1. Age and sedimentology of a Late Pleistocene dammed paleolake in the middle Yarlung Tsangpo River, southern Tibetan Plateau.
- Author
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Wang, Huiying, Wang, Ping, Hu, Gang, Xu, Bo, Yuan, Renmao, Shi, Lingfan, and Ding, Ziyue
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LAST Glacial Maximum , *PLEISTOCENE Epoch , *SEDIMENTOLOGY , *GLACIATION , *ALPINE glaciers , *DAMS , *GLACIERS - Abstract
The Yarlung Tsangpo River on the southern Tibetan Plateau flows between alternating broad shallow valley and deep gorge sections. Many damming events caused by glaciers or glacial moraines have occurred in the gorges during the last glacial period, which play an important role in shaping river landscapes. In this study, we used geomorphological, sedimentological and chronological techniques to analyze the dammed paleolake in the Shan'nan-Gyaca stretch of the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Four sedimentary sections were studied, delineating three major lithofacies associations. We also summarized previous research. Our results suggest that the paleolake was formed before ∼16 ka BP and drained at ∼10 ka BP, developing at least two deltaic-lacustrine sedimentary cycles. The paleolake's highest water surface was ∼3620 m above sea level, with a minimum area and volume of ∼140 km2 and ∼86 km3, respectively. The dam located at the entrance of the Gyaca Gorge may have been formed by glacial moraines during the Last Glacial Maximum; the subsequent outburst event had probably triggered a megaflood downstream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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