Geomorphic,hydroclimatic and hydrothermal controls on the formation of lithium brine deposits in the Qaidam Basin,northern Tibetan Plateau,China

Qaidam Basin is a hyperarid inland basin with an area of 121 × 10³ km² located on the northern Tibetan Plateau. Today, one fourth of the basin is covered by playas and hypersaline lakes. Nearly 80% of brine lithium found in China is contained in four salt lakes: Bieletan (BLT), DongTaijinaier (DT), XiTaijinaier (XT) and Yiliping (YLP). In the past decade, great attention was paid to improving the technology for the extraction of lithium from the brine deposits, but studies on origin and mode of formation of the brine deposits remained limited. Our recent investigations found that: (1) ~ 748.8 t of lithium was transported annually into the lower catchment of the four salt lakes via the Hongshui–Nalinggele River (H–N River), the largest river draining into the Qaidam Basin, (2) Li⁺-rich brines are formed only in salt lakes associated with inflowing rivers with Li⁺ concentrations greater than 0.4 mg/L, and (3) the water Li⁺ concentration is positively correlated with both the inflowing river and the associated subsurface brine, including saline lakes with low lithium concentrations. These findings clearly indicate that long-term input of Li⁺ from the H–N River controls the formation of lithium brine deposits. Here we determine that the source of the lithium is from hydrothermal fields where two active faults converge in the upper reach of the Hongshui River. The hydrothermal fields are associated with a magmatic heat source, as suggested by the high Li⁺ and As^3 + content water from geysers. Based on the assumption of a constant rate of lithium influx, we estimate that the total reserves of lithium were likely formed since the postglacial period. Our data indicate that lithium reserves in each of the four salt lakes depend on the influx of Li⁺-bearing water from the H–N River. The data also suggest that during the progradation of the alluvial Fan I, the H–N River drained mostly into the BLT salt lake until the Taijinaier River shifted watercourse to the north and began to feed the salt lakes of the DT, XT and YLP, alongside with the Fan II progradation. The inference is consistent with stratigraphic evidence from the sediment cores of the four salt lakes. One of the major findings of our work is the importance of the contrasting hydroclimatic conditions between the high mountains containing ice caps and the terminal salt lakes. The greater than 4000 m of relief in the watershed enables a massive amount of ions, such as K⁺, to be weathered and transported together with detrital material from the huge, relatively wet alpine regions to the hyperarid terminal basins, where intense evaporation rapidly enriches the lake water, resulting in evaporite deposition and associated K⁺- and Li⁺-rich brine deposits.     

Transition from foreland- to piggyback-basin deposition, Plio-Pleistocene Upper Siwalik Group, Shinghar Range, NW Pakistan

Plio-Pleistocene synorogenic deposits of the Upper Siwalik Group in the Shinghar Range (Trans-Indus Salt Ranges) of north-western Pakistan record the transition from foreland-basin to piggyback-basin deposition on the hangingwall of the Salt Range thrust. The Siwalik and Upper Siwalik Groups are over 4 km thick in the Shinghar Range. The lower 3 km consists of the Miocene Siwalik Group, which was deposited by a south-flowing foreland trunk stream, the palaeo-Indus River. The upper 1·5 km consists of the Upper Siwalik Group, which is herein divided into three members. The lowest member includes deposits of the south-flowing palaeo-Indus River and is distinguished from the underlying Siwalik Group by the first appearance of conglomerate. The transition from the lower member to the middle member is interpreted as recording uplift on the Salt Range thrust. As the Salt Range thrust was active, the palaeo-Indus River was bifurcated to the east and west around the embryonic Shinghar Range and overbank and lacustrine deposition occurred, represented by the middle member. When the Shinghar Range achieved significant topography, the upper member was deposited by streams transporting gravel and sand that flowed north and west out of the range and into a piggyback basin that formed on the hangingwall of the Salt Range thrust. New and previously published palaeomagnetic stratigraphy and fission-track ages from volcaniclastic deposits within the Upper Siwalik Group provide tight constraints on the chronology of sedimentary-facies transitions and timing of uplift of the Shinghar Range. The integration of sedimentological and geochronological data indicates that motion on the Salt Range thrust and repositioning of the Indus River began at ～1·0 Ma.     

Morphodynamic evolution of the Orb River (Languedoc,France): evidence of eustatic,tectonic and climatic controls

This study aims to reconstruct the Cenozoic and Pleistocene morphodynamic evolution of the Orb, a Mediterranean river which crosses all the structural units of the south Massif Central border. A geomorphological and sedimentological analysis of detrital deposits was carried out as a basis for correlating the different formations and reconstructing the palaeodrainage. Heavy minerals were used to reconstruct the main sedimentary palaeochannels since the Messinian. The successive Orb longitudinal profiles show anomalies which can be caused by structure and by interactions between fluvial dynamics and tectonics. Evidence of volcanic heavy minerals on the Faugères Mountains and in the Upper Pliocene deposits of the Languedocian piedmont demonstrates that a north–south flow took place during the Upper Pliocene. Nevertheless, a palaeo‐Orb existed at the place of the present course when the basaltic lava flows were spreading, but headward erosion did not reach them until the Upper Pleistocene, because the Orb middle and high terraces do not contain volcanic minerals sourced from the Escandorgue. The successive Orb longitudinal profiles show that headward erosion due to Pleistocene low sea levels does not reach beyond Béziers and that a tectonic hinge has functioned near the shoreline. The non‐lithologic knickpoints are explained by the Montagne Noire and Avant‐Monts uplift up until the Pleistocene. A progressive continental uplift is necessary to explain the Orb terraces staircase in the Béziers district, and the fluctuations of incision from upstream to downstream are due to laterally differential movements, which are isostatic effects of thick regressive deposits on the Gulf of Lion shelf during the cold periods. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intra- and extrabasinal controls on fluvial deposition in the Miocene Indo-Gangetic foreland basin, northern Pakistan

The Miocene Siwalik Group (upsection, the Chinji, Nagri, and Dhok Pathan Formations) in northern Pakistan records evolving fluvial systems within the Himalayan foreland basin. Sedimentological variations are evaluated with respect to local, regional, and global controls on fluvial deposition and basin filling. Thick (5 m to tens of metres) sandstones are composed of channel bar and fill deposits of low-sinuosity, meandering and braided rivers which formed large, low-gradient sediment fans (or ‘megafans'). River flow was dominantly toward the south-east. The proportion of thick sandstones varies in all Siwalik sections on three scales, and reflects similar variations in palaeochannel size and grain size: (1) small-scale variations are generally tens of metres thick, and reflect the alternation of thick sandstones (channel-belt deposits) and mudstone-dominated strata (overbank deposits) through the section; (2) medium-scale variations are roughly one-hundred to a few hundreds of metres thick, and primarily correspond to changes in channel-deposit thickness, but also to the degree of superposition of channel deposits and/or to changes in the number of channel-belt deposits per unit of section; and (3) large-scale variations (formation-scale) are greater than one km thick, and primarily correspond to changes in channel-deposit thickness. Time-scales of small-, medium-, and large-scale variations appear to be on the order of 10⁴, 10⁵ and 10⁶ years, respectively. The Chinji-Nagri transition is characterized by increases in channel-deposit proportion, sandstone thickness, palaeochannel size and discharge, mean grain size of sandstones, and sediment accumulation rates; and a decrease in avulsion period. The Nagri-Dhok Pathan transition is characterized by decreases in channel-deposit proportion, sandstone thickness, palaeochannel size and discharge, mean grain size of sandstones, and avulsion period; and a further increase in sediment accumulation rates. Formation boundaries across the Potwar Plateau decrease in age toward the west. The Chinji-Nagri transition ranges in age from ～ 10·9–12·7 Ma, and the Nagri-Dhok Pathan transition ranges in age from ～9·3–10·1 Ma. Small-scale variations are attributable to repeated river avulsions triggered by autocyclic processes and/or mountain-front tectonism (e.g. faulting, earthquakes). Medium-scale variations are attributable to local changes in the position of large sediment fans, also triggered by autocyclic processes and/or mountain-front tectonism. The Chinji-Nagri transition records the diversion or establishment (possibly due to river piracy) of a larger river system in the area. River diversion or piracy probably took place within the mountain belt and is attributable to increasing and spatially variable mountain-belt uplift rates, and possibly the development of associated mountain-front deformational structures. The Nagri-Dhok Pathan transition records the diversion of the larger river system out of the area and the establishment of a smaller river system. This diversion is attributable to progressively increasing rates of mountain-belt uplift and basin subsidence. The regional palaeoclimate throughout the time interval studied was apparently constant, and eustatic sea level changes apparently had no effect on deposition in the area.     

Numerical simulation of the paleohydrology of glacial Lake Oshkosh, eastern Wisconsin, USA

Proglacial lakes, formed during retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet, evolved quickly as outlets became ice-free and the earth deformed through glacial isostatic adjustment. With high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) and GIS methods, it is possible to reconstruct the evolution of surface hydrology. When a DEM deforms through time as predicted by our model of viscoelastic earth relaxation, the entire surface hydrologic system with its lakes, outlets, shorelines and rivers also evolves without requiring assumptions of outlet position. The method is applied to proglacial Lake Oshkosh in Wisconsin (13,600 to 12,900 cal yr BP). Comparison of predicted to observed shoreline tilt indicates the ice sheet was about 400 m thick over the Great Lakes region. During ice sheet recession, each of the five outlets are predicted to uplift more than 100 m and then subside approximately 30 m. At its maximum extent, Lake Oshkosh covered 6600 km² with a volume of 111 km³. Using the Hydrologic Engineering Center-River Analysis System model, flow velocities during glacial outburst floods up to 9 m/s and peak discharge of 140,000 m³/s are predicted, which could drain 33.5 km³ of lake water in 10 days and transport boulders up to 3 m in diameter.     

Late Cenozoic fluvial dynamics of the River Tana,Kenya, an uplift dominated record

The Late Cenozoic development of the River Tana in Kenya has been reconstructed for its central reach near its confluence with the River Mutonga, which drains the Mount Kenya region. Age control for this system has been provided by K–Ar and Ar–Ar dating. Between 3.21 and 2.65 Ma a major updoming occurred, in relation to the formation of the Kenyan rift valley. The tilting related to this doming has been reconstructed from lava flows that preserve former river gradients. Linear projection of these trends to the current rift valley rim suggests a net updoming of the eastern Gregory Rift valley by at least ∼1 km during 3.21–2.65 Ma. In contrast, since 2.65 Ma the Tana system has been mainly subject to relatively minor epeirogenic uplift. Changing climatic conditions combined with continuing uplift yielded a typical staircase of strath terraces with at least 10 distinct levels. A more detailed reconstruction of the incision rates since 215 ka has been made, by correlating mineralogically fingerprinted volcaniclastic Tana deposits with dated tephras in a lake record. These volcaniclastic sediments were deposited during glacial periods, contemporaneous with lahars. The reconstructed incision rates for the three youngest terraces are ∼0.1–0.2 mm a⁻¹, thus considerably faster than the overall average rate of valley incision since the Mid-Pliocene, of 0.06 mm a⁻¹. A plausible uplift history has been reconstructed using the estimated ages of the Tana terraces and marine terraces on the Indian Ocean coastline. The result suggests an increase in the rate of incision by the River Tana at ∼0.9 Ma, an observation typical in most European river terrace staircases. The reconstructed Late Quaternary development of Tana valley indicates that a similar Quaternary uplift mechanism has operated in both Europe and East Kenya, suggesting a globally applicable process.     

The Pliocene initiation and Early Pleistocene volcanic disruption of the palaeo-Gediz fluvial system,Western Turkey

In this paper, we report our latest observations concerning a Pliocene and Early Pleistocene record from Western Turkey. The sedimentary sequence described comprises the fluvial deposits of an Early Pleistocene palaeo-Gediz river system and its tributaries prior to the onset of volcanism around Kula and the subsequent lacustrine, volcaniclastic and fluvial deposits associated with the first phase of volcanism (∼1.2 Ma) in this area.Early development of an east–west drainage system in this area resulted from tectonic adjustments to north–south extension and the formation of east–west-oriented grabens. Headward erosion of drainage entering the main Alaşehir graben led to the progressive capture of pre-existing drainage systems as eastward (headward) erosion upstream tapped drainage networks previously formed in internally draining NNE–SSW-oriented basins. Within one of these, the Selendi Basin, part of this evolutionary sequence is preserved as a buried river terrace sequence. Eleven terraces are preserved beneath alluvial fan sediments that are, in turn, capped by basaltic lava flows. Using the available geochronology these terraces are considered to represent sedimentation–incision cycles which span the period ∼1.67–1.2 Ma. Although progressive valley incision is a fluvial system response to regional uplift, the frequency of terrace formation within this time period suggests that the terrace formation resulted from sediment/water supply changes, a consequence of obliquity-driven climate changes. The production of sub-parallel terraces suggests that during this period the river was able to attain a quasi-equilibrium longitudinal profile adjusted to the regional uplift rate. Thus, the incision rate of 0.16 mm a⁻¹ during this period is believed to closely mirror the regional uplift rate.After the onset of volcanism at ∼1.2 Ma, there is a destruction of the dynamic link between fluvial system behaviour and climate change. The repeated damming of the trunk river and its tributaries led to the construction of complex stratigraphic relationships. During the first phase of volcanism the palaeo-Gediz river was dammed on numerous occasions leading to the formation of a series of lakes upstream of the dams in the palaeo-Gediz valley. Variations in lake level forced localised base-level changes that resulted in complex fluvial system response and considerable periods of disequilibrium in profile adjustment. Furthermore, response to these base-level changes most likely disrupted the timing of the incisional adjustment to the on-going regional uplift, thus making the use of this part of the archive for inferring regional uplift rates untenable.     

Gravel antidunes in the tropical Burdekin River, Queensland, Australia

The geological record is punctuated by the deposits of extreme event phenomena, the identification and interpretation of which are hindered by a lack of data on contemporary examples. It is impossible to directly observe sedimentary bedforms and grain fabrics forming under natural particle-transporting, high-velocity currents, and therefore, their characteristics are poorly documented. The deposits of such flows are exposed however, in the dry bed of the Burdekin River, Queensland, Australia following tropical cyclone-induced floods. Long wave-length (up to 19 m) gravel antidunes develop during short (days) high-discharge flows in the upper Burdekin River (maximum recorded discharge near the study reach over 25 600 m³ s^?1 in February 1927). Flood water levels fall quickly (metres in a day) and flow is diverted away from raised areas of the river bed into subchannels, exposing many of the high-stage bedforms with little reworking by falling-stage currents. Gravel bedforms were observed on the dry river bed after the moderate flows of February 1994 (max. 7700 m³ s^?1) and January 1996 (max. 3200 m³ s^?1). The bedforms had wave-lengths in the range 8–19 m, amplitudes of up to 1 m with steeper stoss than lee faces and crest lines generally transverse to local peak-discharge flow direction. The gravel fabric and size sorting change systematically up the stoss and down the lee faces. The antidune deposits form erosive based lenses of sandy gravel with low-angle downstream dipping lamination and generally steep upstream dipping a-b planes. The internal form and fabric of the antidune gravel lenses are distinctly different from those of dune lee gravel lenses. The erosive based lenses of low-angle cross-bedded gravel with steep upstream dipping a-b planes are relatively easy to recognize and may be diagnostic of downstream migrating antidunes. The antidune gravel lenses are associated with thick (to 1 m) high-angle cross bed sets. Ancient antidune gravel lenses may be diagnostic of episodic high-discharge conditions and particularly when they are associated with high-angle cross-bedded gravelly sand they may be useful for palaeoenvironmental interpretation.     

Groundwater budget for the upper and middle parts of the River Gash Basin, eastern Sudan

The River Gash Basin is filled by the Quaternary alluvial deposits, unconformably overlying the basement rocks. The alluvial deposits are composed mainly of unconsolidated layers of gravel, sand, silt, and clays. The aquifer is unconfined and is laterally bounded by the impermeable Neogene clays. The methods used in this study include the carry out of pumping tests and the analysis of well inventory data in addition to the river discharge rates and other meteorological data. The average annual discharge of the River Gash is estimated to be 1,056?×?10⁶ m³ at El Gera gage station (upstream) and 587?×?10⁶ m³ at Salam-Alikum gage station (downstream). The annual loss mounts up to 40% of the total discharge. The water loss is attributed to infiltration and evapotranspiration. The present study proofs that the hydraulic conductivity ranges from 36 to 105 m/day, whereas the transmissivity ranges from 328 to 1,677 m²/day. The monitoring of groundwater level measurements indicates that the water table rises during the rainy season by 9 m in the upstream and 6 m in the midstream areas. The storage capacity of the upper and middle parts of the River Gash Basin is calculated as 502?×?10⁶ m³. The groundwater input reach 386.11?×?10⁶ m³/year, while the groundwater output is calculated as 365.98?×?10⁶ m³/year. The estimated difference between the input and output water quantities in the upper and middle parts of the River Gash Basin demonstrates a positive groundwater budget by about 20?×?10⁶ m³/year     

Hydrographic network as a marker of Quaternary tectonics: the example of El Mencha River from the Kaous region,Jijel, Algeria

A river can be an excellent marker of Quaternary tectonics. This method is applied to the El Mencha River case study (Jijel), which is an active region of Northern Algeria. In the Kaous locality (wilaya of Jijel), El Mencha River shows, at some points of its course, a difference in the banks’ altitude and a sinuosity that contrasts with the gentle slope. The right bank is in a high position with respect to the left bank. Bank uplift is emphasized notably by the staging of the stepped alluvial terraces. The oldest of these terraces is found about 6 m from the current level of the riverbed. On the left bank, the floodplain is very flared, with traces of abandoned or immature channels. Prospecting by electrical imaging has highlighted (i) superficial resistant unstratified and lenticular fluvial layers above conductive stratified deposits; (ii) an abnormal contact between the resistant and the conductive layers interpreted as a NE-SW fault zone, and (iii) the evidence of filled paleovalley which manifests as a V-shaped incision in stratified deposits. Channel pattern adjustment involving a lateral migration of the riverbed and the uplifted alluvial terraces are a consequence of the fault activity during the Quaternary period.     

Sedimentary evolution of a late Pleistocene wetland indicating extreme coastal uplift in southern Tanzania

Facies analyses of Pleistocene deposits from southern coastal Tanzania (Lindi District) document that sediments formed in a wetland evolving on a coastal terrace in the Lindi Fracture Zone foreland. The exposed succession shows a marked sedimentary change from tidal to terrestrial facies. ¹⁴C analyses on gastropod shells indicate the emergence of the Lindi coast at ∼ 44 ¹⁴C ka BP. Emergence and subsequent elevation of terraces to 21 m above present-day sea level was linked to the falling eustatic sea level prior to the last glacial maximum, and to a periodic elevation due to extensional tectonic episodes in the eastern branch of the East African Rift System (EARS). Since ∼ 44 ¹⁴C ka BP tectonic uplift at the coast was 80-110 m, comparable to that in the extreme uplift areas of the EARS.     

Terrace staircases of the River Euphrates in southeast Turkey,northern Syria and western Iraq: evidence for regional surface uplift

We present the first overall synthesis of the terrace deposits of the River Euphrates in SE Turkey, northern Syria, and western Iraq, combining new observations with summaries of data sets from different reaches that had previously been independently studied on a piecemeal basis. The largest number of terraces observed in any reach of the Euphrates is 11, in western Iraq, where this river leaves the uplands of the Arabian Platform. In many other localities not more than 5 or 6 terraces have previously been identified, although we infer that some of these are resolvable into multiple terraces. These terraces are typically formed of gravel, principally consisting of Neotethyan ophiolite and metamorphic lithologies transported from Anatolia. Although older gravels are also evident, most of the Euphrates terrace deposits appear, given the chronologies that have been established for different parts of the study region, to date from the late Early Pleistocene onwards, the cold stages most often represented being interpreted as marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 22, 16, 12, 8, 6 and/or 4, and 2. The formation of this terrace staircase reflects regional uplift of the Arabian Platform. Estimated amounts of uplift since the Middle Pliocene decrease southeastward from almost 300 m in SE Turkey to ∼150 m in western Iraq. Uplift rates increased in the late Early Pleistocene, the uplift estimated since then decreasing from ∼110 m in SE Turkey to a minimum of ∼50 m in the Syria–Iraq border region, then increasing further downstream across western Iraq to ∼70 m. Numerical modelling of this uplift indicates a relatively thin mobile lower-crustal layer, consistent with the low surface heat flow in the Arabian Platform.     

Middle‐Late Pleistocene Glacial Lakes in the Grand Canyon of the Tsangpo River,Tibet

Many moraines formed between Daduka and Chibai in the Tsangpo River valley since Middle Pleistocene. A prominent set of lacustrine and alluvial terraces on the valley margin along both the Tsangpo and Nyang Rivers formed during Quaternary glacial epoch demonstrate lakes were created by damming of the river. Research was conducted on the geological environment, contained sediments, spatial distribution, timing, and formation and destruction of these paleolakes. The lacustrine sediments 14C (10537±268 aBP at Linzhi Brick and Tile Factory, 22510±580 aBP and 13925±204 aBP at Bengga, 21096±1466 aBP at Yusong) and a series of ESR (electron spin resonance) ages at Linzhi town and previous data by other experts, paleolakes persisted for 691~505 kaBP middle Pleistocene ice age, 75–40 kaBP the early stage of last glacier, 27–8 kaBP Last Glacier Maximum (LGM), existence time of lakes gradually shorten represents glacial scale and dam moraine supply potential gradually cut down, paleolakes and dam scale also gradually diminished. This article calculated the average lacustrine sedimentary rate of Gega paleolake in LGM was 12.5 mm/a, demonstrates Mount Namjagbarwa uplifted strongly at the same time, the sedimentary rate of Gega paleolake is more larger than that of enclosed lakes of plateau inland shows the climatic variation of Mount Namjagbarwa is more larger and plateau margin uplifted more quicker than plateau inland. This article analyzed formation and decay cause about the Zelunglung glacier on the west flank of Mount Namjagbarwa got into the Tsangpo River valley and blocked it for tectonic and climatic factors. There is a site of blocking the valley from Gega to Chibai. This article according to moraines and lacustrine sediments yielded paleolakes scale: the lowest lake base altitude 2850 m, the highest lake surface altitude 3585 m, 3240 m and 3180 m, area 2885 km2, 820 km2 and 810 km2, lake maximum depth of 735 m, 390 m and 330 m. We disclose the reason that previous experts discovered there were different age moraines dividing line of altitude 3180 m at the entrance of the Tsangpo Grand Canyon is dammed lake erosive decay under altitude 3180 m moraines in the last glacier era covering moraines in the early ice age of late Pleistocene, top 3180 m in the last glacier moraine remained because ancient dammed lakes didn’t erode it under 3180 m moraines in the early ice age of late Pleistocene exposed. The reason of the top elevation 3585 m moraines in the middle Pleistocene ice age likes that of altitude 3180 m. There were three times dammed lakes by glacier blocking the Tsangpo River during Quaternary glacial period. During other glacial and interglacial period the Zelunglung glacier often extended the valley but moraine supplemental speed of the dam was smaller than that of fluvial erosion and moraine movement, dam quickly disappeared and didn’t form stable lake.     

Volume estimation and stage division of the Mahu landslide in Sichuan Province,China

The Mahu lake, the third deepest lake in China, is located on the west bank of the Jinsha River in Leibo county, Sichuan Province. It is a dammed lake created by an old landslide on the ancient Huanglang river, a tributary on the west bank of the Jinsha River. Previous studies (Wang and Lu in J Mt Res S1:44–47, 2000) suggested that this landslide was caused by an earthquake approximately 372 ka (Middle Pleistocene), during which a few hundreds of million cubic meters of debris were deposited between 1177 and 900 m a.s.l. (above sea level), covering an area of around 15 km². Our further investigations, including geodetic survey, borehole drilling, and field reconnaissance, combining with five chronological data, have made some new discoveries at this site. First, the toe of the landslide extends from 900 m a.s.l. down to 320 m a.s.l., i.e., the local bed elevation of the contemporary Jinsha River. Second, the area of the landslide deposits is 17.3 km² with a volume of 2.38 km³, much larger than the previous estimation. Thus, it should be one of the largest known landslides in China. And the lower elevation of the landslide’s toe also rules out the possibility that it is a hanging valley on the ancient Huanglang river. Our work suggests that this landslide was created by five events according to the overlapping characteristics of the deposits and five chronological data, which are old than 52,600 years, old than 16,000 years, old than 15,500 years, 5800 years, and old than 4200 years, respectively.     

青藏高原隆起与黄河地文期

青藏高原隆起与黄河发育历史有密切关系,黄河地文期既反映黄河发育的各个阶段,也与青藏高原隆起的阶段性相对应。根据最近对黄河阶地及地文期的研究,将黄河发育历史划分为三个阶段：1）黄河雏形期,时代为上新世,黄河至少已达到河套地区;2）河湖并存期,早更新世至中更新世,黄河已达到共和盆地,沿黄河及大的支流出现若干湖泊;3）大黄河期,晚更新世至今,沿黄河的湖泊消失,现今黄河的基本面貌形成。     

Sedimentary facies and geomorphic evolution of a blocked‐valley lake: Lake Futululu,northern Kwazulu‐Natal,South Africa

Blocked‐valley lakes are formed when tributaries are impounded by the relatively rapid aggradation of a large river and its floodplain. These features are common in the landscape, and have been identified in the floodplains of the Solimões‐Amazon (Brazil) and Fly‐Strickland Rivers (Papua New Guinea), for example, but their inaccessibility has resulted in studies being limited to remotely sensed image analysis. This paper documents the sedimentology and geomorphic evolution of a blocked‐valley lake, Lake Futululu on the Mfolozi River floodplain margin, in South Africa, while also offering a context for the formation of lakes and wetlands at tributary junctions. The study combines aerial photography, elevation data from orthophotographs and field survey, and longitudinal sedimentology determined from a series of cores, which were sub‐sampled for organic content and particle size analysis. Radiocarbon dating was used to gauge the rate and timing of peat accumulation. Results indicate that following the last glacial maximum, rising sea‐levels caused aggradation of the Mfolozi River floodplain. By 3980 years bp , aggradation on the floodplain had impounded the Futululu drainage line, creating conditions suitable for peat formation, which has since occurred at a constant average rate of 0·13 cm year^?1. Continued aggradation on the Mfolozi River floodplain has raised the base level of the Futululu drainage line, resulting in a series of back‐stepping sedimentary facies with fluvially derived sand and silt episodically prograding over lacustrine peat deposits. Blocked‐valley lakes form where the trunk river has a much larger sediment load and catchment than the tributary stream. Similarly, when the relative difference in sediment loads is less, palustrine wetlands, rather than lakes, may be the result. In contrast, where tributaries drain a steep, well‐connected catchment, they may impound much larger trunk rivers, creating lakes or wetlands upstream.     

A geomorphological approach to determining the Neogene to Recent tectonic deformation in the Coastal Cordillera of northern Chile (Atacama)

The large (≈10000 km²) and local-scale (<400 km²) geomorphologic, geomorphometric and field evidence indicates that, from the mid-Miocene onwards, the Atacama Fault System (AFS) accommodated the relative uplift of the western side of the Chilean Coastal Cordillera of the Chañaral region (southern Atacama Desert). The mean regional altitude systematically decreases eastwards crossing the AFS, independent of the lithological characteristics of the substratum cut by this system of faults. Topographic analysis reveals a more incised landscape west of the AFS that, at the local scale, is reported by the distribution of the altitudes (hypsometric curves and integrals) of tributary basins and by the presence of terraces. In the Middle and Upper Miocene, a thick (>300 m) sedimentary succession was deposited east of the AFS. The succession fills previously deep paleovalleys. And it consists of gravel, so-called “Atacama Gravels”, which passes laterally into fine-grained playa related deposits near the AFS. We interpret the deposition of this succession as a result of a blocking closure of the valley flowing from the Precordillera due to the activity on AFS. A pedimentation episode followed sediment deposition and is locally strongly re-incised by the main modern-day river valleys draining the Precordillera. Incision may result from either regional uplift of the forearc, and/or from more localized activity on the AFS. Furthermore, Recent (Quaternary?) tectonic activity on the AFS has been observed which is consistent with a localized relative uplift of the crustal block west of the AFS.     

Glacial advances constrained by Be exposure dating of bedrock landslides, Kyrgyz Tien Shan

Numerous large landslide deposits occur in the Tien Shan, a tectonically active intraplate orogen in Central Asia. Yet their significance in Quaternary landscape evolution and natural hazard assessment remains unresolved due to the lack of "absolute" age constraints. Here we present the first ¹⁰Be exposure ages for three prominent (> 10⁷ m³) bedrock landslides that blocked major rivers and formed lakes, two of which subsequently breached, in the northern Kyrgyz Tien Shan. Three ¹⁰Be ages reveal that one landslide in the Alamyedin River occurred at 11–15 ka, which is consistent with two ¹⁴C ages of gastropod shells from reworked loess capping the landslide. One large landslide in Aksu River is among the oldest documented in semi-arid continental interiors, with a ¹⁰Be age of 63–67 ka. The Ukok River landslide deposit(s) yielded variable ¹⁰Be ages, which may result from multiple landslides, and inheritance of ¹⁰Be. Two ¹⁰Be ages of 8.2 and 5.9 ka suggest that one major landslide occurred in the early to mid-Holocene, followed by at least one other event between 1.5 and 0.4 ka. Judging from the regional glacial chronology, all three landslides have occurred between major regional glacial advances. Whereas Alamyedin and Ukok can be considered as postglacial in this context, Aksu is of interglacial age. None of the landslide deposits show traces of glacial erosion, hence their locations and ¹⁰Be ages mark maximum extents and minimum ages of glacial advances, respectively. Using toe-to-headwall altitude ratios of 0.4–0.5, we reconstruct minimum equilibrium-line altitudes that exceed previous estimates by as much as 400 m along the moister northern fringe of the Tien Shan. Our data show that deposits from large landslides can provide valuable spatio-temporal constraints for glacial advances in landscapes where moraines and glacial deposits have low preservation potential.     

The Pleistocene terrace staircase of the River Thame, central-southern England, and its significance for regional stratigraphic correlation, drainage development, and vertical crustal motions

The Thame is one of the principal left-bank affluents of the Thames, the largest river in southern England; it joins the Upper Thames at Dorchester, ∼20 km downstream of Oxford. Its terraces include a younger group of four, which date from the late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene, are disposed subparallel to the modern river, and represent drainage within the modern catchment. At higher levels there are three older terraces, the Three Pigeons, Tiddington and Chilworth terraces, which are assigned to MIS 16, 14 and 12. With much gentler downstream gradients, these are fragmentary remnants of much more substantial fluvial deposits, indicating a much larger river that was disrupted by the Anglian (MIS 12) glaciation. This interpretation supersedes an earlier view that the glacigenic deposits in the Thame headwaters correlate with the Blackditch terrace, the highest of the younger group, which has hitherto provided an argument that the glaciation in this region occurred in MIS 10. It is suggested that the headwaters of the pre-Anglian ‘Greater Thame’ river were located near Northampton and that the Milton Sands of that area represent an upstream counterpart of the Chilworth terrace deposits. It is envisaged that this early Middle Pleistocene drainage geometry, located between the Jurassic limestone and Chalk escarpments, developed as a result of the increase in uplift rates that followed the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution (MPR). It is suggested that before this time, including during the Early Pleistocene, the modern Thame catchment and adjacent regions drained southeastward through the Chalk escarpment, but these small rivers lacked the erosional power to cut through the Chalk in pace with the faster uplift occurring in the early Middle Pleistocene, and so became diverted to the southwest, subparallel to the Chalk escarpment, to form the pre-Anglian ‘Greater Thame’ tributary of the Upper Thames. The post-MPR uplift is estimated to decrease northwestward from 90 m in the Middle Thames to 75 m near the Thame-Thames confluence and to 65 m upstream of Oxford. The post-Anglian (post-450 ka) component of uplift decreases northward from 33 m near the Thame-Thames confluence to an estimated ∼20 m in the Northampton area; the relative stability of the latter area makes feasible the proposed correlation between the Milton Sands and the pre-Anglian River Thame. Limited post-Anglian uplift in the Northampton area is also inferred from the upstream convergence of the terraces of the modern rivers Nene and Great Ouse. These observed lateral variations in vertical crustal motions reflect lateral variations in crustal properties (including heat flow, crustal thickness, and thickness of underplating at the base of the crust) that are known independently. This study thus provides, for the first time, an integrated explanation of the Pleistocene drainage development across a large region of central-southern England.     

Late middle pleistocene interglacial deposits at upper strensham,worcestershire, england

Pleistocene deposits containing the disarticulated skeleton of a mammoth, and associated faunal and floral remains, were discovered in July 1990 at Upper Strensham, Worcestershire. The environmental evidence from the fauna and flora together with limited geological evidence, indicates that the deposits accumulated within a low energy fluvial environment with a surrounding marsh and restricted tree cover on, or close to, the floodplain. The patchy occurrence of trees in a species-rich grassland is discussed, and the climatic significance of the fauna and flora is considered. The Strensham site lies within the valley of the River Avon, which is known to contain at least five altitudinally distinct river terraces. The deposits at Strensham lie beneath a terraced surface that cannot be accommodated within the existing framework of terrace development in the valley, and evidence is presented which may suggest that these deposits form a previously unrecognised fluvial unit, the Strensham Member of the Avon Valley Formation. Amino-acid age estimates from shells taken from the fossiliferous sediments of the Strensham Member suggest a correlation with Oxygen Isotope Stage 7. This correlation suggests that the temperate deposits at this site should be correlated with the temperate phase recorded at Marsworth, Buckinghamshire and Stoke Goldington in the valley of the Great Ouse.