like surface and related landscape transition from basin filling to incision indicate an intense uplift event with morphological significance at around 10–17 Ma in the NETP. After that, incision into the peneplain was not continuous but a staircase of terraces, developed as a result of climatic influences. In spite of the generally persisting uplift of the whole region, the neighbouring tectonic blocks had different uplift rates, leading to a complicated fluvial response with accumulation terraces alternating with erosion terraces at a small spatial and temporal scale. The change in fluvial activity as a response to climatic impact is reflected in the general sedimentary sequence on the terraces from high-energy (braided) channel deposits (at full glacial) to lower-energy deposits of small channels (towards the end of the glacial), mostly separated by a rather sharp boundary from overlying flood-loams (at the glacial-interglacial transition) and overall soil formation (interglacial). Pronounced incision took place at the subsequent warm-cold transitions. In addition, it is hypothesized that in some strongly uplifted blocks energy thresholds could be crossed to allow terrace formation as a response to small climatic fluctuations (10³–10⁴ year timescale). Although studies of morpho-tectonic and geomorphological evolution of the NETP, improve understanding on the impacts of tectonic motions and monsoonal climate on fluvial processes, a number of aspects, such as the distribution and correlation of peneplain and the related morphological features, the extent and intensity of tectonic movements influencing the crossing of climatic thresholds, leading to terrace development, need to be studied further.     

Tectonics of the Xining Basin in NW China and its implications for the evolution of the NE Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

The continuous Cenozoic strata in the Xining Basin record the growth and evolution of the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. Here, the mechanisms and evolution of the Xining Basin during the Cenozoic were investigated by studying the sedimentary facies of 22 Cenozoic sections across the basin and detrital zircon U‐Pb ages of three Cenozoic sections located in the eastern, central and western basin, respectively. In the Eocene (ca. 50–44 Ma), the India‐Eurasia Collision affected the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The Central Qilian Block rotated clockwise by ca. 24° to form the Xining Basin. The Triassic flysch sediments surrounding the basin were the primary sources of sediment. Between ca. 44–40 Ma, the basin enlarged and deepened, and sedimentation was dominated by saline lake sediments. Between ca. 40–25.5 Ma, the Xining Basin began to shrink and dry, resulting in the deposition of saline pan and saline mudflat sediments in the basin. After ca. 20 Ma, the Laji Shan to the south of the Xining Basin was uplifted due to the northward compression of the Guide Basin to the south. Clasts that eroded from this range dominated the sediments as the basin evolved from a lacustrine environment into a fluvial system. The Xining Basin was an extensional basin in the Early Cenozoic, but changed into a compressive one during the Late Cenozoic, it was not a foreland basin either to the Kunlun Shan or to the western Qinling Shan in the whole Cenozoic. The formation and deformation of the Xining Basin are the direct responses of the India‐Eurasia Collision and the growth of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau.     

黄土高原0.8Ma以来地面抬升的时空特征研究

根据黄土高原地区黄河阶地的形态特征和成因分析,认为其形成主要是地面抬升所致并且在黄河达到均衡状态下形成,可以推断黄土高原的地面抬升。根据对黄土高原地区黄河0.8 Ma阶地的研究并结合相关文献资料,选取兰州段、黑山峡段、晋陕峡谷段和三门峡段作为典型研究区域,得出黄土高原0.8 Ma以来的地面抬升存在显著的时空特征,即空间特征表现为地面抬升量有西大东小的规律,时间特征表现为地面抬升速率有后期加速趋势、特别是晚更新世以来。并认为黄土高原0.8 Ma以来的地面抬升与青藏高原的构造抬升有成因上的联系。     

Tectonic influences on the Quaternary drainage evolution on the north-western margin of the French Central Massif: The Creuse valley example

This work examines the links between tectonics and fluvial dynamics on the north-western margin of the French Central Massif. Geomorphological and sedimentological analyses of detrital deposits were carried out as the basis for correlating the different formations, and for reconstructing the palaeodrainage in the Creuse basin. Cross-sections of the valleys, longitudinal profiles of terraces and glacis indicate post-depositional deformation of about 50 m amplitude: uplift north and south of Guéret and in the Éguzon district. These deformations are related to the Central Massif uplift of 50 m above the Paris Basin since 1.1 Ma (OIS 32). The Creuse incision varies from 140 m in the Crozant anticline to 60 m in the Paris Basin. An Upper Pliocene palaeochannel located on the Sédelle–Ardentes–Issoudun lineament is evidenced by andalusite coming from the Fougères unit. The reactivation of the transverse faults between Le Pin and Le Menoux has distorted the middle terraces. The main knick points are mainly due to tectonics and have been persistent in the landscape since the Upper Pliocene. Their recession rate is controlled both by discharge and lithology. Tributary streams exhibit strong convexities, indicating that the erosional response to Pliocene uplift has not yet propagated into upland surfaces.     

Controls on intermontane basin filling,isolation and incision on the margin of the Puna Plateau,NW Argentina (~23°S)

Intermontane basins are illuminating stratigraphic archives of uplift, denudation and environmental conditions within the heart of actively growing mountain ranges. Commonly, however, it is difficult to determine from the sedimentary record of an individual basin whether basin formation, aggradation and dissection were controlled primarily by climatic, tectonic or lithological changes and whether these drivers were local or regional in nature. By comparing the onset of deposition, sediment‐accumulation rates, incision, deformation, changes in fluvial connectivity and sediment provenance in two interrelated intermontane basins, we can identify diverse controls on basin evolution. Here, we focus on the Casa Grande basin and the adjacent Humahuaca basin along the eastern margin of the Puna Plateau in northwest Argentina. Underpinning this analysis is the robust temporal framework provided by U‐Pb geochronology of multiple volcanic ashes and our new magnetostratigraphical record in the Humahuaca basin. Between 3.8 and 0.8 Ma, ~120 m of fluvial and lacustrine sediments accumulated in the Casa Grande basin as the rate of uplift of the Sierra Alta, the bounding range to its east, outpaced fluvial incision by the Río Yacoraite, which presently flows eastward across the range into the Humahuaca basin. Detrital zircon provenance analysis indicates a progressive loss of fluvial connectivity from the Casa Grande basin to the downstream Humahuaca basin between 3 and 2.1 Ma, resulting in the isolation of the Casa Grande basin from 2.1 Ma to <1.7 Ma. This episode of basin isolation is attributed to aridification due to the uplift of the ranges to the east. Enhanced aridity decreased sediment supply to the Casa Grande basin to the point that aggradation could no longer keep pace with the rate of the surface uplift at the outlet of the basin. Synchronous events in the Casa Grande and Humahuaca basins suggest that both the initial onset of deposition above unconformities at ~3.8 Ma and the re‐establishment of fluvial connectivity at ~0.8 Ma were controlled by climatic and/or tectonic changes affecting both basins. Reintegration of the fluvial network allowed subsequent incision in the Humahuaca basin to propagate upstream into the Casa Grande basin.     

High-altitude Plio–Quaternary fluvial deposits and their implication on the tilt of a horst, western Anatolia, Turkey

This study investigates the origin and regional tectonic implications of high-altitude Plio (?)–Quaternary fluvial deposits developed over the Bozdağ horst which is an important structural element within the horst–graben system of western Anatolia, Turkey.A total of 23 deposits occur near the modern drainage divide comprising fluvial to occasionally lacustrine deposits. The deposits are all elongated in N–S direction with a width / length ratio of 1 / 10. The largest of them is of 13 km in length with a maximum observable thickness of about 100–110 m. Morphological, lithological, deformational characteristics of these deposits and the drainage system of the area all suggest that the deposits were formed due to uplift and southward tilting of the Bozdağ horst. This tilting which is estimated as 1.2° to 2.2° caused accumulation of the stream load along channels flowing from south to north. All the deposits were later dissected by the same streams with the exception of one deposit which still preserves its original lake form. These deposits are of Quaternary age, which corresponds to the latest N–S directed extensional tectonic phase in the region.     

Geomorphology and tectonics of uplifted coasts: New chronostratigraphical constraints for the Quaternary evolution of Tyrrhenian North Calabria (southern Italy)

The Tyrrhenian coastal sector of North Calabria, stretching between Torre S. Nicola and the Lao river, belongs to the inner extensional sector of the Neogene Apennines thrust belt. It is characterised by a stair of Quaternary marine and fluvial terraces representing the geomorphic response to the interaction between the Quaternary sea level fluctuations and the regional trend of tectonic uplift experienced by the margins of the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin. Since the last century, several authors studied the North Calabria coasts, where the flight of terraces preserves significant marine and continental successions, and proposed several paleo-geomorphological and tectonic reconstructions. In this paper we present a new stratigraphic and morphostructural setting of the North Calabria coasts based on both chronostratigraphical constraints obtained from marine deposits and detailed geomorphological analysis. A ten order stair of marine terraces, stepping between 240 and 0 m a.s.l., was recognized and time-constrained by the age of the Fornaci S. Nicola marine succession which was ascribed by integrated paleoecological, biostratigraphical and paleomagentic analyses to the early Middle Pleistocene (MIS 19–15). In particular, the 240, 200 and 160 m a.s.l. high strandlines were ascribed to the Early Pleistocene and the ones between 100 and 15 m a.s.l. to the Middle Pleistocene. The total amount of the vertical motion experienced by the studied area was estimated, and evaluation of the average rates of uplift for the Middle and Late Pleistocene times were also given. Considering the elevation a.s.l. of the oldest terraces, a tectonic uplift of at least 240 m was calculated for the North Calabria coasts since the Early Pleistocene times, 100 m of which gained from the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene. On the other hand, the 8-m high Late Pleistocene strandlines display a negligible vertical displacement affecting the area during the last 130 ka. The entire staircase of terraces preserves a record of slowing down in the rate of uplift, which attained an average value of 0.15 mm/year during the Middle Pleistocene.     

Timing of Xunhua and Guide basin development and growth of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau,China

The Xunhua, Guide and Tongren intermontane basin system in the NE Tibetan Plateau, situated near the Xining basin to the N and the Linxia basin to the E, is bounded by thrust fault‐controlled ranges. These include to the N, the Riyue Shan, Laji Shan and Jishi Shan ranges, and to the S the northern West Qinling Shan (NWQ). An integrated study of the structural geology, sedimentology and provenance of the Cenozoic Xunhua and Guide basins provides a detailed record of the growth of the NE Tibetan Plateau since the early Eocene. The Xining Group (ca. 52–21 Ma) is interpreted as consisting of unified foreland basin deposits which were controlled by the bounding thrust belt of the NWQ. The Xunhua, Guide and Xining subbasins were interconnected prior to later uplift and damming by the Laji Shan and Jishi Shan ranges. Their sediment source, the NWQ, is constrained by strong unidirectional paleocurrent trends towards the N, a northward fining lithology, distinct and recognizable clast types and detrital zircon ages. Collectively, formation of this mountain–basin system indicates that the Tibetan Plateau expanded into the NWQ at a time roughly coinciding with Eocene to earliest Miocene continental collision between India and Eurasia. The Guide Group (ca. 21–1.8 Ma) is inferred to have been deposited in the separate Xunhua, Guide and Tongren broken foreland basins. Each basin was filled by locally sourced alluvial fans, braided streams and deltaic‐lacustrine systems. Structural, paleogeographic, paleocurrent and provenance data indicate that thrust faulting in the NWQ stepped northward to the Laji Shan from ca. 21 to 16 Ma. This northward shift was accompanied by E–W shortening related to nearly N–S‐striking thrust faulting in Jishi Shan after 11–13 Ma. A lower Pleistocene conglomerate (1.8–1.7 Ma) was deposited by a through‐flowing river system in the overfilled and connected Guide and Xunhua basins following the termination of thrust activity. All of the basin–mountain zones developed along the Tibetan Plateau's NE margin since Indian–Tibetan continental collision may have been driven by collision‐induced basal drag of old slab remnants in the manner of N‐dipping and flat‐slab subduction, and their subsequent sinking into the deep mantle.     

山西保德黄河最高阶地形成的时代

野外调查发现山西保德地区存在六级阶地序列,其中第四级阶地在保德保存最为完好,而最老的第六级阶地为晚第三纪阶地。保德地区各级阶地上砾石的岩性都以灰岩为主,砂岩次之,表明晚第三纪阶地与黄河低阶地物源相同,应该是黄河阶地。在磨扇沟T6阶地上覆厚度超过51 m的红粘土层,磁性地层的研究表明,该红粘土的底部年代在6.5 Ma左右,这与保德冀家沟的研究结果吻合,说明保德地区黄河最高阶地形成的时代约在6.5 Ma左右。而黄河则可能是伴随着8.0 Ma左右青藏高原东北缘的强烈隆升而形成。     

Late Quaternary activity of faults and recurrence interval of earthquakes in the eastern Hokuriku region, northern central Japan, on the basis of precise cryptotephra analysis of fluvial terrace sequences

About 2000 active faults are known to exist within the land area of Japan. Most of these active faults have deformed the topographic surfaces which were formed in the late Quaternary, including fluvial terraces; and the formative ages of these terraces are estimated mainly by tephrochronology. Fluvial terraces in the eastern Hokuriku region, comprising the Toyama, Tonami, and Kanazawa Plains, northern central Japan, are widely distributed and have been deformed by reverse active faults. The formative age of terraces in this area has not been reported, as volcanic ash deposits are rarely visible within terrace deposits and the overlying loamy soil, and outcrops of fluvial terraces are quite scarce in this area. In the present study, we carried out a drilling survey on these terraces to obtain samples of the overlying loamy soil and upper part of terrace deposits. From these samples, we extracted some well-known widespread volcanic ash, from which we were able to estimate the approximate age of the terraces and the vertical slip rate of the active faults. Late Quaternary fluvial terraces in eastern Hokuriku are divided into 12 levels: Terraces 1 to 12 in descending order. Widespread tephras such as the Kikai-Tozurahara Tephra (K-Tz: 95 ka) are contained in the lowest part of the loamy soil in Terrace 4 and the Daisen-Kurayoshi Pumice (DKP: 55 ka) is present in the lowest part of the loamy soil in Terrace 6. From the ages and the vertical displacements of the fluvial terraces, the late Quaternary average vertical slip rates of active faults in eastern Hokuriku are estimated to be 0.2–0.9 mm/year (Uozu fault), 0.1–0.4 mm/year (Kurehayama fault), 0.1–0.3 mm/year (Takashozu fault), 0.1–0.4 mm/year (Hohrinji fault), and 0.5–0.8 mm/year (Morimoto-Togashi fault). We also estimated the recurrence interval of earthquakes related to active faults from displacement per event and ages of terraces and no significant difference in vertical displacement per single earthquake for different active faults, and recurrence intervals tend to be inversely proportional to vertical displacement rates. This study demonstrates that a combination of drilling of loamy soil and precise cryptotephra analysis of fluvial terraces can be used to estimate the formative age of the terraces and the average slip rate of active faults in areas where volcanic ash deposits are rare.     

河流对0.8 Ma B.P.环境突变事件的地貌响应研究

以兰州盆地0.8 Ma B.P.阶地为例证,运用古地磁测年方法,通过收集相关文献,分析讨论了0.8 Ma B.P.阶地与0.8 Ma B.P.环境突变事件的联系。结果表明：① 0.8 Ma B.P.环境突变事件主要表现在气候转型、构造运动等方面,具有群发性和全球性特点;② 兰州盆地以及其他区域0.8 Ma B.P.阶地存在的证据,表明河流在0.8 Ma B.P. 前后普遍发生过一次下切事件;③ 0.8 Ma B.P.阶地是河流对0.8 Ma B.P.环境突变事件的地貌响应,构造运动为提供了下切驱动力,而气候变化则控制了下切时间。     

临夏盆地三千万年来沉积物粒度特征及其构造意义*

本文通过对临夏盆地长达30m.y.的连续沉积(临夏群)共计779个样品的粒度特征分析,划分出七大完整的沉积旋回。粒度曲线明显地表示出青藏高原的强烈隆升始于距今3.4Ma前。该文还初步确定出青藏高原地区两次夷平过程最终结束的年代。     

The role of neotectonics and glaciation on terrace formation along the Nysa K odzka River in the Sudeten Mountains (southwestern Poland)

The Nysa K odzka river drainage basin in the Sudeten Mts., SW Poland, preserves a complex late Cainozoic succession that includes eight fluvial series or terraces and deposits from two glacial episodes as well as local volcanic rocks, slope deposits and loess. Fluvial sedimentation took place during the Late Pliocene and from the early Middle Pleistocene (Cromerian), with a long erosion phase (gap) during the Early Pleistocene. Fluvial series are dated to the Late Pliocene, Cromerian, Holsteinian, late Saalian/Eemian, Weichselian, and the Holocene. Glacial deposits represent the early Elsterian and early Saalian stages. Almost all these stratigraphic units have been observed in all geomorphic zones of the river: the mountainous K odzko Basin, the Bardo Mts. (Bardo gorge) and in the mountain foreland. The main phase of tectonic uplift and strong erosion was during the Early Pleistocene. Minor uplift is documented also during the post-early Saalian and probably the post-Elsterian. The post-early Saalian and post-Elstrian uplift phases are probably due to glacio-isostatic rebound. The Quaternary terrace sequence was formed due to base-level changes, epigenetic erosion after glaciations and neotectonic movements. The Cromerian fluvial deposits/terraces do not indicate tectonic influence at all. All other Quaternary terraces indicate clear divergence, and the post-early Saalian terraces also show fault scarps. The fluvial pattern remained stable, once formed during the Pliocene, with only minor changes along the uplifted block along the Bardo gorge, inferring an antecedent origin for the Bardo gorge. Only during the post-glacial times, have epigenetic incisions slightly modified the valley.     

格尔木河流域河流地貌演化研究进展

位于柴达木盆地南缘的格尔木河发源于东昆仑山脉,末端注入盆地中东部的察尔汗盐湖,是该盐湖最主要的补给河流,极大地影响着该盐湖的成盐演化过程。格尔木河的主要支流—昆仑河和雪水河都是由冰川融水形成,因此该流域内的冰川进退对河流径流量变化和谷地填充地层的物源有着重要影响。该流域内主要的填充地层为昆仑河砾岩(河流相)、纳赤台沟组(冲洪积相)和三岔河组(河湖相)。在三岔河组之上,发育了4~5级阶地,除最高的T5之外,其它均为以三岔河组为基座的内叠阶地(少部分河段以昆仑河砾岩为基座)。根据前人的研究,昆仑河砾岩沉积的年代为1 269~1 042 ka(ESR年龄);纳赤台沟组堆积于482~642 ka之间(ESR和TL年龄);三岔河组形成于355~95 ka(ESR和U系年龄)、90~16 ka(OSL年龄),T5~T1阶地基本形成于16~4.6 ka之间。由于采用的测年方法不同,不同学者对三岔河组的形成时代存在争议,对阶地的划分也有所不同(4级或5级阶地)。但是,对T5~T1阶地形成时代有较一致的观点,即末次冰消期和全新世早中期。对于格尔木河河流地貌过程的驱动因素,目前尚存在争论,大部分学者认为是气候变化驱动了该区域河流地貌的形成,但也有学者认为构造活动是主导因素。     

Alluvial terraces on the Ionian coast of northern Calabria, southern Italy: Implications for tectonic and sea level controls

In this paper we present the results of an integrated geomorphological, pedological and stratigraphical study carried out along the Ionian coast of northern Calabria (southern Italy). This area is characterised by the occurrence of five orders of alluvial terraces that are striking features of the landscape, where large and steep catchments debouch from the mountain front to the hilly coastal belt.Field investigations indicate that the deposits of all five terraces are suggestive of shallow gravel-bed braided streams.On the basis of the age of the Pleistocene substratum and morphostratigraphic correlation with marine terraces cropping out in the nearby areas, each order has been associated to specific marine oxygen isotope stages.Consequently, we focused on the interplay of allocyclic factors influencing stream aggradation/degradation. Soil features and other climatic proxies suggest that climate didn't play an important role with respect to tectonic and base-level changes in controlling fluvial dynamics.In particular, we recognised that during the middle Pleistocene the study area experienced a period of subaerial landscape modelling, as suggested by the thick and complex alluvial sequence of the highest terrace (T1). The onset of regional uplift marks a change in the geomorphic scenario, with tectonic and eustatically driven changes in base-level working together in causing switches in fluvial aggradational/erosional phases (T2–T5 terraces). Because of the uplift, river dissection occurred during phases of sea level fall, whereas aggradation phases occurred during periods of climate amelioration (sea level rise) just before highstands were attained.As a consequence, the stepped terraces in the study area reflect the interplay between tectonics (uplift) and sea level changes, in which terraces define episodes of relative sea level fall during the late Quaternary.     

Rates of fluvial bedrock incision within an actively uplifting orogen: Central Karakoram Mountains, northern Pakistan

Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) ¹⁰Be surface exposure ages for strath terraces along the Braldu River in the Central Karakoram Mountains range from 0.8 to 11 ka. This indicates that strath terrace formation began to occur rapidly upon deglaciation of the Braldu valley at  11 ka. Fluvial incision rates for the Braldu River based on the TCN ages for strath terraces range from 2 to 29 mm/a. The fluvial incision rates for the central gorged section of the Braldu River are an order of magnitude greater than those for the upper and lower reaches. This difference is reflected in the modern stream gradient and valley morphology. The higher incision rates in the gorged central reach of the Braldu River likely reflect differential uplift above the Main Karakoram Thrust that has resulted in the presence of a knickpoint and more rapid fluvial incision. The postglacial fluvial incision rate (2–3 mm/a) for the upper and lower reaches are of the same order of magnitude as the exhumation rates estimated from previously published thermochronological data for the Baltoro granite in the upper catchment region and for the adjacent Himalayan regions.     

末次冰盛期后格尔木河下切的时空变化及其构造意义

格尔木河河谷中发育有四级河流阶地,均形成于末次冰盛期之后。阶地的形成由构造抬升驱动,四级阶地代表的河流下切过程反映了四次阶段性构造抬升。以三岔河和纳赤台为代表的中游河段,四次河流阶段性下切速率分别为16~13 ka BP (T4-T3),3.33~9.33 mm/a;13~11 ka BP (T3-T2),5.5~12 mm/a;11~5 ka BP (T2-T1),0.33~1 mm/a;5 ka BP (T1 至今),0.6~0.8 mm/a,下切速率自T4 至T1 先增快后减慢。上游小南川河段5 ka BP以来的平均下切速率为4 mm/a,显著大于三岔河和纳赤台河段,同期河流溯源侵蚀速率也较快,表明小南川局部地区全新世中期抬升强烈,应为西大滩断裂强烈活动所致。受区域性构造活动差异影响,格尔木河河流阶地在局部地区出现变形,其中在三岔河和最老冲积扇扇顶存在两个下切幅度和速度高峰值,而纳赤台河段下切和缓。表明控制昆仑河和野牛沟发育的昆仑河-野牛沟断裂、山前的红石沟断裂自末次冰盛期以来持续活动。其中,昆仑河-野牛沟断裂16~13 ka BP活动速率较快,到13~11 ka BP达到最快,11 ka BP后减慢,与河流中下游整体构造活动趋势一致。     

Exhumation and incision history of the Lahul Himalaya, northern India, based on (U–Th)/He thermochronometry and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide methods

Low-temperature apatite (U–Th)/He (AHe) thermochronology on vertical transects of leucogranite stocks and ¹⁰Be terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) surface exposure dating on strath terraces in the Lahul Himalaya provide a first approximation of long-term (10⁴–10⁶ years) exhumation rates for the High Himalayan Crystalline Series (HHCS) for northern India. The AHe ages show that exhumation of the HHCS in Lahul from shallow crustal levels to the surface was ~ 1–2 mm/a and occurred during the past ~ 2.5 Ma. Bedrock exhumation in Lahul fits into a regional pattern in the HHCS of low-temperature thermochronometers yielding Plio-Pleistocene ages. Surface exposure ages of strath terraces along the Chandra River range from ~ 3.5 to 0.2 ka. Two sites along the Chandra River show a correlation between TCN age and height above the river level yielding maximum incision rates of 12 and 5.5 mm/a. Comparison of our AHe and surface exposure ages from Lahul with thermochronometry data from the fastest uplifting region at the western end of the Himalaya, the Nanga Parbat syntaxis, illustrates that there are contrasting regions in the High Himalaya where longer term (10⁵–10⁷ years) erosion and exhumation of bedrock substantially differ even though Holocene rates of fluvial incision are comparable. These data imply that the orogen's indenting corners are regions where focused denudation has been stable since the mid-Pliocene. However, away from these localized areas where there is a potent coupling of tectonic and surface processes that produce rapid uplift and denudation, Plio-Pleistocene erosion and exhumation can be characterized by disequilibrium, where longer term rates are relatively slower and shorter term fluvial erosion is highly variable over time and distance. The surface exposure age data reflect differential incision along the length of the Chandra River over millennial time frames, illustrate the variances that are possible in Himalayan river incision, and highlight the complexity of Himalayan environments.