Response of active tectonics on the alluvial Baghmati River, Himalayan foreland basin, eastern India

Active tectonics in a basin plays an important role in controlling a fluvial system through the change in channel slope. The Baghmati, an anabranching, foothills-fed river system, draining the plains of north Bihar in eastern India has responded to ongoing tectonic deformation in the basin. The relatively flat alluvial plains are traversed by several active subsurface faults, which divide the area in four tectonic blocks. Each tectonic block is characterized by association of fluvial anomalies viz. compressed meanders, knick point in longitudinal profiles, channel incision, anomalous sinuosity variations, sudden change in river flow direction, river flow against the local gradient and distribution of overbank flooding, lakes, and waterlogged area. Such fluvial anomalies have been identified on the repetitive satellite images and maps and interpreted through DEM and field observations to understand the nature of vertical movements in the area. The sub-surface faults in the Baghmati plains cut across the river channel and also run parallel which have allowed us to observe the effects of longitudinal and lateral tilting manifested in avulsions and morphological changes.     

Luminescence chronology of incision and channel pattern changes in the River Ganga, India

The River Ganga in the central Gangetic plain shows the incision of 20 m of Late Quaternary sediments that form a vast upland terrace (T₂). The incised Ganga River Valley shows two terraces, namely the river valley (terrace-T₁) and the present-day flood plain (terrace-T₀). Terrace-T₁ shows the presence of meander scars, oxbow lakes, scroll plains, which suggests that a meandering river system prevailed in the past. The present-day river channel flows on terrace-T₀ and is braided, sensu stricto. It is thus inferred that the River Ganga experienced at least two phases of tectonic adjustments: (1) incision and (2) channel metamorphosis from meandering to braided.Optical dating of samples from three different terraces has bracketed the phase of incision to be <6 and 4 ka. Different ages of the top of terrace-T₂ show that this surface experienced differential erosion due to tectonic upwarping in the region, which also caused the river incision. River metamorphosis occurred some time during 4 and 0.5 ka.     

Late Pleistocene–Holocene hydrologic changes in the interfluve areas of the central Ganga Plain, India

Abandoned channel belts, ponds and point bar deposits of palaeochannels in the interfluve regions of the central Ganga Plain suggest changes in the morphohydrologic conditions during the Latest Pleistocene–Holocene. Stratigraphy of these ponds comprises channel sand at the base overlain by shell-bearing clayey silt. The contact of the two facies marks the phase when channels converted into standing water bodies. Point bar deposits of some palaeochannels are overlain by oxidised aeolian sand, indicating that the channel abandonment possibly occurred due to the desiccation and aridity in the region.Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronometry of the pond sediments suggests that the deposition of the basal channel sand started before 13 ka and continued up to 8 ka. The ponds formed around 8–6 ka when the channel activity ceased. Evidence from the point bar deposits also indicates that the fluvial activity in the region ended sometime during 7–5 ka. This was followed by aeolian aggradation. The present study thus suggests that the hydrologic conditions in the Gangetic plains, i.e. initiation of channels and their abandonment, formation of microgeomorphologic features such as ponds and their eventual siltation, were controlled largely by climatic changes (i.e. monsoon changes) supported by tectonic activity. For the past 2 ka, increasing human and related agricultural activity has substantially accentuated the natural siltation rate of ponds.     

克里雅河尾闾圆沙三角洲古河道剖面所记录全新世古绿洲环境变化

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地克里雅河沿岸的古绿洲与人类活动遗迹丰富,伴随着河流的变迁,遗址印记了古代文明的消失,河道成为孕育绿洲的证据。在浩瀚的沙漠中,古代文明与古绿洲属于依附关系。以圆沙古城为代表的圆沙古三角洲绿洲是孕育沙漠文明的典型。采自圆沙古城北侧深度约11 m的沉积剖面(KYN22),光释光测年和沉积学分析结果所示,剖面记录了13.8~2.3 ka时间段内圆沙古三角洲的环境变化:克里雅河全新世大部分时间活动于圆沙一带,早期大致经历了由风沙环境向河流环境的转变过程,13.8 ka至9.0~10.0 ka河流与风沙环境均有出现,中期以来至2.3 ka河流环境稳定。KYN22剖面所示克里雅河在圆沙的活动或为全新世气候变暖的结果。研究工作可为全新世克里雅河与塔里木盆地南缘环境演变研究提供新材料。     

晚更新世以来贵州清水江阶地发育及地貌意义

对贵州清水江上游马寨、翁东、三江、施洞沿江4个剖面的阶地特征、年代学结果进行了综合分析。发现以凯里断层为界,上游地区的马寨和翁东2个剖面的T2阶地形成时代约为51~57 ka B.P.,T1阶地的形成时代约为25 ka B.P.,下游地区的三江和施洞2个剖面的T2阶地形成时代约为122~102 ka B.P.,T1阶地的形成时代约为78 ka B.P.。选取各剖面的T2阶地的基座高度来计算了河流下切速率,发现上游地区2个剖面（马寨、翁东）的河流下切速率较接近,约为0.41~0.34 m/ka,明显高于下游地区的2个剖面（三江、施洞）的0.16~0.20 m/ka,表现为上游下切速率高,越往下游方向下切速率逐渐降低。这表明自晚更新世以来,清水江上游区域受到构造作用的影响而发生差异抬升,具体表现为西部构造抬升幅度大,阶地下切速率快;东部构造抬升幅度小,阶地下切速率慢。     

Holocene Brahmaputra River path selection and variable sediment bypass as indicators of fluctuating hydrologic and climate conditions in Sylhet Basin,Bangladesh

The Holocene stratigraphy of Sylhet basin, a tectonically influenced sub‐basin within the Ganges‐Brahmaputra‐Meghna delta (GMBD), provides evidence for autogenic and allogenic controls on fluvial system behaviour. Using Holocene lithology and stratigraphic architecture from a dense borehole network, patterns of bypass‐dominated and extraction‐enhanced modes of sediment transport and deposition have been reconstructed. During a ~3‐kyr mid‐Holocene occupation of Sylhet basin by the Brahmaputra River, water and sediment were initially (~7.5–6.0 ka) routed along the basin's western margin, where limited downstream facies changes reflect minimal mass extraction and bypass‐dominated transport to the basin outlet. Sediment‐dispersal patterns became increasingly depositional ~6.0–5.5 ka with the activation of a large (~2250 km²) splay that prograded towards the basin centre while maintaining continued bypass along the western pathway. Beginning ~5.0 ka, a second splay system constructed an even larger (~3800 km²) lobe into the most distal portions of the basin along the Shillong foredeep. This evolution from a bypass‐dominated system to one of enhanced mass extraction is well reflected in (i) the rapid downstream fining of deposited sand and (ii) a change in facies from amalgamated channel deposits to mixed sands and muds within discrete depositional lobes. The persistence of sediment bypass suggests that seasonal flooding of the basin by local runoff exerts a hydrologic barrier to overbank flow and is thus a principal control on river path selection. This control is evidenced by (i) repeated, long‐term preference for occupying a course along the basin margin rather than a steeper path to the basin centre and (ii) the persistence of an under‐filled, topographically low basin despite sediment load sufficient to fill the basin within a few hundred years. The progradation of two 10–20‐m thick, sandy mega‐splays into the basin interior reflects an alternative mode of sediment dispersal that appears to have operated only in the mid‐Holocene (~6.0–4.0 ka) during a regional weakening of the summer monsoon. The reduced water budget at that time would have lowered seasonal water levels in the basin, temporarily lessening the hydrologic barrier effect and facilitating splay development into the basin interior. Overall, these results place basin hydrology as a first‐order control on fluvial system behaviour, strongly modifying the perceived dominance of tectonic subsidence. Such coupling of subsidence, fluvial dynamics and local hydrology have been explored through tank experiments and modelling; this field study demonstrates that complex, emergent behaviours can also scale to the world's largest fluvial system.     

宛川河阶地的年代与下切机制

宛川河是黄河一条小规模支流,在榆中盆地中发育了至少四级堆积阶地。以"古土壤断代法"为基础,结合OSL测年和14C测年,较准确的确定了宛川河四级阶地形成的年代为330、130、50和10 ka。区域构造表明榆中盆地相对下陷,地面抬升不是引起河流下切的主要原因,同时阶地位相说明作为宛川河侵蚀基准面的黄河对宛川河下切影响只限于距河口不远的一小段距离。每级阶地面上都堆积一层古土壤指示宛川河下切于古土壤开始发育时期,对应于气候由冷干向暖湿转换的时期,河流下切的主要原因是气候变化。     

基于光释光测年的共和盆地风沙活动历史研究

位于青藏高原东北缘的共和盆地处于亚洲冬、夏季风和西风环流作用交替控制的干旱—半干旱区,盆地中分布着大面积的沙漠,是重建过去气候的重要载体。就前人对共和盆地25个风成剖面的102个光释光(OSL)年代结果进行分析,总结出晚更新世以来共和盆地的风沙活动在各个时期都有发生,黄土堆积主要是更新世末期到早全新世,古土壤主要是晚全新世发育的,但其测年工作缺乏高密度光释光测年检验。通过对共和盆地西南部的羊曲剖面进行系统的高密度光释光年代学研究发现,羊曲剖面主要是末次冰消期沉积的,9.6～7.1 ka风沙活动迅速减弱,7.1～2 ka存在明显的沉积间断,说明基于单个剖面进行环境演变重建需谨慎。结合盆地内已发表OSL年代结果,末次冰消期以来,风沙活动在共和盆地一直存在,其最强烈时期是14～10 ka左右,黄土主要是末次冰消期14～10 ka沉积的,古土壤发育主要集中在3～2 ka和6～4 ka,此外在9～8 ka也有发育。     

基于光释光测年的共和盆地风沙活动历史研究

位于青藏高原东北缘的共和盆地处于亚洲冬、夏季风和西风环流作用交替控制的干旱-半干旱区,盆地中分布着大面积的沙漠,是重建过去气候的重要载体。前人对共和盆地25个风成剖面的102个OSL年代结果进行分析,得出晚更新世以来共和盆地的风沙活动在各个时期都有发生,黄土堆积主要是更新世末期到早全新世,古土壤主要是晚全新世发育的, 但其测年工作缺乏高密度光释光测年检验。通过对共和盆地西南部的羊曲剖面进行系统的高密度光释光年代学研究发现,羊曲剖面主要是末次冰消期沉积的,9.6-7.1 ka风沙活动迅速减弱,7.1-2 ka存在明显的沉积间断,说明基于单个剖面进行环境演变重建需谨慎。结合盆地内已发表OSL年代结果,末次冰消期以来,风沙活动在共和盆地一直存在,其最强烈时期是14-10 ka左右,黄土主要是末次冰消期14-10 ka沉积的,古土壤发育主要集中在3-2 ka和6-4 ka,此外在9-8 ka也有发育。     

Smith Canyon dune field, Washington, U.S.A: relation to glacial outburst floods, the Mazama eruption, and Holocene paleoclimate

Sedimentary deposits from the Smith Canyon dune field, south-central Columbia Basin, Washington, U.S.A. document climatically-influenced Late Pleistocene and Holocene aeolian and fluvial deposition in a region impacted by glacial outburst floods and tephra falls. The depositional history is summarized by five environmentally distinctive and climatically sensitive sedimentary units (temporal limits estimated): Unit 1 (c. 15·5–8 ka), pedogenically altered glacial outburst flood and minor aeolian silt and clay; Unit 2 (c. 8–6·9 ka), fluvial and minor aeolian sand; Unit 3 (c. 6·9–6·8 ka), flood-induced fluvial sand with gravel-sized tephra clasts; Unit 4 (c. 6·8–3·9 ka), aeolian dune sand; Unit 5 (c. 3·9 ka to present), pedogenically altered, stabilized dune sand. Estimated age ranges are based on stratigraphic position, tephrochronology, and correlation with temporally constrained strata from elsewhere in the region.     

粒度揭示的末次间冰期以来长江中游风沙-风尘体系

对长江中游地区定山-太平断面上砂山砂与下风向5个黄土剖面黄土进行了详细的粒度分析,并与其他地区黄土进行对比。结果表明:(1)粒度象和粒度参数特点显示赣北定山-太平断面砂山下风向的黄土状土为风积成土;(2)定山-太平断面的砂山砂-砂山淤泥-黄土粒度特征的渐变过渡,指示了其沉积上的渐变过渡关系。结合区域各沉积相的年代序列认为,末次间冰期以来,长江河谷、漫滩等松散碎屑物在冬季风分选下,粗颗粒物质以砂山形式在其下风向不远处沉积,而剥离出的细颗粒物质则被颠扬到较远的下风向以黄土的形式堆积,从而在区域上形成一个以砂山砂和黄土为主的风沙-风尘沉积体系。     

金沙江巧家—蒙姑段的阶地发育与河谷地貌演化

金沙江水系演化与河谷发育问题长期以来是地质地貌学界关注的重大问题,目前仍存在较大争议。河流阶地及其相关沉积是河谷发育过程的产物,可以提供河谷发育的时代与形式等诸多信息。金沙江在巧家—蒙姑段河谷中,葫芦口附近发育和保存了8级基座阶地,结合光释光和电子自旋共振测年方法,依据古气候资料,推断T6~T1的下切时间分别对应于深海氧同位素（MIS）的36/35、34/33、24/23、20/19、14/13和4/3阶段,即气候由冷至暖的转型期。青岗坝附近则发育了5级由堰塞湖相沉积组成的堆积型阶地,指示了中更新世以来该段河谷在下切过程中经历了频繁的滑坡堵江堰塞,发育形式以“下切—滑坡—堰塞—堆积—下切”过程为主。此外,河流的平均下切速率自0.82 Ma以来由此前的0.56 mm/a下降至0.19 mm/a,表明中更新世以来频繁发生的堵江堰塞事件严重抑制了该段河谷的下切作用。综合流域内河流阶地序列及相关沉积的研究,金沙江下游段现代河谷的形成时代不晚于早更新世。     

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.     

毛乌素沙地东南缘全新世气候不稳定性

毛乌素沙地处于中国季风区的西北边缘,对气候变化敏感,是古气候演化和古环境变迁研究的理想场所。全新世气温回暖期,气候整体稳定但存在暖湿冷干的次级波动,不同类型沉积相组成的地层序列记录了全新世千年、百年尺度的气候不稳定性。对毛乌素沙地不同沉积序列的研究表明:(1)毛乌素沙地东南缘的沙漠/黄土边界带DLT、NB剖面粒度及Rb/Sr比值可作为气候变化的代用指标。>63 μm砂含量增加,Rb/Sr比值降低,揭示东亚冬季风增强,风成砂堆积,风沙活动加剧,气候干冷;反之,东亚夏季风增强,降水增多,风化成壤程度加大,气候暖湿。(2)毛乌素沙地东南缘沙漠/黄土边界带及低洼沟谷区年代概率密度函数的分析显示,全新世早期~8\^5 ka BP风成砂堆积,风沙活动加剧,气候表现为干冷;全新世中期8\^5 ka~3\^0 ka BP地势较高处古土壤广泛发育,地势低洼处发育湖沼相/泥炭层,但在6.0 ka BP左右存在气候转冷过程;全新世晚期3\^0 ka BP以来气候波动频繁。(3)毛乌素沙地气候变化与北大西洋冰筏冷事件、董哥洞石笋、季风边缘区湖泊、东部沙地等记录具有可对比性和相对一致性,反映出全新世千年和百年尺度上的气候变化主要受全球变化的影响,这对预测和模拟未来气候变化具有借鉴意义。     

萨拉乌苏河流域MGS4层段记录的末次冰期早冰阶气候波动

萨拉乌苏河流域米浪沟湾末次冰期早冰阶时期记录了5.5个由古沙丘砂与河流相、湖沼相构成的沉积旋回。对各沉积旋回的粒度及微量元素分析表明,河流相和湖沼相的平均粒径Mz、分选系数σ和SC/D的值明显高于古沙丘砂,河湖相中的微量元素Mn、P、Rb、Zr、V、Ni含量普遍较古沙丘砂含量高,而Ba、Co等则呈现相反的变化;这些气候代用指标的波动构成了与沉积旋回相对应的5.5个粒度及微量元素变化旋回,指示了该地末次冰期早冰阶至少经历了6次冷干和5次暖湿的气候波动,其中若干次气候回暖事件和冷干事件可与格陵兰冰芯和葫芦洞石笋等记录的D/O事件和Heinrich事件相对应。米浪沟湾剖面地层记录的千年尺度气候波动既是对东亚季风环流演变历史的体现,同时也是对全球气候变化的响应。     

Aeolian sediment provenance and transport in the upper and middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River,Tibet Plateau

Frequent and serious aeolian disasters occur in the upper and middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, which runs through the high-elevation Tibet Plateau. Sediment geochemical characteristics can be used as a proxy to identify the sediment's provenance. To determine the provenance of aeolian sediments in the river's basin, we analysed major and trace element contents from surface samples and local clastic rocks throughout the basin. We found that the major and trace elements differed between the middle reaches, upper reaches and regions south of the river. Major element contents were similar in the upper and middle reaches, but trace elements differed. Al₂O₃, MgO and Na₂O concentrations increased from the upper reaches to the lower reaches, and in the lower reaches, MgO and Na₂O were enriched compared with the crustal average. The similarities between samples in the lower part of the upper reaches and those in the middle reaches indicated that sediment transported by fluvial systems from the upper reaches were first deposited in the wide valleys near Xigaze, where they formed a large area of shifting sand. These deposits were then transported by the wind to the river's middle reaches, where they formed a large area of shifting sand. When we compared aeolian sediment in the middle reaches with the local clastic rocks, they appeared to be unrelated. The difference between sediments south of the river and those in the middle reaches means that the southern sediments were not transported to the middle reaches. Therefore, the aeolian sediment in the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River mainly came from the lower part of the upper reaches, not from the local clastic rocks.     

Tectonic control of the Tejo river fluvial incision during the late Cenozoic, in Ródão—central Portugal (Atlantic Iberian border)

Staircases of strath terraces and strongly incised valleys are the most typical landscape features of Portuguese rivers. This paper examines the incision achieved during the late Cenozoic in an area crossed by the Tejo river between the border with Spain and the small town of Gavião. In the more upstream reach of this area, the Tejo crosses the Ródão tectonic depression, where four levels of terraces are distinguished. During the late Cenozoic fluvial incision stage, the Ródão depression underwent less uplift than the adjacent areas along the river. This is reflected by the greater thicknesses and spatial extent of the terraces; terrace genesis was promoted by impoundment of alluvium behind a quartzitic ridge and the local presence of a soft substratum. Outside this tectonic depression, the Tejo has a narrow valley incised in the Hercynian basement, with some straight reaches that probably correspond to NE–SW and NNW–SSE faults, the terraces being nearly absent. Geomorphological evidence of tectonic displacements affecting the Ródão dissected terrace remnants is described. Geochronological dating of the two younger and lower terrace levels of this depression suggests a time-averaged incision rate for the Tejo in the Ródão area, of ca. 1.0 m/ka over the last 60 thousand years. A clear discrepancy exists between this rate and the 0.1 m/ka estimated for the longer period since the end of the Pliocene. Although episodes of valley incision may be conditioned by climate and base-level changes, they may also have been controlled by local factors such as movement of small fault-bounded blocks, lithology and structure. Regional crustal uplift is considered to be the main control of the episodes of valley incision identified for this large, long-lived river. A model is proposed in which successive regional uplift events—tectonic phases—essentially determined the long periods of rapid river downcutting that were punctuated by short periods of lateral erosion and later by some aggradation, producing strath terraces.     

新仙女木期黄河晋陕峡谷古风成沙层年代及其物质来源

通过对黄河晋陕峡谷壶口至龙门段开展广泛细致的野外考察,发现了典型的晚更新世以来黄土—土壤层夹古风成沙层剖面—北桑峪剖面（BSY）。结合不同类型沉积物的野外宏观特征、磁化率、粒度成分、石英颗粒表面特征和地球化学元素的对比分析,确定黄河晋陕峡谷壶口至龙门段BSY剖面中所夹古风成沙层的性质为中沙质细沙,是在干旱多风环境下形成的沙质沉积物。基于光释光（OSL）测年数据,确定其沉积年代为12.5-11.6 ka,记录了黄河中游发生在末次冰消期的极端干旱事件,其与相邻区域沙漠/黄土过渡带中湖沼沉积和风成黄土—古土壤剖面记录的新仙女木事件相对应。该剖面中古风成沙沉积物的物质来源,主要来自黄河晋陕峡谷的古河床相沙层物质。这是因为该河段处于干旱半干旱季风气候区,在新仙女木时期,黄河晋陕峡谷处于极端干冷的环境之中,冬季风强盛、夏季风衰弱,黄河水位下降明显,河漫滩和江心洲将大面积出露,大量的沙物质在风力作用下向岸边输移,成为河谷两侧缓坡台地上古风成沙沉积层出现的主要沙源地。这个研究成果对于进一步揭示黄河中游流域极端干旱事件发生的时间性规律及其与季风气候变化的关系,具有重要的科学意义。     

黄山北麓青弋江发育研究

青弋江位于黄山北麓,为长江下游最长的支流。野外考察发现青弋江泾县盆地段存在溪口剖面和城北剖面等2个天然剖面,共发育了1级洪积扇台地（P）和3级河流阶地（T3、T2和T1）,并相应堆积了4级砾石层。通过对砾石层进行砾组分析,并借助电子自旋共振（ESR）测年和古地磁测年等方法,初步探讨了青弋江发育的年代、过程和成因。研究结论为：① 砾组分析表明青弋江T3阶地是青弋江的最老阶地,并且其砾石层是青弋江的最老砾石层;② 测年结果表明青弋江发育的年代区间为1300~900 ka,其中~1300 ka为青弋江发育的最早年代,而~900 ka则为青弋江发育的最晚年代;③ 青弋江发育于~1377 ka前的洪积扇辫状河,并先后经历了洪积扇及辫状河发育、辫状河下切、青弋江形成等阶段,即所谓的源于洪积扇辫状河的青弋江发育过程;④ 青弋江发育可能是降水增加和构造抬升共同作用的结果。该研究有助于为中国东部地区中小河流发育研究提供参考。     

河流阶地形成过程及其驱动机制再研究

河流阶地的形成是在内因(河流内部动力变化)和外因(低频和高频气候变化、构造运动、基准面变化)共同作用下的结果。受单一气候变化制约的河流阶地发育模式可以解释由于沉积物通量和径流量变化引起的河流堆积-侵蚀过程,但它难以解释形成多级阶地的逐步(或间歇性)下切过程。多级阶地的形成可能同时受到构造抬升和周期性气候变化的制约。由于下切过程的滞后效应,侵蚀和冰川均衡抬升、河谷的侧向侵蚀过程等影响,山地的构造抬升与河谷的下切之间并非一种简单的线性关系,应当慎用河谷的下切速率来代表山地的抬升速率。