Hostname: page-component-788cddb947-m6qld Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-09T01:40:58.497Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Climatic and tectonic controls on strath terraces along the upper Weihe River in central China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Hongshan Gao
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
Zongmeng Li*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
Yapeng Ji
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
Baotian Pan
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
Xiaofeng Liu
Affiliation:
Lanzhou Institute of Seismology, China Earthquake Administration, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730000, China
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail address:lizm12@lzu.edu.cn(Z. Li)

Abstract

The Weihe River in central China is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and contains a well-developed strath terrace system. A new chronology for the past 1.11 Ma for a spectacular flight of strath terraces along the upper Weihe River near Longxi is defined based on field investigations of loess—paleosol sequences and magnetostratigraphy. All the strath terraces are strikingly similar, having several meters of paleosols that have developed directly on top of fluvial deposits located on the terrace treads. This suggests that the abandonment of each strath terrace by river incision occurred during the transition from glacial to interglacial climates. The average fluvial incision rates during 1.11—0.71 Ma and since 0.13 Ma are 0.35 and 0.32 m/ka, respectively. These incision rates are considerably higher than the average incision rate of 0.16 m/km for the intervening period between 0.71 and 0.13 Ma. Over all our results suggest that cyclic Quaternary climate change has been the main driving factor for strath terrace formation with enhanced episodic uplift.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Antoine, P., Lautridou, J.P., Laurent, M., 2000. Long-term fluvial archives in NW France: response of the Seine and Somme rivers to tectonic movements, climatic variations and sea-level changes. Geomorphology 33, 183207 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bridgland, D.R., 2000. River terrace systems in north-west Europe: an archive of environmental change, uplift and early human occupation. Quaternary Science Reviews 19, 12931303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bridgland, D.R., Allen, P., 1996. A revised model for terrace formation and its significance for the early middle Pleistocene terrace aggradations of north-east Essex, England. In: Turner, C. (Ed.), The Early Middle Pleistocene in Europe. Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, pp. 121134.Google Scholar
Bridgland, D.R., Westaway, R., 2008. Climatically controlled river terrace staircases: a worldwide Quaternary phenomenon. Geomorphology 98, 285315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bridgland, D.R., Westaway, R., 2014. Quaternary fluvial archives and landscape evolution: a global synthesis. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 125, 600629.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Büdel, J., 1977. Klima-Geomorphologie. Gebrüder Borntrager, Berlin.Google Scholar
Bull, W.B., 1990. Stream-terrace genesis: implications for soil development. Geomorphology 3, 351367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cande, S.C., Kent, D.V., 1995. Revised calibration of the geomagnetic polarity timescale for the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Journal of Geophysical Research 100, 60936095.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cordier, S., Harmand, D., Frechen, M., Beiner, M., 2006. Fluvial system response to middle and upper Pleistocene climate change in the Meurthe and Moselle valleys (Eastern Paris Basin and Rhenish Massif). Quaternary Science Reviews 25, 14601474 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cui, Z.J., Wu, Y.Q., Liu, G.N., 1998. Discovery and character of the Kunlun-Yellow River movement. Chinese Science Bulletin 43, 833836.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ding, Z.L., Derbyshire, E., Yang, S.L., Yu, Z.W., Xiong, S.F., Liu, T.S., 2002. Stacked 2.6-Ma grain size record from the Chinese loess based on five sections and correlation with the deep-sea δ18O record. Paleoceanography 17, 5-1-21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finnegan, N.J., Dietrich, W.E., 2011. Episodic bedrock strath terrace formation due to meander migration and cutoff. Geology 39, 143146 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finnegan, N.J., Schumer, R., Finnegan, S., 2014. A signature of transience in bedrock river incision rates over timescales of 104 — 107 years. Nature 505, 391394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gao, H.S., Liu, X.F., Pan, B.T., Wang, Y., Yu, Y.T., Li, J.J., 2008. Stream response to Quaternary tectonic and climatic change: evidence from the upper Weihe River, central China. Quaternary International 186, 123131 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, G.K., 1877. Report on the Geology of the Henry Mountains. Geographical and Geological Survey, U.S. Rocky Mountain Region, 160 pp.Google Scholar
Howard, A.D., 1959. Numerical systems of terrace nomenclature: a critique. The Journal of Geology 67, 239243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huntington, E., 1907. Some characteristics of the glacial period in non-glaciated regions. Geological Society of America Bulletin 18, 351388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kasse, C., Bohncke, S.J.P., Vandenberghe, J., Gábris, G., 2010. Fluvial style changes during the last glacial-interglacial transition in the middle Tisza valley (Hungary). Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 121, 180194 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirby, E., Harkins, N., Wang, E.Q., Shi, X.H., Fan, C., Burbank, D., 2007. Slip rate gradients along the eastern Kunlun fault. Tectonics 26, 126. TC2010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koss, J.E., Ethridge, F.G., Schumm, S.A., 1994. An experimental study of the effects of base-level change on fluvial, coastal plain and shelf systems. Journal of Sedimentary Research 64, 9098.Google Scholar
Leigh, D.S., 2008. Late Quaternary climates and river channels of the Atlantic coastal plain, southeastern USA. Geomorphology 101, 90108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, J.J., 1991. The environmental effects of the uplift of the Qinghai-Xizang plateau. Quaternary Science Reviews 10, 479483.Google Scholar
Li, J.J., Fang, X.M., van der Voo, R., Zhu, J.J., Niocaill, C.M., Ono, Y., Pan, B.T., Zhong, W., Wang, J.L., Sasaki, T., Zhang, Y.T., Cao, J.X., Kang, S.C., Wang, J.M., 1997. Magnetostratigraphic dating of river terraces: rapid and intermittent incision by the Yellow River of the northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau during the Quaternary. Journal of Geophysical Research 102, 1012110132 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, J.J., Fang, X.M., Song, C.H., Pan, B.T., Ma, Y.Z., Yan, M.D., 2014. Late Miocene—Quaternary rapid stepwise uplift of the NE Tibetan plateau and its effects on climatic and environmental changes. Quaternary Research 81, 400423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, J.J., Zhou, S.Z., Zhao, Z.J., Zhang, J., 2015. The Qingzang movement: the major uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Science China: Earth Sciences 58, 21132122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lisiecki, L.E., Raymo, M.E., 2005. A Pliocene-Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic δ18O records. Paleoceanography 20, 117 Google Scholar
Liu, T.S., 1985. Loess and the Environment. Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Liu, T.S., Ding, Z.L., 1998. Chinese loess and the paleomonsoon. Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sciences 26, 111145 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, W.M., Zhang, L.Y., Sun, J.M., 2010. High resolution magnetostratigraphy of the Luochuan loess-paleosol sequence in the central Chinese loess plateau. Chinese Journal of Geophysics 53, 888894 (in Chinese, with English Abstract).Google Scholar
Lu, H.Y., Wang, X.Y., An, Z.S., Miao, X.D., Zhu, R.X., Ma, H.Z., Li, Z., Tan, H.B., Wang, X.Y., 2004. Geomorphologic evidence of phased uplift of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet plateau since 14 million years ago. Science in China (Series D) 47, 822833.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maddy, D., 1997. Uplift-driven valley incision and river terrace formation in southern England. Journal of Quaternary Science 12, 539545.3.0.CO;2-T>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maddy, D., Demir, T., Veldkamp, A., Bridgland, D.R., Stemerdink, C., van der Schriek, T., Schreve, D., 2012. The obliquity-controlled early Pleistocene terrace sequence of the Gediz River, western Turkey: a revised correlation and chronology. Journal of the Geological Society 169, 6782.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merritts, D.J., Vincent, K.R., Wohl, E.E., 1994. Long river profiles, tectonism, and eustasy: a guide to interpreting fluvial terraces. Journal of Geophysical Research 99, 1403114050.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mol, J., Vandenberghe, J., Kasse, C., 2000. River response to variations of periglacial climate. Geomorphology 33, 131148 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molnar, P., England, P., 1990. Late Cenozoic uplift of mountain ranges and global climate change: chicke or egg? Nature 346, 2934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nádor, A., Lantos, M., Tóth-Makk, á., Thamó-Bozsó, E., 2003. Milankovitch-scale multi-proxy records from fluvial sediments of the last 2.6 Ma, Pannonian Basin, Hungary. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, 21572175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, L.A., Finkel, R.C., Ma, H.Z., Barnard, P.L., 2006. Late Quaternary landscape evolution in the Kunlun Mountains and Qaidam Basin, Northern Tibet: a framework for examining the links between glaciations, lake level changes and alluvial fan formation. Quaternary International 154-155, 7386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pan, B.T., Burbank, D., Wang, Y.X., Wu, G.J., Li, J.J., Guan, Q.Y., 2003. A 900 ky record of strath terrace formation during glacial-interglacial transitions in northwest China. Geology 31, 957960.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pan, B.T., Su, H., Hu, Z.B., Hu, X.F., Gao, H.S., Li, J.J., Kirby, E., 2009. Evaluating the role of climate and tectonics during non-steady incision of the Yellow River: evidence from a 1.24 Ma terrace record near Lanzhou, China. Quaternary Science Reviews 28, 32813290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pazzaglia, F.J., 2013. Fluvial terraces. In: Shroder, J., Wohl, E. (Eds.), Treatise on Geomorphology, Fluvial Geomorphology, vol. 9. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, pp. 379412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peltzer, G., Tapponier, P., Zhang, Z.T., Xu, Z.Q., 1985. Neogene and Quaternary faulting in and along the Qinling Shan. Nature 317, 500505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penck, A., Brückner, E., 1909. Die Alpen im Eiszeitalter. Tauchnitz, Leipzig (in Italian).Google Scholar
Porter, S.C., An, Z.S., Zheng, H.B., 1992. Cyclic Quaternary alluviation and terracing in a nonglaciated drainage basin on the north flank of the Qinling Shan, central China. Quaternary Research 38, 157169 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, S.C., An, Z.S., 2005. Episodic gullying and paleomonsoon cycles on the Chinese loess plateau. Quaternary Research 64, 234241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prins, M.A., Vriend, M., Nugteren, G., Vandenberghe, J., Lu, H.Y., Zheng, H.B., Weltje, G.J., 2007. Late Quaternary aeolian dust input variability on the Chinese Loess Plateau: inferences from unmixing of loess grain-size records. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, 230242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schumm, S.A., 1977. The Fluvial System. John Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Schumm, S.A., 1993. River response to baselevel change: implications for sequence stratigraphy. The Journal of Geology 101, 279294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Starkel, L., 2003. Climatically controlled terraces in uplifting mountain areas. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, 21892198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, J.M., 2005. Long-term fluvial archives in the Fen Wei Graben, central China, and their bearing on the tectonic history of the India-Asia collision system during the Quaternary. Quaternary Science Reviews 24, 12791286 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tapponnier, P., Xu, Z.Q., Roger, F., Meyer, B., Arnaud, N., Wittlinger, G., Yang, J.S., 2001. Oblique stepwise rise and growth of the Tibet Plateau. Science 294, 16711677.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vandenberghe, J., 1995. Timescales, climate and river development. Quaternary Science Reviews 14, 631638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., 2008. The fluvial cycle at coldewarmecold transitions in lowland regions: a refinement of theory. Geomorphology 98, 275284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., 2015. River terraces as a response to climatic forcing: formation processes, sedimentary characteristics and sites for human occupation. Quaternary International 370, 311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., Wang, X.Y., Lu, H.Y., 2011. Differential impact of small-scaled tectonic movements on fluvial morphology and sedimentology (the Huang Shui catchment, NE Tibet Plateau). Geomorphology 134, 171185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, X.S., Yang, Z.Y., Løvlie, R., Sun, Z.M., Pei, J.L., 2006. A magnetostratigraphic reassessment of correlation between Chinese loess and marine oxygen isotope records over the last 1.1 Ma. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 159, 109117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, X.Y., Van Balen, R., Yi, S.W., Vandenberghe, J., Lu, H.Y., 2014. Differential tectonic movements in the confluence area of the Huang Shui and Huang He rivers (Yellow River), NE Tibetan Plateau, as inferred from fluvial terrace positions. Boreas 43, 469484.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, X.Y., Vandenberghe, J., Yi, S.W., Van Balen, R., Lu, H.Y., 2015. Climate-dependent fluvial architecture and processes on a suborbital timescale in areas of rapid tectonic uplift: an example from the NE Tibetan Plateau. Global and Planetary Change 133, 318329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, Z.C., Zhang, P.Z., Zhang, G.L., Li, C.Y., Zheng, D.W., Yuan, D.Y., 2006. Tertiary tectonic activities of the north frontal fault zone of the west Qinling mountains: implications for the growth of the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Earth Science Frontiers 13, 119135 (in Chinese, with English Abstract).Google Scholar
Westaway, R., 2002. Long-term river terrace sequences: evidence for global increases in surface uplift rates in the Late Pliocene and early Middle Pleistocene caused by flow in the lower continental crust induced by surface processes. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 81, 305328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westaway, R., Bridgland, D., Mishra, S., 2003. Rheological differences between Archaean and younger crust can determine rates of Quaternary vertical motions revealed by fluvial geomorphology. Terra Nova 15, 287298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zeuner, F.E., 1935. The Pleistocene chronology of central Europe. Geological Magazine 72, 350376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhu, R.X., Pan, Y.X., Guo, B., Liu, Q.S., 1998. A recording phase lag between ocean and continent climate changes: constrained by the Matuyama/Brunhes polarity boundary. Chinese Science Bulletin 43, 15931598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar