Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Glacier-Dammed Lake in Southeastern Tibetan Plateau During the Last Glacial Maximum


Affiliations
1 College of Resources and Environment, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450011, China
2 Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Lacustrine, alluvial terraces and sediments record at least one Holocene glacially dammed lake in Songzong Basin immediately upstream of the Purlung TsangpoRiver, a main tributary of the downstream of Yarlung Tsangpo River, at the northeastern syntaxis of the Himalaya. The lacustrine deposit is more than 88 meters thick at the SongzongLandslide. There is an 18.33 meters thick layer of lacustrine silt within the lacustrine terrace. The Optical Simulated Luminescence (OSL) ages at the bottom and top of the lacustrine silt layerare 22.5±3.3ka B.P., and 16.1±1.7ka B.P., respectively, which indicates that the lacustrine deposits were formed during the Last Glacial Maximum ranging from 25kaB.P. to 15kaB.P. The ancient shorelines and the lake erosion zone confirm the preexistence of Songzong Lake. There are also terraces formed by moraines in the Songzong Basin. The high and large moraineterrace seen near the mouth of the Dongqu Valley is very prominent. The special characteristics of thelacustrine sediment and the ancient lake line in the Songzong Basin indicate that the lacustrinesediments are related to the blocking of the Purlung Tsangpo River by a glacier from DongquValley during Last Glacial Maximum.

Keywords

Glacier-Dammed Lake, Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, Last Glacial Maximum.
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • BARRETT, R.L. (1900) The Sundal drainage system in Central Norway. Bull. Geographic Soc. Amer., v.3, pp.199-219.
  • BOOKHAGEN, B., THIEDE, R.C. and STRECKER, M.R. (2005a) Late Quaternary intensified monsoon phases control landscape evolution in the northwest Himalayan Geol., v.33, pp.149-152.
  • BOOKHAGEN, B., THIEDE, R. and STRECKER, M. R. (2005b) Abnormal Monsoon years and their control on erosion and sediment flux in the high, arid northwestern Himalaya. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., v.231, pp.131-146.
  • BSMHGSPLAC (Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, Headquarters of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army of China). (1983) Geomorphic of Songzong Station in 1:100000 Scale (in Chinese).
  • CSECAS (The Comprehensive Scientific Expedition to Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Chinese Academy of Science). (1985) Geomorphology of Xizang (Tibet). Beijing Science Press (in Chinese).
  • CSECAS (1983) Quaternary Geology of Xizang (Tibet). Beijing Science Press (in Chinese).
  • CSECAS (1984) Rivers and Lakes in Xizang (Tibet). Beijing Science Press (in Chinese).
  • CSECAS. (1986) Glaciers of Xizang (Tibet). Beijing Science Press (in Chinese).
  • DORTCH, J., OWEN, L.A., HANEBERG, W.C., CAFFEE, M.W., DIETSCH, C. and KAMP, D.U. (2009) Nature and timing of large landslides in the Himalaya and Transhimalaya of northern India. Quaternary Sci. Rev., v.28, pp.1037-1054.
  • HANS REUSCH (1900) A Note on the Last Stage of the Ice Age in Central Scandinavia. Jour. Geol., v.4, pp.326-332.
  • ISRAEL C. RUSSELL (1898) Geography of the Laurentian Basin. Jour. Amer. Geographical Soc. New York, v.3, pp. 226-254.
  • LEWIS A. OWEN (1996) Quaternary lacustrine deposits in a highenergy emi-arid mountain environment, Karakoram Mountains, northern Pakistan. Jour. Quat. Sci., v.6, pp.461-483.
  • LIU XINGQI, SHEN JI, and WANG SUMIN et al. (2002) A 16ka pollen record of Qinghai Lakeand its paleoclimate and paleoenvironment. Chinese Science Bull., 1v.7, pp.1351-1355 (in Chinese).
  • LIU YUPING, D., MONTGOMERY, B.,and HALLET et al.(2006) Quaternary glacier blocking events at the entrance of Yarlung Zangbo great canyon,Southeast Tibet. Quaternary Sci., v.1, pp.52-62 (in Chinese with English abstract).
  • MATTHIAS HUSS, ANDREAS BAUDER, MAURO WERDER,MARTIN FUNK and REGINE HOCK. (2007) Glacier-dammed lake outburst events of Gornersee, Switzerland. Jour. Glaciol, v.181, pp.189-200.
  • MONTGOMERY, D.R., HALLET, B and LIU YUPING et al. (2004) Evidence for Holocene megafloods down the Tsangpo River gorge, Southeastern Tibet. Quaternary Res., v.2, pp.201-207.
  • O’CONNOR, J.E. and COSTA, J.E. (2004) The world’s largest floods, past and present: their causes and magnitudes. USGS Circular 1254, Reston, VA, pp.1-13.
  • PHARTIYAL, B., SHARMA, A., SRIVASTAVA, P. and RAY, Y. (2009) Chronology of relict lake deposits in the Spiti River, NW Trans Himalaya: Implications to Late Pleistocene-Holocene climate-tectonic perturbations. Geomorphology, v.108, pp.264-272.
  • POST, A., and MAYO, L. (1971) Glacier dammed lakes and outburst floods in Alaska. USGS Hydrological Investigations Atlas HApp.455.
  • RALPH S. TARR (1899) Physical Geography of New York State. Part VI. Lakes and Swamps. Jour. Amer. Geographical Soc. New York, v.1, pp.1-23.
  • SHEN CAIMING, TANG LINGYU, and WANG SUMIN et al. (2005) Pollen record and time scale for the RM core of the Zoige Basin, northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Chinese Sci. Bull., v.6, pp.553-562 (in Chinese).
  • SHI YAFENG (2002) A Suggestion to Improve the Chronology of Quaternary Glaciations in China. Jour. Glaciology and Geocryology v.6, pp.687-692 (in Chinese with English abstract).
  • TANG LINGYU, SHEN CAIMING and LIAO GANBIAO et al. (2004) Climate change in southeast Tibet during Last Glacial Maximum, record of the pollen. Science in China (D) v.5, pp.436-442 (in Chinese).
  • WU XIHAO, and LI YONGZHAO (1990) Moraines and environments in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Quaternary Sci., v.2, pp.146-158 (in Chinese with English abstract).
  • YAO TANDONG, AGETA, Y. and OHATA, T. et al. (1991) Preliminary results from China-Japan glaciological expedition in Tibet Plateau. Jour. Glaciol. Geocryol., v.1, pp.1-8 (in Chinese with English abstract).
  • YI CHAOLU, CUI ZHIJIU and XIONG HEIGANG (2005) Numerical periods of Quaternary glaciations in China. Quaternary Sci., v.5, pp.609-619 (in Chinese with English).

Abstract Views: 174

PDF Views: 0




  • Glacier-Dammed Lake in Southeastern Tibetan Plateau During the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract Views: 174  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Guangxiang Yuan
College of Resources and Environment, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450011, China
Qingli Zeng
Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Abstract


Lacustrine, alluvial terraces and sediments record at least one Holocene glacially dammed lake in Songzong Basin immediately upstream of the Purlung TsangpoRiver, a main tributary of the downstream of Yarlung Tsangpo River, at the northeastern syntaxis of the Himalaya. The lacustrine deposit is more than 88 meters thick at the SongzongLandslide. There is an 18.33 meters thick layer of lacustrine silt within the lacustrine terrace. The Optical Simulated Luminescence (OSL) ages at the bottom and top of the lacustrine silt layerare 22.5±3.3ka B.P., and 16.1±1.7ka B.P., respectively, which indicates that the lacustrine deposits were formed during the Last Glacial Maximum ranging from 25kaB.P. to 15kaB.P. The ancient shorelines and the lake erosion zone confirm the preexistence of Songzong Lake. There are also terraces formed by moraines in the Songzong Basin. The high and large moraineterrace seen near the mouth of the Dongqu Valley is very prominent. The special characteristics of thelacustrine sediment and the ancient lake line in the Songzong Basin indicate that the lacustrinesediments are related to the blocking of the Purlung Tsangpo River by a glacier from DongquValley during Last Glacial Maximum.

Keywords


Glacier-Dammed Lake, Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, Last Glacial Maximum.

References