Acta Geographica Sinica ›› 2019, Vol. 74 ›› Issue (11): 2385-2400.doi: 10.11821/dlxb201911014

• Climate Change and Ecological Environment • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Aeolian sediments and their paleoenvironmental implication in the Yarlung Zangbo catchment (southern Tibet, China) since MIS3

LING Zhiyong1,2,3,JIN Jianhui4,WU Duo1,LIU Xiangjun2,3,XIA Dunsheng1,CHEN Fahu1,5,6   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of West China's Environmental System, Ministry of Education, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
    2. Key Laboratory of Comprehensive and Highly Efficient Utilization of Salt Lake Resources, Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, CAS, Xining 810008, China
    3. Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008, China
    4. College of Geosciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China
    5. Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China
    6. CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
  • Received:2018-10-15 Revised:2019-07-01 Online:2019-11-25 Published:2019-11-01
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(41501001);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41790421);National Key R&D Program of China(2018YFC0406605)

Abstract:

The aeolian deposits in the Yarlung Zangbo catchment are widely developed, and its sedimentary development model is complex. The climatic implication and chronological boundary of the aeolian sediments are not clear enough. Therefore, from the perspective of the whole basin, this paper comprehensively analyzed the development mechanism and mode of the aeolian sediments in different regions. At the same time, the chronological data of aeolian deposition is normalized and compared with the classical curve of global climate. The results show that: (1) The aeolian deposits in the basin have prevailing wind field development patterns and local wind field development patterns, and different patterns of aeolian sediments have different indications for the environment. (2) The aeolian sediments in the basin are mostly deposited in the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), which mainly developed in different periods since the Late Glacial Period (15 ka BP), and the rich source of alluvial debris may be the main controlling factor of the aeolian activities. The aeolian sediments forming in the earlier time were brought into the river and failed to be preserved due to the warming climate and the erosion transport caused by glacial ablation after the LGM. (3) Since the LGM, the aeolian deposition process of Yarlung Zangbo has been controlled by the regional and global paleoclimate environment, and the fluctuations are drastic. The aeolian sedimentary process of different climate stage have different records to the 30°N summer insolation, the Indian monsoon and westerly winds change signal, but have a better response to the Younger Dryas (YD), global cold event. In short, the sedimentary process of Yarlung Zangbo is similar with that of the other regions on the Tibetan Plateau, and both recorded the global paleoclimatic change, but have its regional uniqueness. 4) The strong accumulation process of aeolian sediments in the Yarlung Zangbo catchment is not a simple correspondence with the global classical climate curve, and it presents a more complex response pattern to global climate change, which shows that the aeolian deposition process of the alpine valley environment is not only affected by the climate of the large area, but also controlled by many local environmental factors. Their relation with the paleoclimatic environment is complex.

Key words: aeolian sediments, chronology, paleoclimate and paleoenvironment, Yarlung Zangbo catchment, MIS3