The distribution of active rock uplift in the interior of the western Qilian Shan, NE Tibetan Plateau: Inference from bedrock channel profiles

Wang, Yizhou; Zheng, Dewen; Zhang, Zhuqi; Li, Chaopeng; Xiao, Lin; Li, Youjuan; Hao, Yuqi

doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2019.04.001

Cited by 18 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…If the latter is the case there would be no relationship between the geomorphic index patterns, but high HI and SR would be concentrated in areas of active rock uplift. Wang et al (2019) found no correlation between ksn and precipitation in the Qilian Shan at the scale of the main drainage basins. There is very little variation (< 10°) in mean annual temperature, with temperatures decreasing with increasing elevation (Pan et al, 2010) but with no change eastwest or north-south.…”

Section: -Introduction 1a Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…For example, high resolution topography has been used to calculate displacements on thrust and strike slip faults (Bi et al, 2018; the Heli Shan thrust fault, northern Qilian Shan). Wang et al, (2019) assessed the channel steepness and concavity variations across the major rivers of the northern and western Qilian Shan.…”

Section: C Tectonic Geomorphology In the Qilian Shanmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geomorphic expressions of collisional tectonics in the Qilian Shan, north eastern Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2020

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Section: -Introduction 1a Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Section: C Tectonic Geomorphology In the Qilian Shanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphic expressions of collisional tectonics in the Qilian Shan, north eastern Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2020

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“…In the normalized equilibrium profile, θ is a metric to measure how concave the profile is [28] and can be an indicator of a channel bedrock substrate [20]. k s varies systematically with uplift/incision rates and thus can be used to map the spatial pattern of tectonic/climatic forcing [6,54,55].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…That means variations in river incision rates cause changes in steepness indices rather than in channel concavities. In addition, channels with larger drainage areas are usually likely to receive more sediment [6,69,70]. We thus turned to the drainage area to make a simple estimate of the effects of sediment flux.…”

Section: Sediment Fluxmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Knowledge of both spatial and temporal changes in rock uplift rates places constraints on the geometry and tectonic activity of fault systems [1,2], provides a diagnostic test for evaluating regional landscape evolution models [3,4], and thus constitutes a foundation for understanding large-scale lithospheric deformation dynamics [5,6]. Traditional leveling surveys, GPS, and InSAR play important roles in determining decadal-scale surface displacements but remain challenging for mostly capturing interseismic slip and requiring continuous measurements [7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Channel Profile Response to Abrupt Increases in Mountain Uplift Rates: Implications for Late Miocene to Pliocene Acceleration of Intracontinental Extension in the Northern Qinling Range-Weihe Graben, Central China

et al. 2020

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Cenozoic extension of the Qinling range-Weihe Graben system has occurred in response to the uplift and growth of the Tibetan Plateau. Rapid exhumation of the northern Qinling range since the late Miocene is also regarded as resulting from the eastward expansion of the northeast part of Tibet. Tectonic evidence of this in the landscape remains unclear, but the fluvial system can provide a sensitive proxy record of tectonic forcing through space and over time scales of 105–107 a. Here, we present a study of channel profiles in the northern Qinling range, which forms a footwall highland separated from the southern Weihe Graben by active normal faults. We identify a population of knickpoints that separate river profiles with a gentle upstream gradient from steeper downstream reaches. Above the knickpoints, steepness indices increase from the central part towards the west and east, whereas channel steepness shows its highest values in the Huaxian-Huayin section. We observed no systematic changes of channel steepness pattern as a function of rock resistance, drainage area, or channel concavity. Correlation analysis between channel steepness and basin elevation and relief documents the control of tectonic forcing on regional topography. While bearing no relation to geological outcrop boundaries, the knickpoints show a strong correlation between retreat distance, catchment area, and river length. We infer that the knickpoints formed in response to an increase in mountain uplift rates and retreated as a kinematic wave. Under linear slope exponent n, we calibrated channel erodibility K~1.00±0.44×10−6 m0.1/a and derived knickpoint ages of 5.59±1.80 Ma. Combining the ages of onset of active faulting and mountain growth in the NE Tibetan Plateau (8–10 Ma, e.g., Liupan Shan, Jishi Shan, and eastern segments of the Haiyuan and Kunlun faults) and in the southwest Qinling range (9–4 Ma), we conclude that growth of the NE Tibetan Plateau began in the mid-Miocene time and expanded eastwards to the Qinling range-Weihe Graben during the late Miocene and early Pliocene.

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Understanding tectonics from fluvial topography by using the stochastic‐threshold incision model: Theory and application to the Dadu River basin, eastern Tibetan Plateau

Wang,

Zheng,

Zhang

2024

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The flood distribution and bedrock incision threshold exert important influences on the erosion efficiency, which can result into a nonlinear scaling between channel steepness (normalized channel gradients for the downstream increases in drainage area) and erosion rates. Here, we explore the incorporation of both river incision threshold and discharge probability distribution into erosion efficiency to construct a stochastic‐threshold incision model equation to simulate river power incision and the evolution of fluvial topography. Assuming time‐dependent tectonic uplift, we develop a closed‐form analytical solution to the model equation and derive a linear inverse procedure to retrieve relative uplift rate history from river longitudinal profiles. Application of the inverse scheme to the Dadu River basin in the eastern Tibetan Plateau produces a history with three‐phase increases in the uplift/incision rates during the Cenozoic. We use the inversion results to forward the time‐changed river long profile, which indicates the existence of paleo relief before the Oligocene and significant contributions of the late Miocene regional uplift and early Pleistocene river capture on the present topography.

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The distribution of active rock uplift in the interior of the western Qilian Shan, NE Tibetan Plateau: Inference from bedrock channel profiles

Cited by 18 publications

References 68 publications

Geomorphic expressions of collisional tectonics in the Qilian Shan, north eastern Tibetan Plateau

Geomorphic expressions of collisional tectonics in the Qilian Shan, north eastern Tibetan Plateau

Channel Profile Response to Abrupt Increases in Mountain Uplift Rates: Implications for Late Miocene to Pliocene Acceleration of Intracontinental Extension in the Northern Qinling Range-Weihe Graben, Central China

Understanding tectonics from fluvial topography by using the stochastic‐threshold incision model: Theory and application to the Dadu River basin, eastern Tibetan Plateau

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