Growth of the Namche Barwa Syntaxis and associated evolution of the Tsangpo Gorge: Constraints from structural and thermochronological data

The eastern syntaxis of the Himalaya, Namche Barwa, is dominated by a north-plunging antiform which began to decompress/grow at approximately 4 Ma. New fission-track analyses on both apatite and zircon, combined with previous geochronological ages, indicate that the Namche Barwa Dome also extended laterally while growing vertically. Zircon fission-track ages range from 17.6 to 0.2 Ma and have a strong relationship to the main faults of the region, including the Tertiary Tsangpo Suture, with the younger ages inside the fault bounds towards the syntaxis core on the Indian Plate and the older ages away from the fault. Apatite ages reveal that the dome has grown laterally and now impinges over the older faulted margin onto the Asian Plate. The dome is traversed by the Tsangpo which has followed the trace of the Suture for over 1300 km from its source to the entrance of the dome near Dania. As the Tsangpo crosses the dome it departs from the Suture but rejoins it some 60 km northeastwards. We construe that the Suture has been displaced by the growing antiform and as a consequence, the antecedent river has been “dragged” in a left-lateral sense along the exhuming north-plunging dome. Restoring the Suture to its position prior to 4 Ma reveals a path of the Tsangpo eastwards across the present southwestern position of the Namche Barwa indentation. This geometric reconstrunction implies that the Tsangpo and the Brahmaputra were always one and the same river. In addition, the Tsangpo was tectonically forced into juxtaposition with a tributary of the Jiali-Parlung which it probably then captured. The capture was due to tectonic forcing, in the last 4 Ma, rather than headward retreat of the paleo-Brahmaputra as has been previously suggested.     

雅鲁藏布江流域地-气系统的水平衡

利用NCEP/NCAR1980-1989年10年逐日00UTC、12UTC再分析资料及青藏高原降水、径流资料,研究了青藏高原雅鲁藏布江流域的水平衡特征,估算了雅鲁藏布江流域的蒸发、土壤和地下水含量。结果表明:雅鲁藏布江流域夏季是水汽辐合区,降水大于蒸发;秋末到次年春季是水汽通量辐散区,蒸发大于降水。降水主要集中在6～9月。径流的年际变化趋势同降水相近,径流主要是由降水补给的,径流峰值滞后降水峰值一个月。雅鲁藏布江流域土壤及地下含水量从1～6月逐渐减少,7月以后开始增加,10月是土壤及地下水最丰富的时段。20世纪80年代中期和后期降水、蒸发、径流等呈增长趋势,这同ENSO事件有关。     

Spatiotemporal variations of suspended sediment transport in the upstream and midstream of the Yarlung Tsangpo River (the upper Brahmaputra), China

The Yarlung Tsangpo River, which flows from west to east across the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau, is the longest river on the plateau and an important center for human habitation in Tibet. Suspended sediment in the river can be used as an important proxy for evaluating regional soil erosion and ecological and environmental conditions. However, sediment transport in the river is rarely reported due to data scarcity. Results from this study based on a daily dataset of 3 years from four main stream gauging stations confirmed the existence of great spatiotemporal variability in suspended sediment transport in the Yarlung Tsangpo River, under interactions of monsoon climate and topographical variability. Temporally, sediment transport or deposition mainly occurred during the summer months from July to September, accounting for 79% to 93% of annual gross sediment load. This coincided with the rainy season from June to August that accounted for 51% to 80% of annual gross precipitation and the flood period from July to September that accounted for approximately 60% of annual gross discharge. The highest specific sediment yield of 177.6 t/km²/yr occurred in the upper midstream with the highest erosion intensity. The lower midstream was dominated by deposition, trapping approximately 40% of total sediment input from its upstream area. Sediment load transported to the midstream terminus was 10.43 Mt/yr with a basin average specific sediment yield of 54 t/km²/yr. Comparison with other plateau‐originated rivers like the upper Yellow River, the upper Yangtze River, the upper Indus River, and the Mekong River indicated that sediment contribution from the studied area was very low. The results provided fundamental information for future studies on soil and water conservation and for the river basin management. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

青海省三江源地区湿地生态系统健康评价

湿地生态系统健康评价是湿地保护的基础,对提高湿地生态环境管理水平具有重要的指导作用.以青海省三江源地区为研究区,采用Landsat ETM+遥感影像为主要数据源,提取湿地信息.基于压力—状态—响应(PSR)模型,构建三江源地区湿地健康的综合评价指标体系;运用层次分析法和地理信息系统空间分析技术,对三江源地区的湿地健康状...     

Analysis of the Water Environmental Capacity of Zhongba-Nyingchi Section of the Yarlung Tsangpo River

The Yarlung Tsangpo River, the longest river in Tibet, houses most of the population and economy in Tibet Autonomous province. Under the rapid development of economy and society in Tibet, the pollution in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin has rapidly increased. Evaluating water quality and water environmental capacity is needed for water resource management in Tibet. This study used a single factor evaluation method to evaluate water quality of the Zhongba-Nyingchi section of the Yarlung Tsangpo River based on measured data of COD_Cr, NH3-N and TP in the study area. Based on these data, determinations of ideal water environmental capacity, emissions of pollutants and remaining water environmental capacity of the study area were made by a one-dimensional steady water quality model under either section-head control or cross-section control. The data indicate that most of the monitoring sections in the study area experienced good water quality. The three pollutants all had large remaining water environmental capacity generally, but TP exceeded state levels in the two upstream functional areas, and levels above state standards of COD_Cr and TP were found in several calculation cells of the two downstream functional areas. Therefore, emissions of pollutants need to be reduced to protect the water environment quality of the Yarlung Tsangpo River.     

定量表征河流砂颗粒的形状——在西藏帕隆藏布的尝试

河流搬运体系中,颗粒的形状属性可以反映其来源、搬运、沉积的过程。长期以来沉积学界缺乏相对统一的定量的、多维的颗粒形状参数。本研究以西藏雅鲁藏布江支流帕隆藏布为例,运用图像分析、软件分析等计算机辅助技术,对8个天然河流砂样品中的2276个颗粒开展碎屑成分鉴定和形状参数量化等工作。重点评估了11个颗粒形状参数,通过因子分析等统计方法提取并定义了3个形状信号,包括圆形度因子、规则度因子和平滑度因子。这些参数可用于表征颗粒宏观形状上接近圆形的程度、中观尺度上轮廓规则的程度及轮廓平滑的程度。挖掘天然河流砂的重要形状特征后,进一步探索了这些形状参数与颗粒成分、粒度的关系。本研究成果为解释河流系统中颗粒的形状信号、理解颗粒自身微观属性和外部物理过程等提供重要借鉴。     

Evidence for Holocene megafloods down the Tsangpo River gorge, southeastern Tibet

Lacustrine and alluvial terraces and sediments record the extent of at least two Holocene glacially dammed lakes immediately upstream of the Tsangpo River gorge at the eastern syntaxis of the Himalaya. The larger lake covered 2835 km², with a maximum depth of 680 m and contained an estimated 832 km³ of water; the smaller lake contained an estimated 80 km³ of water. Radiocarbon dating of wood and charcoal yielded conventional radiocarbon ages of 8860 ± 40 and 9870 ± 50 ¹⁴C yr B.P. for the higher set of lake terraces, and 1220 ± 40 and 1660 ± 40 ¹⁴C yr B.P. for sediments from the lower terraces. Catastrophic failure of the glacial dams that impounded the lakes would have released outburst floods down the gorge of the Tsangpo River with estimated peak discharges of up to 1 to 5 × 10⁶ m³ s⁻¹. The erosive potential represented by the unit stream power calculated for the head of the gorge during such a catastrophic lake breakout indicates that post-glacial megafloods down the Tsangpo River were likely among the most erosive events in recent Earth history.     

Paleogene island arc collision-related conglomerates, Yarlung–Tsangpo suture zone, Tibet

Coarse clastic rocks in the Liuqu Conglomerate, formed in both terrestrial and subaqueous settings, record a Paleogene phase in the tectonic evolution of Tibet. Facies changes are commonly abrupt with rapid changes in clast types, grain size and stratal patterns. Sediments were derived from the leading (northern) edge of the Indian margin and a Late Jurassic–Cretaceous intraoceanic island arc that lay within Tethys. The coarse clastic sedimentary rocks of the Liuqu conglomerates are extremely proximal, but are locally offset relative to their original source terranes. They record aspects of the history of collision between these terranes and are interpreted to have been deposited in oblique–slip basins that developed along the zone of collision. The absence of clasts derived from terranes to the north of the Yarlung–Tsangpo suture suggests that basins associated with deposition of the Liuqu Conglomerate developed prior to the final collision between India and Asia.     

新构造运动影响下的雅鲁藏布江水系发育和河流地貌特征

雅鲁藏布江(雅江)水系发育和河流地貌演变受新构造运动的强烈影响。通过野外调查,结合SRTM(航天飞机雷达地形测绘使命)数据分析和Google Earth三维地图功能,对雅江河网形态及河流地貌特征进行了分析,并采用EH4电磁成像系统测量了雅江及其支流宽谷河道淤沙深度。研究发现,雅江河网呈现格状水系特点,同时具有枝状河网的拓扑性质,这主要是由于新构造运动的影响,河网发育过程中受到南北向挤压和东西向拉伸所至。青藏高原阶段性不均匀抬升形成了宽窄相间的藕节状河道形态,宽阔河段河道为辫状河型,而窄深河段为深切的V型河谷、单一顺直河型,纵剖面上构成裂点。裂点河段地块相对上升较快,阻滞了水流和泥沙,上游河段大量卵石和泥沙在河谷里淤积深达800多米,形成了平整而宽阔的U型河谷。整个雅江宽谷段泥沙淤积量约0.9万亿m³。     

Tectonics and Seismicity of the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon Region

The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon region is located in the frontal zone of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis, where neo-tectonics and seismicity are intensive and closely related to each other. In the region, two sets of fault structures have developed, striking NNE-NE and NWW-NW, respectively. Investigation shows that they differ markedly in terms of scope, property, active times and intensity. The NWW-NW trending faults are large in size, and most are thrust and thrust strike-slip faults, formed in earlier times. The NEE-NE-strike faults are relatively small in size individually, with concentrated distribution, constituting the NNE-trending shear extensional fault zone, which is relatively younger with evident late Quaternary activities. Strong earthquakes occur mainly in the areas or zones of intensive differential movement of the Himalayas, e.g. along the deep and large fault zones around the crustal blocks. Most earthquakes of M≥7.0 are closely related to tectonics, where large-scale Holocene active faults are distributed with complicated fault geometry, or the faults of multiple directions intersect. Among them, earthquakes of M≥7.5 have occurred on the NW and NE-trending faults with a greater strike-slip component in the fault tectonic zones.