EGU2020-9990
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9990
EGU General Assembly 2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Landscape evolution of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau – Temporal and spatial relationships between glacial and fluvial landforms

Ramona A.A. Schneider1,2, Arjen P. Stroeven1,2, Robin Blomdin1,2, Natacha Gribenski3, Marc W. Caffee4,5, Chaolu Yi6, Xiangke Xu6,7, Xuezhen Zeng7,8, Martina Hättestrand2,9, Ping Fu10, and Lewis A. Owen11
Ramona A.A. Schneider et al.
  • 1Geomorphology & Glaciology, Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden (ramona.schneider93@web.de)
  • 2Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
  • 3Institut of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
  • 4Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
  • 5Department of Earth, Atmosphere, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
  • 6Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research and Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
  • 7Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, CAS, Beijing, 100101, China
  • 8University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
  • 9Climate Science & Quaternary Geology, Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
  • 10Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Nottingham, Ningbo, 315100, China
  • 11Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA

Landscape system components interact in ways which are not yet fully understood, and in tectonically active regions it is of particular interest whether endogenic or exogenic factors are the main drivers of landscape evolution. For example, fluvial terraces may form in response to exogenic disturbances like climatic changes or to endogenic forces like tectonic uplift. This study explores how temporal and spatial correlations between end moraines (denoting the advance of glaciers due to climate change) and fluvial terraces can yield insights about exogenic-endogenic processes determining landscape evolution during the Quaternary on the southern margin of the Shaluli Shan plateau, SE Tibet, a formerly glaciated and tectonically active region. A high-resolution TanDEM-X Digital Elevation Model (12 m) was used to produce detailed geomorphological maps of glacial valleys, marginal moraines, glacial lineations, and fluvial terraces. The geomorphological mapping was complemented with geomorphological and sedimentological field observations. Samples for Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating were taken from extensive and distinct terraces located in pull-apart basins bordering the plateau and samples for cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating were collected from selected boulders on end moraines formed by valley glaciers draining the Mt Genie massif on the Shaluli Shan plateau. Infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signals from feldspar multi grains aliquots, and 10Be and 26Al concentrations from quartz, were used to determine depositional ages of terraces and moraines, respectively. In combining both dating techniques, we compare the timing of glacial expansions with the depositonal ages of the terraces to tease out the effects of exogenic and endogenic drivers on terrace formation and to formulate a conceptual model of landscape evolution.

How to cite: Schneider, R. A. A., Stroeven, A. P., Blomdin, R., Gribenski, N., Caffee, M. W., Yi, C., Xu, X., Zeng, X., Hättestrand, M., Fu, P., and Owen, L. A.: Landscape evolution of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau – Temporal and spatial relationships between glacial and fluvial landforms, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-9990, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9990, 2020

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