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Continental-scale drainage reorganization is generally understood to result from landform evolution forced by the coupling between tectonic activity and climate change, attracting worldwide attention. Planation surfaces and river terraces constitute the most direct geomorphological archives for integrating the history of river systems and for reconstructing processes of drainage reorganization based on provenance analysis of the fluvial sediments. The Middle Yellow River has incised into the Ordos Block, which was previously levelled by a planation surface, creating the Jinshaan Gorge and linking the Hetao Basin to the north and the Fenwei Basin to the south. Multiple lines of evidence, from terraces correlation, sedimentary characteristics, and fluvial provenance, suggest that the Middle Yellow River catchment was occupied by fluvio-lacustrine systems before drainage integration, accumulating a sedimentary sequence derived from surrounding Red Clay and bedrocks during the period between 8.3 and 3.7 Ma. The planation surface was uplifted subsequently, forcing reorganization of the fluvio-lacustrine systems. Their integration resulted in the formation of the Jinshaan Gorge prior to 1.2 Ma. Numerous terraces were created during incision by the Middle Yellow River from north to south along the gorge. Our data, obtained from zircon U Pb dating and lithological composition of fluvial gravels, further points to a remarkable discrepancy in provenance between the fluvio-lacustrine systems overlying the planation surface and the terraces sequence formed by the integrated Middle Yellow River, confirming the drainage reorganization process constrained by the geomorphic records. • Fluvio-lacustrine systems occupied the Middle Yellow River before integration. • Yellow River terraces are different from fluvio-lacustrine systems in provenance. • The Middle Yellow River has been excavated and integrated during Plio–Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic studies of gravel deposits, in particular using heavy-mineral analyses, have thrown light on the important unresolved question as to the timing of the initiation of the Yellow River drainage through the Sanmen Gorge, which linked the headwaters of that system in the Fenwei Basin and further upstream with the North China Plain and the Pacific Ocean in the east. Survey of the Sanmen Gorge reach revealed previously unrecognized gravel levels: a higher fifth terrace (T5) and a gravel that formed on a high-level planation surface that is preserved on the flanks of the gorge, below the Xiaoshan upland. This high-level gravel differs markedly from the Yellow River terraces, with a lack of material from the upstream catchment, and would appear to represent a small fluvial catchment that developed in the area during the formation of the planation surface, before the Sanmen Gorge was excavated. Comparison was also made with basin-fill gravels from the endorheic fluvio-lacustrine system that existed immediately upstream of the gorge, and was captured by the Yellow River when the latter was cut, and with the modern bedload gravel of the Yellow River in this reach. The former contains significant quantities of unstable hornblende, which implies more local derivation for the endorheic system, whereas the modern bedload resembles the terrace gravels in showing compositional maturity and long-distance transport from upstream within the catchment. The work reinforces a minimum age of 1.2 Ma for the formation of the Sanmen Gorge. • The gravel layer accumulated on the planation surface along the eastern front of the Xiaoshan represents a local river. • The local river sediments are different from the typical Yellow River gravels and the upper Sanmen Formation. • The Sanmen paleolake within the Fenwei basin was finally disrupted by the westward capture of this local river. • The Sanmen Gorge was excavated by the local river through the Xiaoshan separating the Fenwei basin and North China Plain. • The Yellow River integration may be attributed to the remarkable climatic fluctuation starting in the Mid-Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upper–middle Yellow River flows through the Fenwei graben, a structure resulting from extensional tectonism that was formed and repeatedly extended during the Cenozoic. The drainage system within this graben was formerly isolated from the lower reaches of the Yellow River system by the Xiaoshan mountains, an actively growing ∼ NW–SE trending range. The modern course of the Yellow River takes it through this range along the Sanmen gorge, the formation of which was of great significance in that it initiated through-going drainage between the upper–middle and lower reaches of the system. The timing of this event, which was clearly a critical point in the evolution of the Yellow River, can be established by dating the terraces in the gorge. Intermittent deepening of this gorge by the Yellow River from a high-level planation surface capping the mountain range has resulted in the formation of five terraces. Magnetostratigraphic records from aeolian deposits accumulated on these surfaces provide a geochronological sequence for this geomorphic archive, in which the ages of the planation surface and of terraces T5, T4, T3, T2, and T1 have been determined as ∼3.63 Ma, ∼1.24 Ma, ∼0.86 Ma, ∼0.62 Ma, ∼129 ka, and ∼12 ka, respectively. Under the constraint of this chronological framework, a model for landscape evolution is proposed here. Uplift of the inner Fenwei graben and of the surrounding mountain ranges led to dissection of the 3.63 Ma old planation surface in conjunction with the formation of the Sanmen gorge. Drainage of the lake previously occupying the basin would have promoted incision into the fluvio-lacustrine graben sediments; indeed, gorge formation through the Xiaoshan may have been initiated or intensified by lake overflow. The ages obtained for the planation surface and uppermost terrace suggest that the formation of the Sanmen gorge and the initiation of the through-going eastward drainage of the Yellow River occurred between 3.63 and 1.24 Ma. Before the start of gorge entrenchment, the products of erosion in the modern upper catchment of the Yellow River were unable to reach the sea. The dramatic increase in deposition rates in the Bohai Gulf (at the mouth of the modern Yellow River in the East China Sea), ∼1.0 Ma ago, thus resulted from the initiation of an integral (enlarged) Yellow River catchment drainage through the Sanmen gorge; it does not imply an increase in erosion rates at that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In North China, the Ordos block located northeast of the Tibetan Plateau is regarded as a stable craton surrounded by the Yinchuan graben to the west, the Hetao graben to the north, and the Fenwei graben to the southeast. The major tectonic structure around this block in the Cenozoic reflects intensive extension as a response to the eastward extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau. Intermittent downcutting by the Yellow River, starting from the planation surface level on the Ordos block and penetrating the bedrock, resulted in the formation of the Jinshaan gorge. A series of well-preserved fluvial terraces was identified along this gorge, providing new insight into the far-field effect of the eastward extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau. Magnetostratigraphic records from the planation surface and uppermost terrace suggest that this gorge has been entrenched over its total length in the period from 3.7 to 1.2 Ma. A preliminary explanation is proposed here for the morphological evolution of the Yellow River in the Jinshaan gorge. On the basis of terrace correlation between seventeen geomorphic sections, multiwave headward erosion initiated by the Yellow River along this gorge has been reconstructed. This process may be attributed to the lowering of the base level (the Fenwei graben). This graben has been formed during the Cenozoic as the Tibetan Plateau extruded eastwards resulting in accelerated ground subsidence. A combined approach of magnetostratigraphy, pedostratigraphy, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) was adopted to establish a new geochronology for terraces in the gorge at 1.2 Ma, 1.1 Ma, 787 ka, 412 ka, 245 ka, 128 ka, 29 ka, and 11 ka. These ages provide an excellent framework for calculating the extension within the Fenwei graben. The average incision rate appears to be enhanced significantly since 412 ka, indicating a rapid extension within the Fenwei graben during this time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The key to understanding the fluvial response to climate change and surface uplift is a thorough distinguishing between their roles in terrace formation. Previous studies have tended to attribute the fluvial behavior of deposit–incision alternation to climate cyclicity. A preliminary explanation is proposed here for terrace formation in the eastern part of the Fenwei Basin, China. The observed fluvial terrace sequence was developed by the Yellow River deeply downcutting into the Emei Platform, which was uplifted within the eastern Fenwei Basin, and therefore it probably records the tectonic history of this platform. On the basis of the magnetostratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, a ca. 1.2Ma chronology was established for this terrace sequence. Pedostratigraphic analysis of the loess deposits accumulated on each tread reveals that the terrace deposits are overlain immediately by a paleosol bed, suggesting that the abandonment of these terraces due to fluvial incision occurred at the transitions from glacial to interglacial climates. The glacial–interglacial climate cycle probably has a temporal control on the fluvial behavior of deposit–incision alternation, even though the Yellow River develops in the subsiding Fenwei Basin. The terrace generation may be sporadic and in the form of unusual stacked pattern before the Emei Platform was uplifted within the eastern Fenwei Basin. The terrace staircases however, formed in synchrony with glacial–interglacial climate cycles since this platform began to uplift in the late Middle Pleistocene. This result indicates that uplift may be necessary in large terrace staircase genesis. It can force the river system to downcut deeply enough during climatic transitions to separate terrace levels adequately, favoring the generation and subsequent preservation of the terrace treads. The terrace sequence of the Yellow River in the eastern Fenwei Basin therefore can be considered as a combined archive of climate change and local tectonic activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Yellow River (Huang He) downstream of the Jinshaan Canyon displays well-preserved fluvial terrace sequences below an extensive planation surface at the northeastern Ordos Plateau. Despite a series of well developed geomorphic surfaces, the landscape evolution of the plateau is largely unconstrained. The Jinshaan Canyon, formed by the deeply incising Yellow River through the Ordos Plateau, provides keys to understanding the landscape evolution of this Plateau with respect to the nearby northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. This paper presents two sets of magnetostratigraphic results derived from the aeolian deposits (Red Clay and loess) on the planation surface and the uppermost Yellow River terrace in the middle part of the Jinshaan Canyon. Magnetostratigraphic analysis reveals that the planation surface and the uppermost Yellow River terrace formed respectively at circa 3.7Ma and circa 1.2Ma ago. The Ordos Plateau is the product of a period of planation culminating just before circa 3.7Ma and then was interrupted by an episode of uplift, which may be correlated with the accelerated growth of the Tibetan Plateau in the Miocene–Pliocene. The drainage system in the Jinshaan Canyon was re-organized around 3.7Ma. No correlation seems to exist between an older drainage existing prior to circa 3.7Ma and the present Yellow River network in the Jinshaan Canyon, even though sedimentary and tectonic evidence suggests that the drainage in the middle reach of the Yellow River formed in the late Miocene-early Pliocene. The Yellow River has developed its rectangular course around the Ordos Plateau only since circa 3.7Ma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A continuous fluviolacustrine record provides the geochronological framework to reconstruct the fluvial landscape evolution of the middle reach of the Huanghe (Yellow River). Magnetostratigraphic records from six sections at the north of the Jinshaan Gorge indicate that an isolated fluviolacustrine system occupied this gorge from 8.3 to 3.7Ma. Local fluvial incision initiated at the lake margin around 5.3-4.9Ma, and concomitant fluvial deposits intruded laterally into fine lacustrine strata increasing the sedimentation rate (ca. 3.1cm/ky) within the isolated lake. The temporal coincidence of the onset of uplift-driven valley incision at 3.7Ma along the Yellow River and the onset of basin excavation suggest that uplift possibly played an important role in the late Pliocene-Quaternary drainage evolution. Consequently, incision of the Yellow River upstream in the Jinshaan Gorge initiated at 3.7Ma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The eastern Altun Shan is a crucial part of the Altun orogenic belt within the Tibetan Plateau. Study of the uplift rate and the related features in this area provides important clues for understanding the uplift mechanism of the Tibetan Plateau as a whole. As an important geomorphic element in landscape development, the fluvial system can record the relationship between tectonic activity and climatic change. In recent years, studies of the Channel Steepness Index K sn , have been conducted by many researchers, using the geomorphological model of equilibrium channel longitudinal profiles, combining bedrock uplift and river incision and thus making it possible to extract rock uplift history from river profiles. This research show that regional rock uplift rate is a major factor in affecting the K sn index. Regional tectonic activity and intensity, therefore, can be evaluated from variation in the K sn index, which can provide a sensitive measure of uplift rate. In this paper, the Digital Elevation Map 'ASTER GDEM', with a spatial resolution of 30 m, was utilized as basic data, and combined with ArcGIS and MATLAB software to extract the K sn index from the equilibrium channel longitudinal profiles model. Meanwhile, we employed statistical methods to analyze the K sn index. Our results suggest that averaged K sn indices, obtained from the subrange A，B，C，D, and E of the eastern Altun Shan (from west to east), are 70.93, 139.03, 108.85, 134.44 and 165.39, respectively. Further analysis implies that the variation in this index can be correlated with the distribution pattern of uplift rates within different regions. Its value increases gradually from west to east, reflecting regional uplift rate. Along the western section of the eastern Altun Shan, the uplift rate is slower and characterized by strike-slip movements, while its eastern part has uplifted faster and is controlled by thrust fault systems. Moreover, in contrast with the southern Altun Shan, the uplift rate of the northern part is high. These variations in uplift rate seem to be linked with "the imbricated thrusting transformation-limited extrusion model" of the Tibetan Plateau. Our results can be correlated with previous work on the active characteristics along the eastern Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF). • Along the eastern Altun Shan, the obtained index K sn shows a rough tendency of increasing eastward. • The index K sn from the north front of the eastern Altun Shan is higher than that from the south flank. • This distribution pattern of the index K sn is translated into the different uplift along the eastern Altun Shan. • The difference in uplift rate can be evaluated well by the fluvial incision rate obtained by terrace archives. • The analysis of the index Ksn provides an excellent insight into the extrusion model of the Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluvial response to allogenic and autogenic controls concerns the understanding of landform evolution related to the interaction between tectonic movements, climate, surface process and human activity. Paleo-channels, as part of geomorphic archives, have been widely employed to study this issue during recent decades. Previous work has however concentrated on the mechanisms driving river migration. A new approach, in which multiple elements are considered, is employed here in the examination of paleo-channel formation in the Jiudong Basin, located at the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and characterized by active tectonic deformation, a dry climate and ancient human activity. Based on geomorphic and sedimentary analysis, eight paleo-channels formed by the Taolai and Hongshuiba rivers (two tributaries of the Beida River catchment) have been identified. AMS14C dating of the overlying lacustrine sediments defined their respective abandonment at ca. 22.2, 20.9, 15.3, 18.8, 13.9, 11.9, 3.5 and 1.1 cal. Ka BP. The migration histories of the two rivers have been reconstructed, and then well correlated with reference to archives of tectonic, climatic and human influence. Our results suggest that these controlling factors seem to be coupled and have a competitive relationship in driving river migration. In the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, channel migration can therefore be regarded as a result of fluvial response to the interaction between rapid tectonic activity, climatic fluctuation and human influence. • 8 paleo-channels have been identified in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. • These paleo-channels have been constrained by AMS14C dating in the last glacial period. • These paleo-channels are coupled record of climate, tectonics and human influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report sedimentology, geochronology, and provenance data from a drill core near the Sanmen Gorge. The results indicate that typical river channel deposits, with detritus from the Ordos Block, started to accumulate in the Sanmen Gorge at ∼1.25 Ma, which is consistent with a shift in the regional depositional environment from a closed saline lake to a fluvial-dominated system. Integrating with river terrace evidence suggest that the birth of the modern Yellow River, characterized by the square-shaped bend around the Ordos Block and flowed through the Sanmen Gorge eastward to the sea, occurred around ∼1.25 Ma. [Display omitted] The incision of the Sanmen Gorge marks the birth of the modern Yellow River, but its timing varies from the late Miocene-early Pliocene to the late Pleistocene (∼0.15 Ma), and the suggested forcing mechanisms vary from the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau to global climate change. Here, we report sedimentologic, geochronologic, and provenance data from a drill core near the Sanmen Gorge, the last gorge along the main course of the Yellow River. Our results indicate that typical river channel deposits, with detritus from the Ordos Block in the upstream regions, started to accumulate in the Sanmen Gorge at ∼1.25 Ma. When integrated with river terrace evidence from the upstream and downstream regions, the results provide robust evidence that the final integration of the modern Yellow River occurred at ∼1.25 Ma, consistent with the beginning of the Mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT). We propose that the accelerated lowering of eustatic sea level during the MPT may play as important a role as tectonism in driving the birth and evolution of the modern Yellow River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The competing roles of bedrock uplift and climatic change in the formation of fluvial terraces remain uncertain. Most of recent studies have attributed terrace formation to climatic changes and held that, even in tectonically active settings, climate variations control cycles of terrace planation and abandonment. Based on field investigations of loess-paleosol sequences, magnetostratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, we develop a new chronology for a spectacular flight of terraces along the Yellow River near Lanzhou, China over past 1.24Ma. All the terraces are strikingly similar in that they have several meters of paleosol developed directly above fluvial deposits on the terrace treads, suggesting that the abandonment of each terrace due to river incision occurs during the transition from glacial to interglacial climates. However, the ages of terraces cluster in two relatively short time periods (1.24–0.86Ma and 0.13Ma – present). During the intervening time between 0.86Ma and 0.13Ma, terraces either did not form or were not preserved. We suggest that this record indicates that rock uplift rates varied through time and influenced terrace formation/preservation. Thus, our results demonstrate the utility of deep chronologic records from fluvial terraces for deconvolving the effects of tectonics and climate on fluvial incision. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The occurrence of endorheic basins on the Tibetan Plateau, both in its Pleistocene history and (fewer in number) at the present day, has been attributed to the 'basin-and-range' character of the orogen; the understanding of their conversion to exorheic drainage is key to interpreting the evolution of the Yellow River and other river systems of the plateau. However, such basins also occur in areas of lower altitude and relief and can be observed to have been considerably more common in pre-Quaternary times. In many areas, for example the Mediterranean region, such basins, previously having accumulated stacked sedimentary sequences, typically 'inverted' in the late Pliocene or at around the Pliocene–Pleistocene transition, possibly as part of a response to the cooling of global climate and its effect on surface processes. Some basins have inverted later, at around the time of the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution, coinciding with the increased severity of climate resulting from the 100 ka Milankovich cycles that followed that change. The progressive incision into the fills of these inverted sedimentary basins has also been linked to this climatic influence, perhaps taking effect as a result of erosional isostatic uplift, which would have replaced the accumulation-induced subsidence (also isostatic) of the basins. NW Europe, including Britain, had sediment-accumulating basins in the Early Cenozoic; the timing of their inversion is poorly known as a result of the paucity of preserved evidence from the Late Cenozoic in such areas. Endorheic basins that survive at the present day are mainly in regions of relative aridity and are often controlled by active tectonic structures, such as the pull-apart basins of the Dead Sea Fault Zone and similar examples. This review discusses the evidence from different climatic regions, tectonic settings and areas of different crustal type, with a view to elucidating meaningful patterns that might throw light on this phenomenon. • Late Cenozoic sedimentary basins are compared with reference to type and evolution. • Patterns have been determined in relation to crustal type and climate. • Internally (endorheic) draining basins show a post-Neogene decline in number. • Change to external drainage may be linked to increased climatic severity. • Yellow River basins may be atypical because of association with India–Asia collision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jinsha River has attracted considerable attention for nearly a century due to the morphology of its drainage basin. To explain the evolution of the Jinsha drainage basin, most researchers have considered that the present-day Jinsha (the upper reach of the Yangtze) was once a tributary of a single, southward-flowing river system called the Paleo-Red River, which drained into the South China Sea and was captured by the Upper Yangtze River, after which the flow direction changed to eastwards. The sudden disappearance, at 5.5 Ma, of the Red River submarine fan, which was fed primarily by the Paleo-Red River system, provides an important chronological constraint on the drainage reorganization and the capture event. However, until now, no geomorphic evidence has been presented to support this hypothesized age. Considering this problem, nine well-preserved terraces (T9 to T1) at Jinjiangjie in the Middle Jinsha River were evaluated in this study. To establish the chronological framework of these terraces, a combined dating approach was employed, incorporating electron spin resonance dating, cosmogenic nuclide (26Al/10Be) burial dating, and optically stimulated luminescence dating. We obtained a complete chronological sequence for terraces T9–T1, with ages of approximately 1.07 (T9), 0.70 (T8), 0.65 (T7), 0.51 (T6), 0.47(T5), 0.44(T4), 0.30 (T3), 0.18 (T2), and 0.047 (T1) Ma, respectively. Constrained by this framework, we calculated an average long-term fluvial incision rate of ~147 mm/ka. The reconstruction of the paleo-topography and paleo-drainage, based on digital elevation model data for the re-filling of the deeply incised river valley, indicates that the present drainage pattern in the Middle Jinsha system was established after the disruption of the paleo-landscape surface at an elevation of ~2000 m above sea level. The age of the present-day Middle Jinsha drainage was determined at approximately 5.5 Ma by extrapolating the average valley incision rate, suggesting that the present-day Jinsha was formed at about this time. Our results agree with the previously estimated timing of the disappearance of the Red River submarine fan. • A flight of 9 fluvial terraces dated using ESR, 26Al/10Be and OSL dating in Jinsha River (the upper reach of Yangtze) • About 147 mm/ka of average incision rate in Middle Jinsha River since early Pleistocene • First age of Jinsha River achieving its present-day drainage pattern extrapolated from the average valley incision rate [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forkhead box K2 (FOXK2) is a transcription factor involved in regulating the pathophysiological processes in many types of cancers. Functioning as either an oncogene or tumor suppressor, FOXK2 is involved in cell proliferation, metastasis, DNA damage, metabolism, and autophagy. However, the functions of FOXK2 in multiple myeloma (MM) are still unexplored. Here we show that FOXK2 silencing by small interfering RNA (siRNA) prevented the expression of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) via dephosphorylation of an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Consistently, suppression of FOXK2 inhibited glycolysis and cell proliferation in MM cells. Furthermore, the correlation between FOXK2 expression and disease progression in MM was evaluated using the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database. Taken together, we identified a novel FOXK2-dependent signaling pathway involved in the regulation of PFKFB3 expression in response to glycolysis, which might serve as a potential therapeutic target in MM. • Transcription factor FOXK2 promotes glycolysis in multiple myeloma. • Suppression of FOXK2 inhibits MM cell proliferation. • siRNA knockdown of FOXK2 prevents the expression of PFKFB3 via dephosphorylation AMPK. • FOXK2 expression is correlated with MM disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The terrace sequences of Datong River were dated using multiple dating methods. • Tectonic-climate forcing triggered the formation of the Datong River before ∼1.1 Ma. • The Datong River has been more sensitive to climate changes than the Yellow River. The formation of river terraces has been related to climate changes and surface uplift in the mountain regions. Although the formation mechanism of river terraces in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau has been extensively studied, the difference between the large river (trunk stream of Yellow River) and small rivers (tributaries of Yellow River) responding to external forcing is still poorly understood. Here, we employ multiple dating methods to date the terrace sequence of the Datong River in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and then further correlate it with tectonic activity and climate records. Our results show that the modern Datong River in the Babaochuan Basin formed between 1.5 Ma and 1.1 Ma in response to the coupled effects of Asian monsoon enhancement and intense regional uplift. To further evaluate the effect of tectonic–climatic forcing on rivers of different scales, detailed comparison of terrace formation was carried out between the Datong River and Yellow River in the Lanzhou Basin. The comparison results indicate that under the context of relatively slow surface uplift during 0.6–0.13 Ma, the Datong River created three terraces probably ascribed to the glacial–interglacial cycles with high-amplitude fluctuations, whereas no terraces formed along the Yellow River in the Lanzhou Basin during the same interval. We conclude that the Datong River, as a smaller river than the trunk Yellow River, is probably more sensitive to the climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The uplift rate and pattern of the Qilian Shan Mountain, which lies in the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau, are key to understanding the dynamics of crustal deformation in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. In this work, late Quaternary terraces in seven river valley sections in the eastern Qilian Shan Mountain are studied to determine terrace abandonment ages by OSL (optical simulating luminescence) and terrace heights by GPS (global positioning system) surveys. River incision rates since ~76kaBP are calculated ranging from 0.37mm/a to 1.49mm/a. Distribution of river incision rates shows that higher river incision rates (0.85–1.49mm/a) are located at the rivers'' upstream reaches where mean mountain elevation is ~4000m, and relatively lower incision rates (0.32–0.62mm/a) are located at the mountain front where the mean mountain elevation is <3200m. This difference of the river incision rate reflects spatial difference in rock uplift patterns within the eastern Qilian Shan Mountain. The high mountain range is characterized by a high river incision rate (on average of 1.2±0.4mm/a) and high relief, suggesting high rock uplift rate; whereas the low mountain range is characterized by low river incision rate (on average of 0.5±0.2mm/a) and lower relief, suggesting relatively low rock uplift rate. Based on fault distributions and slip rates, we propose that the differential rock uplift of eastern Qilian Shan is mainly controlled by the thrusting along active thrust faults separating different mountain ranges and by oblique thrusting along strike-slip faults near the mountain crest. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]