Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Quaternary Science, Geomorphology and Paleoenvironment
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2024.1488517
This article is part of the Research Topic Records of Paleoenvironmental and Paleoclimatic Changes Based on Sediments from the Tibetan Plateau and Areas Around View all articles

Late Quaternary Fluvial Terrace Characteristics and Ages of the Pamir-Tian Shan Convergence Zone: Indications of Regional Climate Change and Tectonic Uplift

Provisionally accepted
Jinhua Deng Jinhua Deng 1,2Tao Li Tao Li 1*Jiahui Feng Jiahui Feng 1,3Li Qian Li Qian 1
  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China
  • 2 Sichuan Institute of Geological Engineering Investigation Group Co. Ltd., Chengdu, China
  • 3 Railway Science & Technology Research & Development Center, China Academy of Railway Sciences Co. Ltd., Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The Pamir-Tian Shan collision zone, located at the northwestern edge of the Himalaya-Qingzang orogenic belt, provides a natural laboratory for investigating the development of fluvial terraces controlled by regional climate change and tectonic uplift. In this study, we conducted geomorphological mapping and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide 10 Be dating of fluvial terraces in the Wuheshalu syncline, within the Pamir-Tian Shan collision zone. Four major fluvial terraces were identified in the Wuheshalu syncline, with ages of approximately 187, 141, 90, and 19 ka, respectively. These terraces formed during three glacial-interglacial transition periods (Marine Isotope Stage 6/5 (MIS6/5), cold-to-warm transition period of MIS5, and end of MIS2 or MIS2/1) and one interglacial-glacial period (MIS7/6), and exhibit a strong correlation with regional climate change. Tectonic uplift contributed only one-third of the observed fluvial incision. These results suggest that river incision and terrace formation in the Pamir-Tian Shan collision zone are primarily driven by periodic fluctuations in climate, with a lesser contribution from tectonic uplift.

    Keywords: Pamir-Tian Shan, Fluvial terraces, Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide 10 Be exposure dating, Regional Climate Change, Tectonic uplift

    Received: 30 Aug 2024; Accepted: 31 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Deng, Li, Feng and Qian. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Tao Li, State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.