GEOMORPHIC FEATURES OF THE SHULE RIVER DRAINAGE BASIN IN QILIANSHAN AND ITS INSIGHT INTO TECTONIC IMPLICATIONS

Because of the strong uplift of the Qilian Shan since late Cenozoic,the drainage basins that are derived from the mountains have undergone strong tectonic deformation.So the typical geomorphology characteristics of these drainage basins may indicate the strong tectonic movement in the region.For example,the Shule River drainage basin,which originates from the western part of the Qilian Shan owns unique geomorphology characteristics which may indicate the neotectonic movement. Stream networks of the Shule drainage basin extracted from the DEM data based on GIS spatial analysis technology are graded into five levels using Strahler classification method.Four sub-catchments,numbered 1,2,3 and 4 are chosen for detailed analysis.Furthermore,the four sub-catchments,the hypsometric integral curves,Hack profiles,SL index and average slope of the Shule drainage basin are determined by GIS tools.In addition,we analyzed the slope spectrum of the Shule drainage basin. The average elevation of the Shule drainage basin is very high,however,the slope of the drainage basin is very low,the gentle slope occupies so large area proportion that the slope spectrum shows a unimodal pattern and a peak value is in low slope region (0°~5°),so tectonic movement has a strong influence on the drainage basin.Under the intensive impact of the tectonic movement of the active fault and regional uplift,the hypsometric integral curve is sigmoid,revealing that the Shule drainage basin is in the mature stage.The Hack profile is on a convex,the longitudinal profile is best fitted by linear fitting and the abnormal data of the SL index of the Shule River has a good fit with the section through which the active fault traverses,that means the tectonic movement of the active fault has strong influence on the river's SL index.It is worth noting that lithologic factors also have great impact on the river geomorphology in some sections. According to the above analysis,we recognize that in the interior of active orogen,the evolution of river geomorphology usually is influenced by tectonic movement and reveals the regional neotectonics in turn.     

The impact of depression removal on catchment geomorphology,soil erosion and landscape evolution

The current generation of landscape evolution models use a digital elevation model for landscape representation. These programs also contain a hydrological model that defines overland flow with the drainage network routed to an outlet. One of the issues with landscape evolution modelling is the hydrological correctness of the digital elevation model used for the simulations. Despite the wide use and increased quality of digital elevation models, data pits and depressions in the elevation data are a common feature and their removal will remain a necessary step for many data sets. This study examines whether a digital elevation model can be hydrologically correct (i.e. all depressions removed so that all water can run downslope) before use in a landscape evolution model and what effect depression removal has on long‐term geomorphology and hydrology. The impact on sediment transport rates is also examined. The study was conducted using a field catchment and a proposed landform for a post‐mining landscape. The results show that there is little difference in catchment geomorphology and hydrology for the non‐depression removed and depression removed data sets. The non‐depression removed and depression removed digital elevation models were also evaluated as input to a landscape evolution model for a 50 000 year simulation period. The results show that after 1000 years there is little difference between the data sets, although sediment transport rates did vary considerably early on in the simulation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW METHOD FOR RIVER PROFILE ANALYSIS: Integral Approach

The topography and geomorphology of active orogens result from the interaction of tectonics and climate. In most orogens, a fluvial channel is most sensitive to the coupling between tectonics, lithology, and climate. Meanwhile, the related signals have been recorded by both the drainage geometry and channel longitudinal profile. Thus, how to extract tectonic information from fluvial channels has been a focused issue in geologic and geomorphologic studies. The well known stream-power river incision model bridges the gap between tectonic uplift, river incision and channel profile change, making it possible to retrieve rock uplift pattern from river profiles. In this model, the river incision rate depends on the rock erodibility, contributing drainage area and river gradient. The steady-state form of the river incision model predicts a power-law scaling between the drainage area and channel gradient. Via a linear regression to the log-transformed slope-area data, the slope and intercept are channel concavity and steepness indices, respectively. The concavity relates to lithology, climatic setting and incision process while the channel steepness can be used to map the spatial pattern of rock uplift. For its simple calculation process, the slope-area analysis has been widely used in the study of tectonic geomorphology during past decades. However, to calculate river slope, the coarse channel elevation data must be smoothed, re-sampled, and differentiated without any reasonable smooth window or rigid mathematical fundamentals. One may lose important information and derive stream-power parameters with high uncertainties. In this paper, we introduce the integral approach, a procedure that has been widely used in the latest four years and demonstrated to be a better method for river profile analysis than the traditional slope-area analysis. Via the integration to the steady-state form of the stream-power river incision equation, the river longitudinal profile can be converted into a straight line of which the independent variable is the integral quantity χ with the unit of distance and the dependent variable is the relative channel elevation. We can calculate the linear correlation coefficient between elevation and χ based on a series of concavity values and find the best linear fit to be the reasonable channel concavity index. The slope of the linear fit to the χ value and elevation is simply related to the ratio of the uplift rate to the erodibility. Without calculating channel slope, the integral approach makes up for the drawback of the slope-area analysis. Meanwhile, via the integral approach, a steady-state river profile can be expressed as a continuous function, which can provide theoretical principle for some geomorphic parameters (e.g., slope-length index, hypsometric integral). In addition, we can determine the drainage network migration direction using this method. Therefore, the integral approach can be used as a better method for tectonogeomorphic research.     

EROSION PROCESSES AT THE HILLSLOPE SCALE

The results are presented of an intensive monitoring programme to determine eroded volumes due to observed rainfall events on a hillslope surface. The surface investigated has been reproduced through a digital elevation model and analysed in terms of drainage network, contributing area and slope by performing planimetric and altimetric analysis. Erosion maps were derived from a comparison of consecutive digital elevation models relative to time. These maps reveal the spatial and temporal evolution of the erosion process at the hillslope scale. The erosion was uniform across the surface, supporting the assumption of randomness in the erosion process commonly used in surface drainage development models. The observed value of erosion has been estimated at approximately 0.11 m/m² per year, with almost 500 mm of total annual rainfall.     

基于OLI和DEM数据初步研究盘谷寺断裂新构造运动特征

太行山南缘盘谷寺断裂新构造运动特征对分析太行山地区构造地貌演化，乃至研判我国东部新构造活动形势具有重要意义。基于Landsat 8 OLI遥感影像数据和ASTER GDEM数据，对盘谷寺断裂线性构造进行初步解释，分析冲沟发育、坡向坡度等构造地貌特征，通过构建遥感影像与高程数据相叠加的三维地貌模型，进一步优化断裂构造地貌视觉效果。研究结果表明，盘谷寺断裂为1条平面呈舒缓波状、近东西走向的南倾正断层。在断裂下盘，由西向东依次发育了密集的平行状侵蚀沟、断层三角面和低矮的侵蚀残丘等多种构造地貌类型，反映了断裂不同部位垂向运动的差异性。构造运动导致断层两盘地表坡向和坡度的明显变化，综合剖面分析结果，认为断裂在新构造期活动强度由西向东逐渐减弱。     

A cross-scale comparison of drainage basin characteristics derived from digital elevation models

The feasibility of using small-scale digital elevation models (DEMs) to extract various drainage basin characteristics was evaluated by comparing basin parameters derived from the 1:250 000 DEMs with those from the 1:24 000 DEMs. Twenty basins ranging approximately from 150 km² to 1000 km² in West Virginia, a geologically complex region, were examined in this study. The basin parameters examined included those commonly used in hydrology and geomorphology such as elevation, slope, stream length, drainage density, relief ratio and ruggedness number. Our results suggested that the 1:250 000 DEMs can provide accurate estimates for elevation-based and stream-length-based basin parameters, but not for slope-based parameters. After examining the differences between the DEM-derived basin parameters from the two different scales, we found that the performance of the 1:250 000 DEMs was not significantly influenced by basin size, while terrain complexity seems to be an important factor of accuracy of the estimated basin parameters. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rock slope instability assessment using spatially distributed structural orientation data in Darjeeling Himalaya (India)

We discuss a geographic information system (GIS)‐based methodology for rock slope instability assessment based on geometrical relationships between topographic slopes and structural discontinuities in rocks. The methodology involves (a) regionalization of point observations of orientations (azimuth and dip) of structural discontinuities in rocks in order to generate a digital structural model (DStM), (b) testing the kinematical possibility of specific modes of rock slope failures by integrating DStMs and digital elevation model (DEM)‐derived slope and aspect data and (c) computation of stability scenarios with respect to identified rock slope failure modes. We tested the methodology in an area of 90 km² in Darjeeling Himalaya (India) and in a small portion (9 km²) within this area with higher density of field structural orientation data. The results of the study show better classification of rock slope instability in the smaller area with respect to known occurrences of deep‐seated rockslides than with respect to shallow translational rockslides, implying that structural control is more important for deep‐seated rockslides than for shallow translational rockslides. Results of scenario‐based analysis show that, in rock slopes classified to be unstable, stress‐induced rock slope instability tends to increase with increasing level of water saturation. The study demonstrates the usefulness of spatially distributed data of orientations of structural discontinuities in rocks for medium‐ to small‐scale classification of rock slope instability in mountainous terrains. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Automated mapping of land components from digital elevation data

An algorithm for automating the mapping of land components from digital elevation data is described. Land components are areas of relatively uniform slope and aspect and often correspond with ridge crests, shoulders, head slopes, back slopes or foot slopes. Aspect regions, which generally span from stream to ridge, are first identified by generalizing an aspect map derived from digital elevation data. The aspect regions are then split successively into land components by grouping pixels above or below an automatically determined contour of elevation or ‘distance from stream’. The contour approximates a slope break. The land components mapped in this way give a complete polygonization of a hilly landscape and are a reasonable approximation of manually mapped land components.     

Hillslope response to tectonic forcing in threshold landscapes

Hillslopes are thought to poorly record tectonic signals in threshold landscapes. Numerous previous studies of steep landscapes suggest that large changes in long‐term erosion rate lead to little change in mean hillslope angle, measured at coarse resolution. New LiDAR‐derived topography data enables a finer examination of threshold hillslopes. Here we quantify hillslope response to tectonic forcing in a threshold landscape. To do so, we use an extensive cosmogenic beryllium‐10 (¹⁰Be)‐based dataset of catchment‐averaged erosion rates combined with a 500 km² LiDAR‐derived 1 m digital elevation model to exploit a gradient of tectonic forcing and topographic relief in the San Gabriel Mountains, California. We also calibrate a new method of quantifying rock exposure from LiDAR‐derived slope measurements using high‐resolution panoramic photographs. Two distinct trends in hillslope behavior emerge: below catchment‐mean slopes of 30°, modal slopes increase with mean slopes, slope distribution skewness decreases with increasing mean slope, and bedrock exposure is limited; above mean slopes of 30°, our rock exposure index increases strongly with mean slope, and the prevalence of angle‐of‐repose debris wedges keeps modal slopes near 37°, resulting in a positive relationship between slope distribution skewness and mean slope. We find that both mean slopes and rock exposure increase with erosion rate up to 1 mm/a, in contrast to previous work based on coarser topographic data. We also find that as erosion rates increase, the extent of the fluvial network decreases, while colluvial channels extend downstream, keeping the total drainage density similar across the range. Our results reveal important textural details lost in 10 or 30 m resolution digital elevation models of steep landscapes, and highlight the need for process‐based studies of threshold hillslopes and colluvial channels. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparision of interpolation methods for producing digital elevation models at the field scale

Digital elevation models have been used in many applications since they came into use in the late 1950s. It is an essential tool for applications that are concerned with the Earth's surface such as hydrology, geology, cartography, geomorphology, engineering applications, landscape architecture and so on. However, there are some differences in assessing the accuracy of digital elevation models for specific applications. Different applications require different levels of accuracy from digital elevation models. In this study, the magnitudes and spatial patterning of elevation errors were therefore examined, using different interpolation methods. Measurements were performed with theodolite and levelling. Previous research has demonstrated the effects of interpolation methods and the nature of errors in digital elevation models obtained with indirect survey methods for small‐scale areas. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the size and spatial patterning of errors in digital elevation models obtained with direct survey methods for large‐scale areas, comparing Inverse Distance Weighting, Radial Basis Functions and Kriging interpolation methods to generate digital elevation models. The study is important because it shows how the accuracy of the digital elevation model is related to data density and the interpolation algorithm used. Cross validation, split‐sample and jack‐knifing validation methods were used to evaluate the errors. Global and local spatial auto‐correlation indices were then used to examine the error clustering. Finally, slope and curvature parameters of the area were modelled depending on the error residuals using ordinary least regression analyses. In this case, the best results were obtained using the thin plate spline algorithm. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of digital channel network derivation methods in a glaciated subalpine catchment

The digital elevation model (DEM) has become an essential tool for an increasing array of mountain runoff analyses, particularly the derivation and mapping of stream channel networks. This study examines how well commonly applied DEM‐based channel derivation methods at different spatial resolutions can represent the channel network for a glaciated Rocky Mountain headwater catchment. The specific objectives are to (1) examine how differences in gridded DEM resolution affect spatially distributed values of local slope, specific contributing area, and topographic wetness index derived from both eight and infinite directional flow algorithms, (2) map the actual stream channel network to examine the influence of surface variables on channel initiation, and (3) assess accuracy of DEM‐derived networks compared with the field surveyed network. Results show that for the same contributing area threshold, increasing grid cell size leads to increased channelization of modeled networks. A plot of local slope versus contributing area reveals a negative relationship similar to that of prior studies in un‐glaciated areas but with breaks in slope at contributing areas that are too small to represent thresholds for channelization. Field survey results and evaluation of DEM‐derived channel networks suggest that channel network formation is not clearly related to surface topographic variables at Loch Vale. Digitally derived channel networks do not accurately predict low order channel locations, but approximations of the channel network with drainage density and headward extent of channelization similar to the observed network can be derived with both a 1 m and 10 m DEM using a contributing area threshold of approximately 4x10⁴ m². Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long‐term landscape evolution: linking tectonics and surface processes

Research in landscape evolution over millions to tens of millions of years slowed considerably in the mid‐20th century, when Davisian and other approaches to geomorphology were replaced by functional, morphometric and ultimately process‐based approaches. Hack's scheme of dynamic equilibrium in landscape evolution was perhaps the major theoretical contribution to long‐term landscape evolution between the 1950s and about 1990, but it essentially ‘looked back’ to Davis for its springboard to a viewpoint contrary to that of Davis, as did less widely known schemes, such as Crickmay's hypothesis of unequal activity. Since about 1990, the field of long‐term landscape evolution has blossomed again, stimulated by the plate tectonics revolution and its re‐forging of the link between tectonics and topography, and by the development of numerical models that explore the links between tectonic processes and surface processes. This numerical modelling of landscape evolution has been built around formulation of bedrock river processes and slope processes, and has mostly focused on high‐elevation passive continental margins and convergent zones; these models now routinely include flexural and denudational isostasy. Major breakthroughs in analytical and geochronological techniques have been of profound relevance to all of the above. Low‐temperature thermochronology, and in particular apatite fission track analysis and (U–Th)/He analysis in apatite, have enabled rates of rock uplift and denudational exhumation from relatively shallow crustal depths (up to about 4 km) to be determined directly from, in effect, rock hand specimens. In a few situations, (U–Th)/He analysis has been used to determine the antiquity of major, long‐wavelength topography. Cosmogenic isotope analysis has enabled the determination of the ‘ages’ of bedrock and sedimentary surfaces, and/or the rates of denudation of these surfaces. These latter advances represent in some ways a ‘holy grail’ in geomorphology in that they enable determination of ‘dates and rates’ of geomorphological processes directly from rock surfaces. The increasing availability of analytical techniques such as cosmogenic isotope analysis should mean that much larger data sets become possible and lead to more sophisticated analyses, such as probability density functions (PDFs) of cosmogenic ages and even of cosmogenic isotope concentrations (CICs). PDFs of isotope concentrations must be a function of catchment area geomorphology (including tectonics) and it is at least theoretically possible to infer aspects of source area geomorphology and geomorphological processes from PDFs of CICs in sediments (‘detrital CICs’). Thus it may be possible to use PDFs of detrital CICs in basin sediments as a tool to infer aspects of the sediments' source area geomorphology and tectonics, complementing the standard sedimentological textural and compositional approaches to such issues. One of the most stimulating of recent conceptual advances has followed the considerations of the relationships between tectonics, climate and surface processes and especially the recognition of the importance of denudational isostasy in driving rock uplift (i.e. in driving tectonics and crustal processes). Attention has been focused very directly on surface processes and on the ways in which they may ‘drive’ rock uplift and thus even influence sub‐surface crustal conditions, such as pressure and temperature. Consequently, the broader geoscience communities are looking to geomorphologists to provide more detailed information on rates and processes of bedrock channel incision, as well as on catchment responses to such bedrock channel processes. More sophisticated numerical models of processes in bedrock channels and on their flanking hillslopes are required. In current numerical models of long‐term evolution of hillslopes and interfluves, for example, the simple dependency on slope of both the fluvial and hillslope components of these models means that a Davisian‐type of landscape evolution characterized by slope lowering is inevitably ‘confirmed’ by the models. In numerical modelling, the next advances will require better parameterized algorithms for hillslope processes, and more sophisticated formulations of bedrock channel incision processes, incorporating, for example, the effects of sediment shielding of the bed. Such increasing sophistication must be matched by careful assessment and testing of model outputs using pre‐established criteria and tests. Confirmation by these more sophisticated Davisian‐type numerical models of slope lowering under conditions of tectonic stability (no active rock uplift), and of constant slope angle and steady‐state landscape under conditions of ongoing rock uplift, will indicate that the Davis and Hack models are not mutually exclusive. A Hack‐type model (or a variant of it, incorporating slope adjustment to rock strength rather than to regolith strength) will apply to active settings where there is sufficient stream power and/or sediment flux for channels to incise at the rate of rock uplift. Post‐orogenic settings of decreased (or zero) active rock uplift would be characterized by a Davisian scheme of declining slope angles and non‐steady‐state (or transient) landscapes. Such post‐orogenic landscapes deserve much more attention than they have received of late, not least because the intriguing questions they pose about the preservation of ancient landscapes were hinted at in passing in the 1960s and have recently re‐surfaced. As we begin to ask again some of the grand questions that lay at the heart of geomorphology in its earliest days, large‐scale geomorphology is on the threshold of another ‘golden’ era to match that of the first half of the 20th century, when cyclical approaches underpinned virtually all geomorphological work. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE RESPONSE OF FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FUJIANG DRAINGE BASIN TO ACTIVITY OF THE HUYA FAULT ZONE

The Huya Fault, located in the steep topographic boundary of the Minshan Mountains in the eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau, has documented many major earthquakes such as the 1630(M=6 3/4), 1973 Huanglong(M_S=6.5) and the 1976 Songpan-Pingwu earthquake swarm(M_S=7.2, 6.7, 7.2). While its activity remains unclear because of lacking Quaternary sediments. In the past few decades, there have been significant advances in understanding the relationship between bedrock channel landscapes and active tectonics, indicating that the bedrock fluvial features can well record the tectonic activity. Many studies reveal that tectonism is the primary factor of landscape evolution in tectonically active regions, and the erosional landscapes can be used to reveal tectonic signals on timescales of 10³~10⁶ years. The Huya Fault crosses the Fujiang drainage basin, making it suitable for the study of bedrock rivers and tectonic uplift in the eastern margin of Minshan. In this study, we calculate the geomorphologic indeices(hillslope, local relief, normalized steepness indices and hypsometric integral) on the basis of the digital elevation model(DEM) SRTM-1. For better understanding the tectonic activity along this fault, we derive some small catchments on the two sides of the Huya fault to analyze the differences of average steepness indices and hypsometric integral. Combining with field observations, lithology, precipitation and modern erosion rates, this study suggests that tectonic activity is the controlling factor of geomorphology in the eastern margin of the Minshan Mountains. We use focal mechanism solutions, GPS data and geomorphic evidence to explore the relationship between the geomorphologic indices of the Fujiang drainage and activity characteristics of the Huya fault. Our results suggest that:(1) The Fujiang drainage basin is in a steady state. The characteristics of the knickpoints indicate that they are mainly controlled by the locally resistant substrate. (2) The suggested value of the geomorphologic index on the west side of the Huya fault is generally larger than on the east side, showing differential tectonic uplift rates across the fault. (3) The difference of the geomorphologic index of the small catchments on both sides of the Huya fault is gradually increasing from north to south along this fault, in accordance with that the north and south segments of the Huya fault are dominated by strike-and reverse-slip, respectively.     

Quantification of braided river channel change using archival digital image analysis

Historical archives of grey‐scale river channel imagery are extensive. Here, we present and test a methodology to extract detailed quantitative topographic data from such imagery of sand‐bed rivers. Extracting elevation information from rivers is difficult as they are characterized by a low relative relief (<4 m); the area of interest may be spatially extensive (e.g. active channel widths >500 m in large braided rivers); the rate of change of surface elevation is generally low except in the vicinity of individual channel banks where the rate of change is very high; there is the complication that comes from inundation; and there may be an added complication caused by blockage of the field of view by vegetation. Here, we couple archival photogrammetric techniques with image processing methods and test these for quantification of sand‐bed braided river dynamics, illustrated for a 500 m wide, 3 km long reach of the South Saskatchewan River, Canada. Digital photogrammetry was used to quantify dry areas and water edge elevations. A methodology was then used to calibrate the spectral signature of inundated areas by combining established two media digital photogrammetric methods and image matching. This allowed determination of detailed depth maps for inundated areas and, when combined with dry area data, creation of complete digital elevation models. Error propagation methods were used to determine the erosion and deposition depths detectable from sequential digital elevation models. The result was a series of elevation models that demonstrate the potential for acquiring detailed and precise elevation data from any historical aerial imagery of rivers without needing associated calibration data, provided that imagery is of the necessary scale to capture the features of interest. We use these data to highlight several aspects of channel change on the South Saskatchewan River, including bar movement, bank erosion and channel infilling. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

濑溪河流域地貌对泸县MS6.0地震发震构造变形的响应及其指示作用

以12.5 m 数字高程模型数据为基础,采用数字地貌分析方法提取了濑溪河流域的高程剖面和面积-高程积分（HI）等地貌参数,分析了2021年9月16日四川盆地东南部泸县M_S6.0地震震中附近区域地貌与构造活动的响应关系。结果显示:震中西侧的螺观山和梯子崖背斜在震中的南北两端存在明显的缩短量差异;HI条带状低值区的展布方向与流域内构造的方向一致,HI高值区位于华蓥山两条断裂夹持的谷地,但在震中附近存在WNW向的HI低值带。综合分析认为,泸县地震震中附近应存在一走向为WNW的隐伏构造,它不仅调节了螺观山和梯子崖背斜在震中南北两端的缩短量差异,也使得HI值受其影响呈低值特征,该结果与震源机制解结果、等震线长轴走向以及余震空间展布的优势方向相一致。