THE MESOZOIC QIANGTANG FORELAND BASIN IN QINGHAI—XIZANG PLATEAU,CHINA

Mesozoic Qiangtang foreland Basin is located between Jinshajiang suture belt and Bangong—Nujiang suture belt and an important petroliferous basin in the north of Qinghai—Xizang plateau. This foreland basin is E—W elongated basin with 800km in length and 200km to 300km in width. Both margins of the basin are large suture belt and linked to thrusting of large suture belt, so Mesozoic Qiangtang foreland basin belongs to composite foreland basins according to Jordan’s classification of the foreland basin(1988). The foreland basin is filled with 5000～8000m thick late Triassic to Cretaceous marine sediments. The spacial changes of the stratigraphy indicates that the basin texture looks like a symmetric body, and it can be subdivided into three tectonic geomorphic units from north to south ,such as northern basin, center uplift, and southern basin. The depth in the north varies from 5000 to 8000m,the depth in center uplift varies from zero to 1000m, the depth in the south varies from 5000 to 7000m, Which show that the occurrence of the Mesozoic filling stratigraphy are thicker in the north and the south of the basin, but thinner in the center uplift of the basin. There are two center of subsidence of the basin, both of them are located in south and north foredeep belt, lying in the front of suture belt. The basin is one of common foreland basins between suture belt and belongs to typical symmetric foreland basin.This kind of basin geometry allows large thickness of synsedimentary molasse sediments to be preserved and related to basement uplifts and thrusts in the cratonic edge of the mountain belt.From late Triassic to Cretaceous the foreland basin is filled by four tectonic sequences, including late Triassic tectonic sequence(TS\-1),early Jurassic tectonic sequence(TS\-2), middle Jurassic to early Cretaceous tectonic sequence(TS\-3) and middle to late Cretaceous tectonic sequence (TS\-4).A tectonic Sequence is a body of genetically related strata isolated by unconformity ,deposited in a basining stage responding to a thrusting episode. Late Triassic tectonic sequence(TS\-1) is bounded by Ta and Tb and composed of the Xiaochaka formation which is more than 2500m in depth, it is a coarsing\|upward tectonic sequence,the lower is fan delta sediments with debris conglomerate,the middle is carbonate ramp sediments,the upper is delta sediments; early Jurassic tectonic sequence(TS\-2) is bounded by Tb and Tc and composed of the Nadigangri formation which is more than 1000m in depth, it is a thinning\|upward tectonic sequence,the lower is fan delta sediments with debris conglomerate,the upper is subaquatic detrital sediments; middle Jurassic to early Cretaceous tectonic sequence(TS\-3) is bounded by Tc and Td and composed of the Quemocuo formation,Buqu formation, Xiali formation, Suowa formation and Xueshan formation, which is more than 3000m in depth; middle to late Cretaceous tectonic sequence (TS\-4) is bounded by Td and Tf and composed of the Abushan formation, it is a thinning—upward alluvial fan sediments with more than 1000m in depth.

CENOZOIC TECTONIC EVOLUTION AND GEODYNAMICS OF KEKEXILI BASIN IN NORTHERN QINGHAI—XIZANG PLATEAU

Kekexili basin, located in Northern Qinghai—Xizang plateau, has an area of over 4000km\+2 and is the largest Paleogene land facies basin in the plateau. With NWW\|SEE trend, Kekexili basin extends along the north side of the Jinshajiang suture. Its sediments, Fenghuoshan group, formed in E 1—E 3, show a shape of wedge with big thickness in south and small thickness in north. There are four sedimentary facies; fan\|delta and alluvial facies that occur in south, lake and lake\|delta facies, which do in north, in this basin. The north\|dipping Jinshajiang normal faults on the south margin of the basin have controlled the developments of the basin. The S—N compression at the end of E3 strongly folded the basin strata and transformed Jinshajiang normal faults into thrusts. In N1, widespread denudation occurred in the whole plateau. During N 2—Q, Kekexili area uplifted along with the whole plateau, besides, the thrusts in the basin showed coherent activity. We propose a geodynamical model for explaining the basin development. In early E,India plate, due to its colliding Eurasia plate, stopped its ocean crust subduction northward, then the subducted ocean lithosphere breaking away made the south margin area, most possibly to the south of Jinshajiang suture, of Eurasia plate isostatically uplift, so the north\|dipping Jinshajiang suture acted as normal faults and controled the north basin development. In late E, the isostatic uplift finished, the basin also gradually terminated its development .At the end of E, Jinshajiang normal faults became thrusts and the basin strata were folded under the northward compression of India plate. In the N1, India plate started incontinental subduction, the lower crust and lower mantle lithosphere of Qinghai—Xizang area underwent more intensive compression and deformation than its upper crust, and the induced transversal expansion in the lower lithosphere uplifted the upper crust and decreased its horizontal stress, which conduced the upper crust undergo denudation. During N 2—Q, convective removal of the lower mantle lithosphere of Qinghai\|Xizang area led to rapid uplift of this area.

Origin of the Dashuigou independent tellurium deposit at Qinghai–Xizang Plateau: constraints from the light stable isotopes C, O, and H

By studying the light isotopic compositions of carbon,oxygen,and hydrogen,combined with previous research results on the ore-forming source of the deposit,the authors try to uncover its metallogenic origin.The δ^(18)O and δ^(13)C isotope signatures of dolomite samples vary between 10.2 and 13.0‰,and between−7.2 and−5.2‰,respectively,implying that the carbon derives from the upper mantle.δD and δ^(18) O of quartz,biotite,and muscovite from diff erent ore veins of the deposit vary between−82 and−59‰,and between 11.6 and 12.4‰,respectively,implying that the metallogenic solutions are mainly magmatic.According to the relevant research results of many isotope geologists,the fractionation degree of hydrogen isotopes increases as the depth to the Earth’s core increases,and the more diff erentiated the hydrogen isotopes are,the lower their values will be.In other words,mantle-derived solutions can have extremely low hydrogen isotope values.This means that the δD‰ value−134 of the pyrrhotite sample numbered SD-34 in this article may indicate mantle-derived oreforming fl uid of the deposit.The formation of the Dashuigou tellurium deposit occurred between 91.71 and 80.19 Ma.

Quantification of the concrete freeze–thaw environment across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau based on machine learning algorithms

The reasonable quantification of the concrete freezing environment on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau(QTP) is the primary issue in frost resistant concrete design, which is one of the challenges that the QTP engineering managers should take into account. In this paper, we propose a more realistic method to calculate the number of concrete freeze–thaw cycles(NFTCs) on the QTP. The calculated results show that the NFTCs increase as the altitude of the meteorological station increases with the average NFTCs being 208.7. Four machine learning methods, i.e., the random forest(RF) model, generalized boosting method(GBM), generalized linear model(GLM), and generalized additive model(GAM), are used to fit the NFTCs. The root mean square error(RMSE) values of the RF, GBM, GLM, and GAM are 32.3, 4.3, 247.9, and 161.3, respectively. The R^(2) values of the RF, GBM, GLM, and GAM are 0.93, 0.99, 0.48, and 0.66, respectively. The GBM method performs the best compared to the other three methods, which was shown by the results of RMSE and R^(2) values. The quantitative results from the GBM method indicate that the lowest, medium, and highest NFTC values are distributed in the northern, central, and southern parts of the QTP, respectively. The annual NFTCs in the QTP region are mainly concentrated at 160 and above, and the average NFTCs is 200 across the QTP. Our results can provide scientific guidance and a theoretical basis for the freezing resistance design of concrete in various projects on the QTP.

Review of numerical simulation on the dy-namics of Qinghai-Xizang plateau

In recent twenty years, much numerical simulation work has been done on the evolution of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) plateau. In this paper some principal numerical models and results are reviewed and analyzed. The earlier plane stress or plane strain model has much discrepancy with the actual deformation of Qinghai-Xizang plateau, such as the thickening of Tibetan crust and the lateral extrusion of Tibet along strike-slip faults. The thin viscous sheet model and the thin-plate model may simulate the change of the crustal thickness and the deformation pro-duced by gravitational force. It is suitable for studying the large-scale and long-time deformation. The influence of faults on the deformation of Tibetan plateau should be further studied.

Interannual and Decadal Variations of Snow Cover overQinghai-Xizang Plateau and Their Relationships to Summer Monsoon Rainfall in China

Interannual and decadal variations of winter snow cover over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP) are analyzed by using monthly mean snow depth data set of 60 stations over QXP for the period of 1958 through 1992. It is found that the winter snow cover over QXP bears a pronounced quasi-biennial oscillation, and it underwent an obvious decadal transition from a poor snow cover period to a rich snow cover period in the late 1970’s during the last 40 years. It is shown that the summer rainfall in the eastern China is closely associated with the winter snow cov-er over QXP not only in the interannual variation but also in the decadal variation. A clear relationship ex-ists in the quasi-biennial oscillation between the summer rainfall in the northern part of North China and the southern China and the winter snow cover over QXP. Furthermore, the summer rainfall in the four cli-mate divisions of Qinling-Daba Mountains, the Yangtze-Huaihe River Plain, the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River showed a remarkable transition from drought period to rainy period in the end of 1970’s, in good correspondence with the decadal transition of the winter snow cover over QXP. Key words Snow cover over Qinghai-Xizang Plateau - Summer monsoon rainfall in China - Interannual and decadal variations This study was supported by the National Key Programme for Developing Basic Sciences (G 1998040900 Part I).

VARIATION OF d δ^(18)O/dT IN PRECIPITATION IN THE QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU

The relations between δ18O and temperature on the different time scales were analysed,according to the data from Tuotuohe (34°13’N, 96°25’E; 4533 m a. s. l. ), Delingha (37°22’N,97°22’E; 2981 m a. s. l. ) and Xining (36°37’N, 101°46’E; 2261 m a. s. l. ) in the Qnghai-Xizang Plateau. The results show that the significance of d δ18O/dT on different time scales are different.The d δ18O/dT on the synoptic scale reflects the interdependent relation between δ18O and temperature in the short-term synoptic scale process; the d δ18O/d T on the seasonal scale reflects the relation between them whithin a year; and the d δ18O/d T on the climatic scale reflects the relation between them in the long-term climatic change. The calculated d δ18O/dT on climatic scale is very close to the theoretical values on the condition of advection transport for Tuotuohe Station. However, there are great differences between the calculated and the theoretical values for Delingha and Xining stations.

Calculation of Solar Albedo and Radiation Equilibrium over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and Analysisof Their Climatic Features

Using radiation data from the Automatic Weather Stations (AWSs) for thermal balance obser-vations, which were set up at Lhasa, Nagqu, Xigaze and Nyingchi by the Sino-Japanese Asian Monsoon Mechanism Co-operative Project in 1993–1996, and 1985–1989 Earth Radiation Balance Experiment (ERBE) measurements of Langley Research Center/NASA of US, and 1961–1996 monthly mean data from 148 surface stations over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP) and its neighborhood, study is performed on empirical calculation methods of surface albedo, surface total radiation, planetary albedo and outgoing longwave radiation with the climatic features of radiation balance at the surface and the atmospheric top examined. Evidences suggest that the empirical formulae for surface albedo, planetary albedo, surface to-tal radiation and outgoing longwave radiation from the atmospheric top are capable of describing their seasonal and interannual variations over the QXP. The surface albedo is marked by noticeable seasonal variation and yearly mean of 0.22 with the maximum of 0.29 in January and minimum of 0.17 in July and August; in winter the albedo has great horizontal difference, bigger in the moun-tains than in the river valleys, and small in summer. The planetary albedo shows a smaller range of its annual variation with the yearly mean of 0.37, the maximum (minimum) occurring in February and March (autumn). In winter its high-value regions are mainly at Gar (Shiquanhe) in the western QXP and from the southwestern Qinghai to the northeastern Tibet and the low-value area at the northern slope of the central Himalayas; in summer, however, the albedo distribution displays clear-ly a progressive decrease from southeast to northwest. As for the surface total radiation, its values and annual varying range are smaller in the east than in the southwest. Its high-value center is at the southern slope of the Himalayas in winter and makes a conspicuous westward migration in spr-ing, remaining there for a long time, and it begins to retreat eastward in autumn. Monthly mean values of the surface net radiation are all positive and larger in summer than in winter. The net ra-diation is significantly intensified under the combined effect of surface total radiation and surface albedo from spring to early summer, resulting in the strongest sector in the mid plateau with its center staying nearly motionless from March to September, and is reduced in autumn dominantly by surface effective radiation. The earth-atmosphere system loses heat outward from October to next February and gains in other months. On an average, the plateau gains heat of 15 W m-2 on an annual basis. Key words The Qinghai-Xizang Plateau - Albedo - Radiation balance - Climatic feature (1)This work was supported under the auspices of the National (G1998040800) and CAS’s Key Project for Basic Research on Tibetan Plateau (KZ951-A1-204; KZ95T-06).

Structural Variation of an Atmospheric Heat Source over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and Its Influence on Precipitation in Northwest China

NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and a 47-year precipitation dataset are utilized to analyze the relationship between an atmospheric heat source （hereafter called 〈 Q1 〉） over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau （QXP） and its surrounding area and precipitation in northwest China. Our main conclusions are as follows： （1） The horizontal distribution of 〈 Q1 〉 and its changing trend are dramatic over QXP in the summer. There are three strong centers of 〈 Q1 〉 over the south side of QXP with obvious differences in the amount of yearly precipitation and the number of heat sinks predominate in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China （NWC）, beside the northern QXP with an obvious higher intensity in years with less precipitation. （2） In the summer, the variation of the heat source＇s vertical structure is obviously different between greater and lesser precipitation years in eastern northwest China （ENWC）. The narrow heat sink belt forms between the northeast QXP and the southwestern part of Lake Baikal. In July and August of greater precipitation years, the heating center of the eastern QXP stays nearly over 35°N, and at 400 hPa of the eastern QXP, the strong upward motion of the heating center constructs a closed secondary vertical circulation cell over the northeast QXP （40~ 46~N）, which is propitious to add precipitation over the ENWC. Otherwise, the heating center shifts to the south of 30°N and disappears in July and August of lesser precipitation years, an opposite secondary circulation cell forms over the northeast QXP, which is a disadvantage for precipitation. Meanwhile, the secondary circulation cell in years with more or less precipitation over the ENWC is also related to the heat source over the Lake Baikal. （3） The vertical structure of the heat source over the western QXP has obvious differences between greater and lesser precipitation years in western northwest China in June and July. The strong/weak heat source over the western QXP produces relatively strong/weak ascending motion and correspondingly constructs a secondary circulation cell in lesser/greater precipitation years.

Petrogenesis of the Cenozoic Volcanic Rocks from the Northern Part of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau

Based on electron probe analyses of the minerals and bulk composition of the Cenozoic volcanic rocks from Yumen and Hoh Xil lithodistricts, Qinghai\|Xizang plateau, the forming conditions including the temperature and pressure of those rocks are studied in this paper. According to the thermodynamic calculation results of mineral\|melt equilibrium, the depth of the asthenosphere superface (about 75-130 km) for the northern part of the Qinghai\|Xizang plateau during the Cenozoic is suggested. Finally, this paper indicates that the Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the northern part of the Qinghai\|Xizang plateau mainly consist of shoshonite series. Their forming temperature is 630-1039℃ and forming pressure is between 2.3-4.0 GPa. The rocks were formed in the intracontinental orogenic belt, of which the primary magma was originated from a particular enrichment upper mantle and accreted crust\|mantle belt or directly from asthenospheric superface as a result of partial melting of pyrolite.

Evolution characteristics of Quaternary tectonic stress field in the north and east margin of Qinghai-Xizang plateau

By inversion of fault slip data for Quaternary tectonic stress field and the analysis of crustal deformation after lateTeriary. we explaincd the evolution of crustal dynamic about the north and east margin of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet)plateau since Miocenc. From middle or late Miocene to early Pleistocene, the tectonic stress field was featured by amaximum principal compression which was coming from the collision of india Plate continued to the boundaryof the plateau. and was basically of reverse faulting type. Since the late period of early Pleistocene, Pleistocene continuedto push northward and the compressional deformation of the plateau interior increased continuously, meanwhile,N W-SE extension appeared on the east side of the plateau. This formed a favorable condition for the interior block offoe plateau to slide towards east and southeast, causing the faults surrounding the plateau to change from thrust tostrike-slip. -The contemporary tectonic stress field was formed from the late period of early Pleistocene and continuedto present. The direction of maximum principal compressional stress rotated clockwise with respect to the previoustectonic stress held. the stress field was mainly of strike-slip type.

LAST GLACIATION AND MAXIMUM GLACIATION IN THE QINGHAI-XIZANG (TIBET) PLATEAU: A CONTROVERSY TO M. KUHLE,S ICE SHEET HYPOTHESIS

Since the late 1950’s, many Chinese scientists have explored the remains of the Quaternary glaciation in the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau and its surrounding mountains. In the main, 3-4 glaciations have been recognized. The largest one occurred in the Late Middle Pleistocene with piedmont glaciers, ice caps and trellis valley glaciers in many high peak regions. But here is no evidence of a unified ice sheet covering the whole plateau as described by M. Kuhle. Due to the further uplifting of the Himalayas and Qinghai-Xizang Plateau the climate became progressively drier, diminishing the extension of glaciers during the Late Pleistocene. The elevation of the snow line during the Last Glaciation was about 4,000 m on the south, east and northeast edges of the plateau and ascended to 5500 m on the hinder northwest of the plateau. The thermal effect of the big plateau massif, the sharp increase of aridity from the southeast rim to the northwest inland area and the abrupt decrease of precipitation during

Changes and spatial patterns of the differences between ground and air temperature over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

The difference between ground soil and air temperature （Ts-Ta） was studied by using the data of ground and air temperature of 99 stations over the Qinghai-Xizang （Tibet） Plateau from 1960 to 2000,and its spatial distribution and time changing tendency have been diagnosed by principal component analysis and power spectral analysis methods. The results show that the values of （Ts-Ta） are the maximum in June and the minimum in December. The first three loading eigenvectors, which reflect the main spatially anomalous structure of （Ts-Ta） over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, contain the contrary changing pattern between the northwestern and the southeastern regions, the pattern response of the sea level elevation and the geography, and the pattern response of the distribution of the permafrost. There are four patterns of time evolution including the patterns of monotonous increasing or decreasing trends, the basic stability pattern and the parabola pattern with the minimum value. （Ts-Ta） has a periodic variation about 2 years. According to the spatial distribution of the third loading eigenvectors of （Ts-Ta） over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in cold season, the permafrost response region and the seasonal frozen ground response region are identified.

PROGRESS IN STUDIES ON GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENTS OF THE QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU

The Qinghai Xizang (Tibet) Plateau area was subjected to twice uplift and planation in the Tertiary. Intense uplifting of the plateau area has given rise to drastic changes and differentiation of physical environment on the plateau and the surrounding area since 3.4 Ma B.P. Significant environmental changes with dry tendency in interior of the plateau had occurred during the last 150 ka B.P. By comparative study on several mountains of the plateau, two systems of the structure type of the altitudinal belt are identified and nine groups are subdivided . A distribution model with close relevance to highland uplift effect has been generalized. A number of striking geo ecological phenomena and their spatial pattern such as moisture corridor, dry valleys, high cold meadow zone, and high cold arid core area are investigated and discussed. Based on the thermal conditions, moisture regimes and variation in landforms of the plateau is sequentially demarcated. A tentative scheme of 2 temperature belts, 10 natural zones and 28 physical districts has been proposed not including southern slopes of the East Himalayas. The Qinghai Xizang Plateau is sensitive to “green house effect”, showing close relation with global change. Characteristics of temperature and precipitation on the plateau during the last 2000 years, and response of glaciers, snow deposit and permafrost on the plateau to global change are dealt with in the present paper.

THE ANISOTROPY OF LOESS MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY IN THE NORTHEASTERN FRINGE OF QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU AS AN INDICATOR OF PALAEOWIND DIRECTION

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A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON TRE ZONE OF ALPINE SCRUB AND MEADOW OF QINGHAI-XIZANG (TIBETAN) PLATEAU

The zone of alpine scrub and meadow, characterized by highlandsubpolar humid/subhumid climate, is a transitional area from deep gorges to theplateau proper.The natural zone is unique in physical environments and naturalecosystems, and could not be found at the lowlands elsewhere on the earth.Thepredominant type of vegeation is alpine meadow, including Kobresia meadow,herbaceous meadow and swampy meadow. It is an important pasturelands ofanimal husbandry for Tibetan on the plateau. Main vegetion types, animal groups,characteristics of alpine meadow soils, the altitudinal belt and the horizontalzonality of the natural zone, as well as utilization and management of the grasslandsare discussed in the present paper.

The property, age and formation environment of the palaeokarst in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

The karst landforms distributed on the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau can be genetically classed with the Tertiary underground karst, which were gradually exhumed to the surface with the uplift of the plateau during Quaternary period. The relative deposits of the Tertiary palaeokarst processes, such as the residuum and speleothem, were discovered recently in the southern and southeastern fringe areas of the plateau, where has geological-currently been disintegrated by the headward erosion processes of the modern river systems. The major chemical components of the clay portion of the residuum consist mainly of SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3. The clay minerals composition of the clay portion belongs to illite-kaolinite pattern for most of the residuum samples, and kaolinite-illite pattern for a few of the samples. It can be judged from the silicic acid index and the clay minerals composition that the formation of the residuum of the Plateau was in its initial phase. However, such a lower chemical weathering index only reflected the weathering degree in the bottom or lower parts of the lateritic weathering crust. The relatively intensive chemical weathering processes of the surface layers of the lateritic weathering crust could be logically speculated. The surface feature textures of quartz grains in the residuum were formed mainly by the chemical erosion, which revealed a long-term humid-tropical environment when the residuum and the palaeokarst formed.

Simulation analysis on characteristics of land surface over western Qinghai-Xizang Plateau during freez-ing-thawing period

Using the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment-Asian Monsoon-Tibet Plateau Experiment (GAME-Tibet) observa-tional data-from October 2002 through September 2003-of Gaize in the western Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP),the land-surface characteristics of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau are simulated by the improved land-surface model Common Land Model (CoLM).The results show that CoLM can reproduce the land-surface characteristics of plateau areas well.In the sur-face-energy balance of the western QXP in the winter half year,the sensible heat (SH) flux constituted the dominant energy,and the latent heat (LH,here and after) flux is very small.Although the LH flux nearly equals zero in freezing season,it cannot be ig-nored during the period of freezing-thawing in QXP.In the transition season from midto late-May,the frequent phase change of soil water that is caused by the freezing-thawing process leads to the increase of LH flux and decrease of the Bowen ratio.The simulation results also indicate that the changes of surface effective heat fluxes (SH and LH flux) are associated with precipitation and the frequent change between freezing and thawing processes in soil surface.

CONTEMPORARY CLIMATIC CHANGE OVER THE QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU AND ITS RESPONSE TO THE GREEN-HOUSE EFFECT

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Review of numerical simulation on the dynamics of Qinghai-Xizang plateau

In recent twenty years, much numerical simulation work has been done on the evolution of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) plateau. In this paper some principal numerical models and results are reviewed and analyzed. The earlier plane stress or plane strain model has much discrepancy with the actual deformation of Qinghai-Xizang plateau, such as the thickening of Tibetan crust and the lateral extrusion of Tibet along strike-slip faults. The thin viscous sheet model and the thin-plate model may simulate the change of the crustal thickness and the deformation pro-duced by gravitational force. It is suitable for studying the large-scale and long-time deformation. The influence of faults on the deformation of Tibetan plateau should be further studied.