Insights into a giant landslide-prone area on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau,China

A good understanding of giant landslide-prone areas could greatly enhance the understanding of the formation and failure mechanisms of giant landslides.In this study,a classic giant landslide-prone area named the Diexi area located along the upstream stretch of the Minjiang River on the eastern Tibetan Plateau is adopted to analyze the failure mechanism and evolution process by detailed field investigations,Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV)images and a digital surface model(DSM).The results show that among the 37 giant landslides located in the Diexi area,18 landslides are transverse landslides(wedge failure),and the others are consequent landslides(buckling failure).All landslides blocked rivers,and some barrier lakes still remain.The Diexi area features special geological structural conditions related to the hinge section of the Jiaochang arc tectonic belt,the intersection of two active fault zones(the Songpinggou and Minjiang fault zones)and high levels of geostress.The numerous radial fissures induced by the Jiaochang arcuate belt provided lateral sliding boundaries for buckling deformation(consequent landslides)and head scarps for wedge failure(transverse landslides).The rapid incision(1.88 mm/yr)since the middle Pleistocene formed a deep gorge with steep slopes and strong lateral unloading.Frequent earthquakes and rainfall further reduced the rock mass integrity,and strong earthquakes or other factors triggered the landslides.     

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES IN THE EASTERN CHINA DURING THE LATE PLEISTOCENE

The environmental changes during the Late Pleistocene were more obvious in the eastern China than in other areas at the same latitude, which either between northern and southern, or between land and sea of the eastern China were mostly non-synchronous. The transitional period prior to the last glaciation came about in the northern part of the eastern China about 115,000 yr. ago. The desert environments of the inland of the north China were developed both in the glacial maximum and in the warm interglacial period, but the loess accumulation mostly took place during the glacial period. The sand dunes and the periglacial solifluctions in the lower Changjiang (Yangtze) River region were formed during the last glacial period. The event of lowest surface temperature occurred at 98,000 yr. B.P. and 59,000 yr. B.P. in the northern part of the South China Sea but not during the full-glacial stage. The phenomena mentioned . above were the result of the following reasons that the paleo-environmental changes in the     

青藏高原米林地区晚更新世晚期植被演替与环境变迁

位于青藏高原南部的米林地区在晚更新世晚期沉积了一套湖相沉积体系,为了探讨当时米林地区的古植被、古环境信
息,在米林机场实测了一条晚更新世晚期剖面。根据样品14C测年结果初步认定该剖面湖积物的底部年龄约40kaBP,顶部年龄
约12kaBP。根据孢粉分析研究把该剖面自下而上划分为4个孢粉组合带以及对应的4个植被发展演替阶段:①第一阶段(对应
孢粉组合带Ⅰ;36~28kaBP)为森林草甸植被类型;②第二阶段(对应孢粉组合带Ⅱ;28~23kaBP)为高山草原植被类型;③第三
阶段(对应孢粉组合带Ⅲ;23~18kaBP)为蒿草草原植被类型;④第四阶段(对应孢粉组合带Ⅳ;16~13kaBP)为荒漠草原植被类
型。在此基础上,初步推论青藏高原南部晚更新世晚期气候环境演化为:从40kaBP至全新世高原南部气候类型总体寒冷偏干旱
出现小型波动,与全球的冰期和间冰期吻合较好。      

Active tectonics and erosional unloading at the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Introduction The eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, adjacent to the Sichuan Basin (Figure 1), has become a testing ground for a variety of models that contrast mechanisms of extrusion and crustal thickening associated with the India-Asia collision (Avouac and Tapponnier 1993, England and Houseman 1986),but that also address the extent to which the upper crust and upper mantle are coupled (Royden et al. 1997, Holt 2000). The margin is characterized by topographic relief of over 5 km an…     

Nature and timing of a prehistoric giant landslide on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Studying the characteristics of a prehistoric giant landslide and ascertaining its relationship with palaeo-seismic events could provide useful information on the role of regional tectonic activities in hillslope evolution. Here, a giant palaeoseismic landslide(GPSL), namely, the Luanshibao(LSB) landslide, located on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, was investigated to ascertain its characteristics and occurrence age. The relationship between occurrence age and palaeoseismic episodes was also discussed by using 14 C dating on the adjacent active faults, including the regional Yidun-Litang-Dewu(YD-LT-DW) fault zone,which crossed the LSB landslide. The dating of multiple samples acquired from palaeo-seismic trenches revealed that at least 5 palaeo-seismic episodes had occurred in the vicinity of the LSB landslide over the last 5000 years. The occurrence age of the LSB landslide(3635 ± 387 a BP) coincides with palaeo-seismic episode I, and the LSB landslide is convincingly inferred to have been triggered during episode I, which reached a seismic intensity(Chinese scale) of at least degree VII near the LSB landslide during failure. The timing of a second reactivation phase coincides with palaeo-seismic episode IV,which occurred at 2100-2200 a BP. The study could provide reference for studying the regional palaeoseismic activities and palaeo landslide evolution near the Litang area.     

Soil chronosequence derived from landslides on the upper reach of Minjiang River,western China

Soil chronosequences derived from landslides with certain time series are the great avenue to elevate our understanding on the processes of pedogenesis, nutrient dynamics, and ecosystem evolution. However, the construction of reliable soil chronosequence from historical landslides remains intricate. Here, we presented a 22,000-year soil chronosequence from multiple landslides on the upper reach of Minjiang River, western China. The variation in a variety of pedogenesis indices and soil nutrients...     

A METHOD TO ESTIMATE PALEOTEMPERATURE FROM ENVIRONMENTAL PROXIES IN LAKE SEDIMENTS——A STUDY ON ZOIGE BASIN IN EASTERN TIBETAN PLATEAU, CHINA

Seeking for an effective method to probe further the relation among Tibetan Plateau, climatic events, and natural environmental changes in the Zoige Basin, we proposed a physical model for the reconstruction of climate and environment and a preliminary application was conducted on the 45 m (about 200 ka BP), upper part of Core RM (310 m long) drilled in the Zoige Basin (33°57’N, 102°21’E), on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that: a) in the Zoige region, the maximum temperature in the period equivalent to Stage 7 in the deep-sea stable oxygen record was 2.7°C higher than that at present; b) Stage 6 temperature was 4.3°C lower than that at present; c) Stage 5 peak temperature was 5.2°C higher that that at present; d) Stage 4 average temperature should have been 2–3°C lower than that at present; and e) Stage 3 temperature differences within the period were more than 4°C. It was found that during Stage 6 (140–160 ka BP) the environment in the Zoige Basin was extraordinary, representing a transition period from warm-dry and cold-wet to warm-wet and cold-dry environmental conditions due to the uplift that occurred on the Tibetan Plateau at this period. Project 49803001 supported by NSFC and also funded by National and CAS Tibet Research Project (G1998040800).     

Carbon isotope variations of modern soils in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and their controlling factors

The marginal areas of the Tibetan Plateau have great vertical altitude gradient and abundant vegetation, they are therefore the ideal places for investigating the relationships among carbon isotope composition(δ~(13)C) of modern soils, vegetation and environmental factors, which would be very useful for the reconstructions of both paleovegetation and paleoclimate. In this paper, modern soil samples collected in different vegetation vertical zones along 4km elevation gradient in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau were analyzed for their carbon isotope composition. The results show that the modern soils in different vegetation vertical zones show apparent difference of δ~(13)C values, which get heavier in the sequence of mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forest(-27.28‰ on average), evergreen broad-leaved forest(-27.25‰), subalpine shrub-meadow(-25.81‰), subalpine coniferous forest(-25.81‰), alpine bush-meadow(-25.16‰), and drought-enduring shrub(-24.07‰). 1800 m and 3500 m are two critical points for the δ~(13)C values with respect to altitude. Specifically, the δ~(13)C values decrease with increasing altitude below both points while increasing with increasing altitude above both points. Further analyses indicate that the declining δ~(13)C values are mainly controlled by the decreasing proportion of C4 plants with elevation and the increasing δ~(13)C values are attributed to the plant physic-morphological adaptation to the alpine environment. In the absence of drought stress, temperature is the main controlling factor for the carbon isotopic variations with altitude gradient.     

Simulation of the dynamic disturbance characteristics of the soft sediment in the Diexi ancient dammed lake,China

In an earlier study of the Diexi ancient dammed lake along the Minjiang River in Southwest China, 10 disturbed layers with envelope and flame structures were found in more than 240 m of lacustrine sediments. In this paper, the soft-sediment disturbances caused by earthquakes in the Diexi ancient dammed lake were studied based on field investigations and laboratory core observations. A two-to three-degree-of-freedom spring-type earthquake simulation vibration table was used to carry out disturbance tests on lacustrine sediments under different dynamic conditions. The results support the following conclusions:(1) The disturbance layers in the lacustrine sediments were caused by strong earthquakes in the region.(2) The characteristics of the disturbance layers are related to the seismic parameters and the degree of sediment consolidation.(3) The greater the earthquake intensity is, the greater the disturbance amplitude is; moreover, the lower the consolidation degree is, the greater the disturbance amplitude.(4) The simulation tests verify that the disturbance layers in the sediments of the Diexi ancient dammed lake correspond to strong earthquakes in the region. These results are valuable for ongoing palaeoseismic research in the region.     

青藏高原西南部塔若错湖泊沉积物记录的近300年来气候环境变化

以青藏高原西南部塔若错的34cm浅湖芯为研究对象,对其沉积物样品进行总有机碳、无机碳、总氮、微量元素、正构烷烃含量及碳氮比等多项指标的分析测定。采用过剩210 Pb和137 Cs计年法对该湖芯进行了定年和沉积速率研究,获得了近300年的连续湖泊沉积环境序列。在明确了各指标气候环境指示意义的前提下,综合对比分析湖芯中各项气候环境指标,并结合定年结果重建了塔若错湖区近300年来的气候环境变化。结果表明:塔若错湖区气候环境变化可分为3个明显阶段:早期为1705～1778年,该地区气候环境温暖湿润,湖区植被广泛发育;中期为1778～1860年,湖区处于小冰期末次阶段,气候环境寒冷而湿润,植被发育受阻;后期为1860年至今,为小冰期结束后偏暖干化时期。其中,后期又可分为3个亚阶段:1860～1924年,湖区气候环境稍暖且干旱,植被稍有发育;1924～1969年,湖区气候环境呈现偏冷干特点,植被发育暂缓;1969年至今,湖区气候回暖,环境干旱化有所缓解,植被开始逐渐发育。在气候冷暖变化上,该湖芯记录与古里雅冰芯记录和青海湖湖泊沉积记录都有较好的可对比性,只是在起讫年代上存在一些差异。     

Effects of experimental warming on soil microbial communities in two contrasting subalpine forest ecosystems,eastern Tibetan Plateau,China

Soil microbial communities are primarily regulated by environmental temperature. Our study investigated the effects of global warming on soil microbial community composition as measured via phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and soil chemical characteristics in relation to soil depth in a dragon spruce plantation and a spruce-fir-dominated natural forestin the Eastern Tibetan Plateau. Open-top chambers were utilized to increase the soil and air temperature. Soil samples were collected from the 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm layers after a 4-year warming. Our results showed that the soil microbial community and the contents of TC (Total carbon), TN (Total nitrogen), NO ₃ ^- , and NH ₄ ⁺ responded differently to warming in the two contrasting forests, especially at the 0-10 cm soil depth. Warming increased soil microbial biomass at the 0-20 cm depth of soil in natural forest but reduced it at the 0-10 cm depth ofsoil in the plantation. In contrast, the TC and TN contents were reduced in most soil layers of a natural forest but increased in all of the soil layers of the plantation under warming conditions. This result suggested that the effects of warming on soil microbial community and soil C and N pools would differ according to soil depth and forest types; thus, the two contrasting forests would under go differing changes following the future climate warming in this region.     

藏东南多依弄巴流域冰湖溃决危险性评价

冰湖溃决灾害是指冰湖坝体突然破坏引发溃决洪水或溃决泥石流的现象,对下游人类活动和自然环境造成严重影响。近年来,藏东南地区冰川快速退缩,冰湖数量和规模显著增加,冰湖溃决事件广泛发生。基于1995-2021年多时相Landsat系列遥感影像、Sentinel-2A遥感影像,结合RAMMS水文动力学模型方法,对藏东南地区多依弄巴流域内冰湖、冰川进行动态变化分析,模拟冰崩危险体触发冰湖溃决和冰湖溃决泥石流的演进过程,根据泥石流模拟中的流速和流深对冰湖溃决可能影响的区域进行危险性分区。结果表明:流域内冰川面积由1995年的14.05 km2退缩为2021年的9.43 km2,年均退缩率约为0.15 km2/a。流域内共发育3处冰崩危险体,均可能触发冰湖溃决。潜在危险冰湖在全溃情况下,溃决泥石流会冲出沟口堵塞然乌湖湖口和帕隆藏布主河道,对下游居民和道路造成影响,影响范围约4.05 km2,其中高危险性区域约2.55 km2。危险性评价结果可为多依弄巴流域未来土地利用规划和防灾减灾提供依据,也能为藏东南地区冰湖溃决型泥石流危险评估提供参考。      

Effect of lake surface temperature on the summer precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau

There are numerous lakes on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), but the role of lake temperature in precipitation over the TP remains unclear. Here the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used to detect the impact of lakes on summer rainfall. Three test cases were used to evaluate the effect of lakes surface temperature (LSTs) on precipitation variability. The three cases used different methods to determine initial LSTs, including using sea surface temperature data (SST), the WRF inland water module (avg_tsfc), and a lake model. Results show that when precipitation was stimulated over the TP, LSTs cannot be initialized using SST, which led to large discrepancies of precipitation. Compared with the simulations, the simulated precipitation were improved obviously with LSTs using avg_tsfc, indicating that LSTs have an considerable influence on determining precipitation over the TP. Due to a lack of observational data, the lake scheme does not improve on rainfall simulation, but does effectively simulate precipitation pattern over lakes, such as rainfall over the lakes was dominated by convection during the nighttime. Though the simulated precipitation using SST to initialize LSTs caused large discrepancies, it suggested that precipitation increase especially convective precipitation with increase in LSTs, which confirmed that the moisture from lakes cannot be neglected over the TP. Generally, it was necessary to monitor the LSTs for accurate weather and climate prediction over the TP.     

A landscape pattern analysis method based on boundaries and nodes: A case study in upper Minjiang River, China

Traditionally,patch-based analysis at the landscape scale fragmentation has been used in the study of landscape ecology while the study of boundary and node has not been considered as much detail until recently.This study investigated the possibility of applying boundary-and node-based methods in landscape pattern analysis to the upper reaches of the Minjiang River in the southwestern China.Boundary-based and node-based landscape indices were selected to be used in analyzing changes in landscape patterns,and the results were compared with analysis using traditional pattern indices.We compared the responses of patch-area-based,boundary-length-based and node-number-based indices,and concluded that boundary-based and node-based indices are more sensitive to disturbance than patch-based indices with various patterns,and node-based indices are even more sensitive than boundary-based ones.Thus,the results suggest that boundary-based and node-based pattern analysis methods provide helpful supplementary information to traditional patch-based pattern analysis methods.The results about pattern dynamics of landscapes in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River based on boundaries and nodes showed that with human disturbance,the dominance of forest landscape was weakened by other landscape types; thus the landscape pattern of the study area became more homogeneous and the boundary network became more complex.These changes further augmented disturbance interfaces in the landscape and increased the possibilities of further landscape fragmentation.     

Spatial pattern of rural settlements in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River

A quantitative analysis of the spatial pattern of rural settlements in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River was made with the major data sources being the relevant ETM image and the national geographical database of China (including contour line, river and road) at the scale of 1:250 000, and using image interpretation and field investigation to obtain spatial information on rural settlements. The results of the spatial analysis technique of GIS and correlation analysis showed that most settlements (78.2 %) were located in the mountain area at 1500 ∼ 2700 m altitude, and almost half in the arid valley area. More than 80.0 % of settlements had their slopes above 15°. Most settlements had good access to water resources, roads and communications, and tended to cluster close to the road network rather than the river. About half of the rural settlements in the study area were relatively concentrated, while the others were decentralized. Those with higher altitude usually had land with steep slope, inconvenient water and road accesses, and were located far apart from each other. In view of such a situation, further research should be done to make reasonable countermeasures on these settlements for better living conditions and ecosystem stability.     

Seasonal and Spatial Variability of Microparticles in Snowpits on the Tibetan Plateau, China

The work presents microparticle concentrations in snowpits from the East Rongbuk Glacier on Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) (ER) (28.02°N, 86.96°E, 6536 m a.s.l.), the Zhadang Glacier on Mt. Nyainqentanglha (NQ) (30.47°N, 90.65°E, 5800m a.s.l.), and the Guoqu Glacier on Mt. Geladaindong (GL) (33.95°N, 91.28°E, 5823m a.s.l.) over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Variations of microparticle and major ions (e.g. Mg2+, Ca2+) concentrations in snowpits show that the values of the microparticles and ions in the non-monsoon seasons are much higher than those in the monsoon seasons. Annual flux of microparticle deposition at ER is lower than those at NQ and GL, which could be attributed to the long distance away from the possible dust source regions as well as the elevation for ER higher than the others. Compared with other remote areas, microparticle concentrations in the southern TP are much lower than those in the northern TP, but still much higher than those in Greenland and Antarctica. The seasonal and spatial microparticle variations are clearly related to the variations of atmospheric circulation according to the air mass 5-day backward trajectory analyses of HYSPLIT Model. Resultingly, the high microparticle values in snow are mainly attributed to the westerlies and the strong dust storm outbreaks on the TP, while the monsoon circulation brings great amount of precipitation from the Indian Ocean, thus reducing in the aerosol concentrations.     

Allometric equations of select tree species of the Tibetan Plateau,China

The Tibetan forest is one of the most important national forest zones in China. Despite the potentially important role that Tibetan forest will play in the Earth?s future carbon balance and climate regulation, few allometric equations exist for accurately estimating biomass and carbon budgets of this forest. In the present study, allometric equations,both species-specific and generic, were developed relating component biomass(DW) to diameter at breast height(DBH) and tree height(H) for six most common tree species in Tibetan forest. The 6 species were Abies georgei Orr., Picea spinulosa(Griff.)Henry, Pinus densata Mast., Pinus yunnanensis Franch., Cypresses funebris Endl. and Quercus semecarpifilia Smith.. The results showed that, both DBH-only and DBH2 H based species-specific equations showed a significant fit(P0.05) for all tree species and biomass components. The DBH-only equations explained more than 80% variability of the component biomass and total biomass, adding H as a second independent variable increased the goodness of fit, while incorporating H into the term DBH2 H decreased the goodness of fit. However, not all DBH-H combined equations showed a significant fit(P0.05) for all tree species and biomass components. Hence, the suggested species-specific allometric equations for the six most common tree species are of the form ln(DW) = c + αln(DBH). The generalized equations of mixed coniferous component biomass against DBH, DBH2 H and DBH-H also showed a significant fit(P0.05) for all biomass components. However, due to significant species effect, the relative errors of the estimates were very high. Hence, generalized equations should only be used when there are too many different tree species, or there is no species-specific model of the same species or similar growth form in adjacent area.     

Paleoglacial and paleoclimate reconstructions during the global Last Glacial Maximum in the Longriba area,eastern Tibetan Plateau

Owing to the remoteness of the Longriba area and the lack of dating records,it is extremely challenging to reconstruct the chronology and extent of the paleoglaciers in this area.In this paper,we combined limited observational data with automated modelling for paleoglacial reconstructions.We first identified a broadly distributed paleoglacier from satellite imagery and field investigation based on the sediment-landform assemblage principle and dated it to 23.1±1.4~19.5±1.2 ka by ¹⁰Be exposure dating,corresponding to the global Last Glacial Maximum(gLGM).Then,we reconstructed the extent and ice surface of 171 paleoglaciers formed during the similar period based on geomorphological evidence and‘ice surface profile’modelling.The results showed that the paleoglacial coverage was 426.5 km2,with an ice volume of 38.1 km³,in the Longriba area.The reconstructed equilibrium line altitudes(ELAs)based on modelled ice surfaces yielded an average of 4245±66 m above sea level(asl),~725±73 m lower than the present ELA(4970±29 m asl).The temperature was~5.51-6.68℃lower,and the precipitation was~30-34%less in Longriba,during the gLGM compared to the present day.This glacial advance was mainly driven by colder climate that was synchronous with Northern Hemisphere cooling events.     

Surface ozone in Jiuzhaigou National Park, eastern rim of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

Located in southwestern China, Jiuzhaigou National Park is one of the most popular tourism destinations in China, famous for its unique aquatic ecosystems and beautiful forests. However, plants in the park may be at high ozone risk as a result of the intensive use of diesel tour buses in the park. In addition, Jiuzhaigou is close to a region with relatively high regional anthropogenic NO x emissions. During the growing season, also the peak season of tourism, we measured ozone concentration at two sites within the Park and these were: Jiuzhaigou Bureau (JB) and Long Lake (LL). The results indicate that ozone concentrations were not high enough to cause foliar injury during the monitoring period, although the risk of ozone to plants was higher in spring than in summer and autumn. Diurnal ozone cycles at JB and LL displayed significantly higher ozone concentrations in the daytime than in the nighttime, suggesting photochemical production of ozone during the day and ozone deposition during the night as a result of the nocturnal boundary layer. In parallel with the seasonal change of background surface ozone in the Northern Hemisphere, maximum daily 8-h average ozone concentration (MDA8) and daily ozone concentration decreased from spring to autumn at the two sites. This temporal variation in Jiuzhaigou was most likely associated with the downward mixing of ozone-rich air from the free troposphere, because all the high-ozone events (MDA8 > 70.0 ppb) were observed in spring and ozone-rich air from the free troposphere was the dominant cause. In summary, our data suggest that ozone concentrations in Jiuzhaigou were more affected by the regional-scale of background pattern in air quality and meteorological conditions than by local tourist activities.