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Identification of a late Quaternary alluvial–aeolian sedimentary sequence in the Sichuan Basin, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jin-Liang Feng ,
Jian-Ting Ju ,
Feng Chen ,
Zhao-Guo Hu ,
Xiang Zhao  and
Shao-Peng Gao
Jin-Liang Feng*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Jian-Ting Ju
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Feng Chen
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Zhao-Guo Hu
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China Shandong Zhengyuan Institute of Geological Exploration, China Central Bureau of Metallurgy and Geology, Jinan 264002, China
Xiang Zhao
Affiliation:
Southwestern Architectural Design Institute, Chengdu 610081, China
Shao-Peng Gao
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
*
⁎Corresponding author. E-mail address:fengjl@itpcas.ac.cn (J.-L. Feng).
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Abstract

The late Quaternary sedimentary sequence in the northwestern part of the Sichuan Basin consists of five lithological units and with increasing depth include the: Chengdu Clay; Brown Clay; Red Clay; Sandy Silt; and basal Muddy Gravel. The genesis, provenance and age of the sediments, as well as the possible presence of hiatuses within this sequence are debated. Measurements of grain-size, magnetic susceptibility, quartz content, quartz δ18O values, element composition, and Sr–Nd isotopic concentrations of samples from a typical sedimentary sequence in the area provides new insights into the genesis and history of the sequence. The new data confirm that the sediments in study site are alluvial–aeolian in origin, with basal alluvial deposits overlain by aeolian deposits. Like the uppermost Chengdu Clay, the underlying Brown Clay and Red Clay are aeolian in origin. In contrast, the Silty Sand, like the basal Muddy Gravel, is an alluvial deposit and not an aeolian deposit as previously thought. Moreover, the succession of the aeolian deposits very likely contains two significant sedimentary hiatuses. Sedimentological analysis demonstrates that the source materials for the aeolian deposits in the northwestern part of the Sichuan Basin and those on the eastern Tibetan Plateau are different. Furthermore, the loess deposits on the eastern Tibetan Plateau are derived from heterogeneous local sources.

Keywords

Sichuan BasinTibetan PlateauAlluvial sedimentAeolian depositCompositional maturityIsotopic tracingDust provenancePedogenic concretionsSedimentary hiatusStrata age
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 85 , Issue 2 , March 2016 , pp. 279 - 289
Copyright
University of Washington

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