Periglacial aeolian activities in the Headwater Region of the Yellow River, northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The Headwater Region of the Yellow River (HRYR) situated in the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) at an average elevation of over 4300 m, experienced extensive glaciation during the Last Glacial Period. However, the relationship between glacial presence and aeolian activity in this periglacial region remains poorly understood. To investigate this, three sediment sequences from a blowout in the periglacial region of HRYR were selected for sampling. The coarse-grained (CG) K-feldspar pIRIR dating was employed to establish the chronology, yielding 16 luminescence ages that ranged from 16.35 ± 0.96 ka to 60 ±  1 a. The results indicate that the earliest aeolian deposits occurred during the Last Deglaciation, with aeolian deposits also recorded in the early Holocene. During the mid-Holocene, there was a gap in aeolian sedimentation, which may be due to humid climatic conditions. In the late Holocene, drier and cooler climatic conditions triggered a resurgence of rapid aeolian deposition. A depositional gap between 2.5 and 0.6 ka in this period likely reflects erosional events under high wind energy conditions. Aeolian activity during the Last Deglaciation was closely linked to the periglacial environment at the sampling site. As the glaciers receded, the moraine deposits from the Bayan Har Mountains were reworked by rivers and exposed during the dry seasons, providing source material for the localized aeolian activity in the region. This study aims to provide the influence of periglacial environment on aeolian activity and establishes a framework for understanding aeolian deposition in high altitude glacial environments.