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Regional tectonic uplift indicated by geomorphological parameters in the Bahe River Basin, central China

  • Yingguo Wang EMAIL logo , Haiou Zhang , Xueying Wu and Yantao Hu
Published/Copyright: October 28, 2023
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Open Geosciences
From the journal Open Geosciences Volume 15 Issue 1

Abstract

Multiple uplifts of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau since the late Cenozoic have generated large effects on the geomorphology and environment over Asia. However, how the basin responded to the uplifted Tibetan Plateau remains unknown. Here, we examined the digital geomorphology of the Bahe River basin, the greatest first-order tributary in the southern Weihe River basin. The geomorphogenesis of the watershed, the far-field effects, and the long-range consequences of the elevation from the Tibetan Plateau were thoroughly discussed. We found that there were five layers of terraces, which were mainly controlled by tectonic activity. The geomorphological characteristics suggested that Bahe basin was influenced by a severe tectonic activity prime, with intense river erosion. The Lishan-North Qinling Mountains uplift, facilitated by the horizontal expansion of the northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, was also responsible for the development of the Bahe River basin.

Keywords: Bahe river; basin fluvial terraces; geomorphological parameters; geomophogensis; Tibetan Plateau uplift

1 Introduction

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has undergone multiple phases of uplift since the Cenozoic, which both directly and indirectly had a significant impact on the Asian landscape and environment. These impacts included the inversion of China’s east-west topography, the formation and development of large water systems [1], the induction and strengthening of the East Asian monsoon circulation [2,3], and even a significant impact on global climate [4]. The regional geomorphic and climate changes caused by the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau have also affected the development of the Loess Plateau and its surrounding water systems and river valleys in the northeastern corner of the plateau [5]. Therefore, due to the far-field effect of tectonic movements on the Tibetan Plateau, the river geomorphology around the plateau is an essential parameter for speculating the history of regional tectonic geomorphology and climate evolution.

Geomorphological parameters are usually used to describe the characteristics of geomorphological units (e.g., erosion, weathering grade) at various stages, mainly affected by tectonic activity, climate change, and lithological characteristics. Moreover, a single geomorphological parameter may be biased in describing the changes of geomorphological forms in the watershed because different characteristic quantitative parameters have different interpretations for additional geomorphological features. Therefore, multiple geomorphological parameters are required for a comprehensive analysis of the results [6]. The study of watershed geomorphology has gone through a stage of development from the simple qualitative description of natural geomorphic units on the land surface to quantitative studies. Since Davis proposed the erosion cycle theory, the research on watershed geomorphology has been gradually developed [7]. In recent years, watershed geomorphology studies have rapidly been designed using the digital elevation model (DEM) and high-resolution satellite images to quantify tectonic geomorphology [8]. Typical basin geomorphic parameters include basic topographic parameters (e.g., slope, curvature, topographic relief), parameters of basin geomorphic evolution stage (e.g., Hack profile, hypsometric integral (HI), basin asymmetry), and river morphological parameters (e.g., stream-gradient index, normalized channel steepness index). Together with these effective parameters, a comprehensive classification method can further assess the strength of regional tectonic activity (e.g., mountain uplift, earthquake) and climate change (e.g., flash flood) [6,9]. Therefore, it is feasible to reflect the information of tectonic activity intensity by the tectonic geomorphic parameters extracted from DEM data, which can help to reveal the response of watershed geomorphology to tectonic activity and Quaternary glacial–interglacial period climate transition. Utilizing watershed geomorphic characteristics may show the regional geomorphology’s evolution pattern and significantly contribute to the area’s ecological development over the long term.

The automated terrace extraction technique has evolved. The river terrace surface typically has a small amount of topographic relief, little change in slope, and a limited range of height fluctuation. Demoulin et al. made the first attempt to obtain the terrace distribution of the whole river by dividing the entire river into different sections, obtaining the altitude scatter and slope distribution diagram within each river area, and then combining them to bring the terrace distribution of the whole river after determining the terrace level of each section [10]. Gong et al. used altitude histograms and slope maps to classify and extract river terraces in the Zima collapse area of the Anning River [11]. Liang et al. used high-resolution DEM data to remove terraces in the Qingyi River, first determined the effective range of river terraces extraction, then obtained the suspected terraces based on slope and curvature, and established a complete river terrace surface in MATLAB [12]. Despite different approaches used in extracting terraces, the majority of research is based on the fact that the plain surface of river terraces is flat.

In this study, we focus on the Bahe River basin at the southeastern margin of the Loess Plateau and analyze the main controlling factors of the formation of the Bahe River basin geomorphology. Using DEM data, the characteristics of river terraces feature and the geomorphological parameters were extracted. According to multiple geomorphological parameters, we are expected to reflect the regional landform characteristics and evolution patterns of the Loess Plateau and the Tibetan Plateau from the perspective of basin geomorphology.

2 Research area

The Weihe Basin is located in the southeast of Xi’an, Shaanxi province, with an area of about 2,581 km2, between 109°00′–109°47′E and 33°50′–34°27′N. The topography of the Weihe Basin has evolved and been shaped by the interactions between the Ordos block and the Qinling orogenic belt (Figure 1). The Weihe Basin started to be sedimented from the Eocene [13]. As a result of the long-term sedimentation since the Cenozoic, the basin was surrounded by mountains on its periphery [14]. The Weihe Basin exhibits significant spatial variations in the depositional thickness of Cenozoic strata due to the interplay of complex tectonic processes, depositional environments, and paleomorphological changes. Concurrently, tectonic uplift has played a pivotal role in driving the north-south divergence within the basin, resulting in a gradual thinning of Cenozoic sediment thickness toward the northern regions [15]. Furthermore, the development and evolution of sedimentation in the Weihe Basin are notably influenced by the southern edge of the Ordos and North Qinling orogenic belt. Of particular geological significance, the Archaean Taihua Group (Arth) encompasses black mica gneisses, mixed rocks, and intercalated black mica gneisses, which are widely distributed in Lintong, Lishan, and Lantian-Tongguan. These lithological units represent the oldest crystalline basement formations within the eastern Qinling Mountains. In contrast, the basement rocks exposed in the uplifted mountains are mainly Archaean crystalline basement, Precambrian metamorphic rocks, Middle-Paleogene sedimentary layers, and intrusive granitoids [16,17]. The Quaternary stratigraphy in the region is continuous and locally thicker than 1,000 m [15,18]. The absence of Paleocene-Quaternary folding and deformation in most of the basin indicates that tectonic movements since the Cenozoic were characterized by vertical movements with minimal stratigraphic disturbances [18,19], making the Weihe Basin an ideal area for studying fluvial geomorphic evolution.

Figure 1 Topographic map of the Weihe basin with the primary active faults. The faults are modified from the studies by Liu et al. [15] and Peng [16]. DEM data from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Earth Observation Research Center (JAXA EORC).
Figure 1

Topographic map of the Weihe basin with the primary active faults. The faults are modified from the studies by Liu et al. [15] and Peng [16]. DEM data from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Earth Observation Research Center (JAXA EORC).

The Bahe River, the largest first-class tributary on the south side of the Wei River, originates in the Bailuyuan of the Lantian County in the North Qinling Mountains (Figure 2a). The average annual precipitation in the Bahe River Basin is 720.4 mm, with 55% of that falling between July and September. The seasonal flood causes the riverbed to swing left and right, the stream to be choppy, and the river channel to bend dramatically. The water system of the Bahe River Basin is approximately fan shaped, with many short tributaries on the right bank and a few long branches on the left bank. It is a typical asymmetric water system, of which Chanhe River is the largest among the tributaries of the Bahe River [20]. The study area has vigorous fault activity on the southeastern edge of the Weihe Basin, with intersecting fracture structures. The main active faults are the Lishan Piedmont Fault, Chang’an-Lintong Fault, Tieluzi Fault, and the fault zones on the northern edge of the Qinling Mountains (Figure 2b). These faults are mainly manifested as EW-trending fault systems, NE-trending fault systems, and NW-trending fault systems, all of which are normal faults [21].

Figure 2 (a) Geomorphology map of the Bahe River Basin. (b) Geological structures of the Bahe River Basin, modified from the study by Rao et al. [17].
Figure 2

(a) Geomorphology map of the Bahe River Basin. (b) Geological structures of the Bahe River Basin, modified from the study by Rao et al. [17].

3 Materials and methods

3.1 Automatic terrace extraction

The accuracy of automatic extraction of terrace surfaces can be significantly improved by employing a cluster analysis approach to identify distinct categories of altitude comparable points that align with the concept of river terrace surfaces across all levels.

The higher the resolution of DEM data, the more accurate the analysis results will be, but for the extraction of geomorphological parameters in the Bahe River Basin, 30 m resolution can meet the practical needs. In the DEM data with a spatial resolution of 30 m, the ALOS W3D30 data are more accurate than the Aster GDEM2, and SRTM30 DEM data are more accurate in terms of terrain presentation [22]. Therefore, the DEM data of river terraces are identified in this article using the “ALOS W3D30” global digital surface model; the supporting satellite image is the Google Earth image.

The automatic extraction method of river terrace surface is mainly through extracting the information of surface image altitude, slope and curvature value, and so on. Generally speaking, the curvature variation is more considerable in the area with more significant slope variation, while the image element elevation value distribution is discrete. Generally, in the Piedmont area, the upper limit of the river terrace slope is 8°, and the absolute limit of curvature is 0.3 [12]. Moreover, during the process of terrace development, it is observed that the front edge of the terrace is more susceptible to erosion compared to the back edge. Consequently, this erosion differential can result in a substantial disparity in elevation between the front and back edges of the same terrace. This particular factor poses an additional challenge to the accurate classification of altitudes, thereby increasing the difficulty of altitude classification to a certain extent. Consequently, the initial phase of this methodology involves the classification of distinct regions based on the DEM histogram to isolate terrace formations. Subsequently, the slope and curvature of these regions are extracted and evaluated, employing a slope threshold of 8° and a curvature threshold of 0.3. Finally, the attribute raster data are multiplied to identify areas that satisfy the criteria of possessing a gentle incline, minimal curvature, and concentrated altitude, thus enabling their recognition as terraces. Although the automatically extracted terraces from DEM data are only divided using the altitude of the terrace top cover deposits, which is not the altitude of the natural terraces, the loess cover remarkably simulates the original terrace topography, so that the terrace can be considered to be extracted.

After the approximate location of the Bahe River terrace was automatically extracted, the preliminary correction of the terrace level was carried out afterward. The terrace consists of two parts: the terrace surface and the steep hills at the front edge, so making altitude transects perpendicular to the contour lines can show that the terrace altitude may show a step-like change and thus classify the terrace. We drew the 1 m interval contour lines of the Lantian area of the Bahe River using Global Mapper and other software. This meticulous approach ensured that altitude transects, perpendicular to the contour lines, effectively depicted the variations in topography. Subsequently, we carefully examined these transects to ascertain the existence of the ancient river terrace surface. As shown in Figure 3, the altitude transects show some steps at 686, 605, 552, 504, and 478 m, indicating river terraces. Five steps were identified from some cross sections, so we obtained the almost continuous river terrace surface in the middle and lower Bahe River. Finally, the automatically extracted terrace distribution was compared with the terrace altitude distribution obtained from the altitude profile and Google Earth images and then the final five levels of the Bahe River terrace distribution map (Figure 4).

Figure 3 Altitude cross section of the Bahe River terrace (the dotted line represents the presence of terraces).
Figure 3

Altitude cross section of the Bahe River terrace (the dotted line represents the presence of terraces).

Figure 4 Terrace distribution in the middle reaches of the Bahe River.
Figure 4

Terrace distribution in the middle reaches of the Bahe River.

3.2 Geomorphic parameters

Digital analysis of geomorphic features is a guide to the geological work, and modern tectonic geomorphic interpretation can reflect the degree of tectonic influence on the region to a certain extent. Therefore, we choose some geomorphic parameters to analyze the main controlling factors of the Bahe River Basin geomorphology formation, including regional topographic relief and HI reflecting the quantitative study of the basin and Hack profile and standard channel steepness indices (k sn) reflecting the characteristics of the river channel.

Before analyzing the basin geomorphology, we first extracted the Bahe River Basin water system distribution map using DEM. Finally, the water system distribution of the Bahe River Basin was obtained (Figure 2a), and the next step can be carried out.

3.2.1 Regional topographic relief

Window size selection is crucial for processing DEM raster. To accurately reflect the overall macro geomorphological feature changes in the research region, it is required to select the optimal window, which should be both too tiny and too wide to reflect local geomorphological changes. The best analysis windows used for DEM data in various study areas and at different resolutions are not the same and adopt the incremental raster windows approach to find the best analysis windows [23].

The difference between the elevation of the lowest point and the elevation of the highest point within a given region is known as the regional topographic relief [24], see equation (1), which can be used to reflect the cutting and denudation degree of the topography in the area.

(1) RF i = h max − h min ,

where RF i is the topographic relief, and h max and h min are the maximum and minimum altitude values within the analysis window, respectively.

In this study, the acquisition of an optimal analysis window holds paramount importance in accurately assessing the topographic relief within the Bahe River Basin. To accomplish this, the incremental window method is employed to calculate the topographic relief, while the proximity analysis tool is utilized to the DEM data of the Bahe River Basin. The topographic relief increases with the increase of the analysis window area, and the inflexion point where the expansion is faster and slower is the best analysis window. Finally, the 18 × 18 image size is used as the best analysis window to obtain the topographic relief of the Bahe River Basin (Figure 5).

Figure 5 Topographic relief map of the Bahe River Basin.
Figure 5

Topographic relief map of the Bahe River Basin.

3.2.2 HI

The relative height ratio of the catchment basin was offered by Strahler as the longitudinal axis, and the close area rate was proposed as the horizontal axis. The HI is the closed interval between the curve drawn on the horizontal and vertical axes [25]. As a critical geomorphic indicator to assess the tectonic activity of the basin and a sign of the erosion cycle, the HI is very sensitive to information about tectonic activity variations [26].

The Bahe River Basin was separated into several subbasin basins using the basin tool in the hydrological analysis unit. Subbasins smaller than 1 km2 were omitted from the analysis so that the HI values only represent information on regional tectonic activity since their HI values may indicate the combined effect of lithology and regional tectonic activity (Figure 6). In the infancy stage, the geomorphic evolution is characterized with low erosion (HI > 0.60). While in the old stage and maturity stage, the geomorphic evolution are characterized with high erosion (HI < 0.35) and intermediate erosion (0.35 > HI > 0.60), respectively.

Figure 6 The HI of the Bahe River Basin.
Figure 6

The HI of the Bahe River Basin.

3.2.3 Hack profile

The channel longitudinal profile pattern reflects the regional terrain, lithology, and the rapidity of the tectonic uplift rate [27]. A longitudinal channel profile is usually a profile along the mainstream line from the source to the mouth. Hack proposed a semi-logarithmic equation to describe the longitudinal channel profile (Hack profile) for the anti-erosion ability of the watershed, equation (2) [28]. Morphology of the Hack profile can be considered as the result of the adjustment of the river channel in response to the tectonic activity [8]. Hack profile is “linear,” which means that the river development is in equilibrium, which is the final inevitable result of the tectonic geomorphology development. The k value at this time can represent the equilibrium slope index of the watershed. In contrast, rivers generally flow through lithological areas with different anti-erosion abilities. Various tectonic activities may accompany them, eventually making the Hack profile appear upward and downward concavity [29]. The “curved” Hack profile indicates that the river development is in a nonequilibrium state. The different degrees of concavity and convexity could be seen as the strengths and weaknesses of regional tectonic activities. Therefore, the Hack profile is used in this article to describe the local characteristics of river slope descent and to reflect the regional tectonic activity.

(2) H = c − k × log L ,

where H is the height of the longitudinal profile of the river; c is a constant; slope k is the river slope index; and L is the distance of the outlet from the river source.

Using the raster to point tool, the multivalue to point tool, and exporting the river point vector layer to Excel, the Hack profile was created for this study. The Hack profile was then plotted using the logarithm of the source’s distance as the horizontal coordinate and the altitude as the vertical coordinate.

The Hack profile was obtained by using the raster to point tool, the multivalue to point tool, and exporting the river point vector layer to Excel, followed by linear interpolation at 10 m intervals for this study. Finally, the Hack profile was graphically presented, with the logarithm of the distance from the source as the horizontal coordinate and the altitude as the vertical coordinate (Figure 7).

Figure 7 Morphology of Hack profiles of different rivers in the Bahe River Basin.
Figure 7

Morphology of Hack profiles of different rivers in the Bahe River Basin.

3.2.4 Normalized channel steepness index (k sn)

Where tectonic uplift is more intense, differential uplift between active fault blocks affects the morphology of river bedrock channels in the region, with an inverse relationship between river slope (S) and watershed area (A) in the equilibrium state [30]. Although different river sections are located in different environments, the overall localized correlation between channel slope and area is consistent with the power function equation (3).

(3) S = k s A − θ ,

where θ denotes the degree of concave curvature of the river and k s denotes the river steepness index.

Afterward, equation (4) is obtained by de-logging the equation, and linear regression can be performed using the double logarithmic slope and the catchment area [31].

(4) log S = − θ log A + log k s .

Usually, 0.45 is selected as the river reference concavity curvature index, and the k sn is estimated from equation (4) by normalizing the discharge area of a given river section and using a reference concavity (θ), which corresponds to the regional concavity observed in river segment unperturbed by the tectonic signals. k sn values are not affected by the intercept of S–A linear fit and the relative change of the downstream watershed area [32]. The lithology of the region is relatively consistent, allowing it to represent the relative instability of the tectonic uplift rate in different regional scales. Furthermore, rivers in other spatial locations are affected by different external forces, and the erosion resistance of rocks is affected by their lithological characteristics and tectonic activities in the region, so that k sn can reflect regional tectonic information when the influence of lithology and climate on the river can be excluded [33].

The standard channel steepness index for the Bahe River mainstem basin was calculated in this study utilizing the TopoToolbox-master tool and a 500 m moving window with a channel concave curvature value of 0.45 (Figure 8) [34,35,36].

Figure 8 The k sn value in the mainstream system of the Bahe River.
Figure 8

The k sn value in the mainstream system of the Bahe River.

4 Results and discussion

4.1 Bahe River terrace features

As shown in Figure 4, the final five levels of the Bahe River terrace were extracted. Although five levels of Bahe River terraces have been delineated, there are still some problems in some areas. The identification of terrace locations in the Gongwang Village area of the middle and upper Bahe River may present certain anomalies. These anomalies primarily arise from the challenges associated with accurately determining terrace locations on the upper left bank of the Bahe River. The accuracy of terrace identification in this specific region is relatively poor due to the presence of a narrow valley within the upper-midstream basin. The terrace locations possibly have large fluctuations in altitude, especially in the left bank area of the Bahe River near the Qinling side, where develops branched gullies and severe terrace fragmentation.

4.2 Characteristics of tectonic-geomorphic parameters in the Bahe River Basin

4.2.1 Regional topographic relief of the Bahe River Basin

The floodplains and river terraces of the Bahe River exhibit the least undulating topography. However, there is a noticeable increase in topographic relief in the northern part of the Bahe River, near Lishan Mountain, indicating that tectonic movements in the middle reaches of the river, particularly in the vicinity of Lishan Mountain, have been relatively more active. Further consideration should be given to the fact that the topographic relief is more important in the upper Bahe River, which is closest to the North Qinling Mountains. Greater topographic relief is seen closer to the fault, which suggests that the upper Bahe River Basin is experiencing more intense tectonic processes. This may explain why the upper Bahe River Basin’s river terraces are difficult to retain.

4.2.2 HI value of the Bahe River Basin

HI values can indicate the combined effect of lithology and regional tectonic activity (Figure 6). Quaternary sediments mainly cover the area from Lantian to Huaxu in the middle Bahe River. The northern part of the middle reaches near Lishan Mountain is in maturity, while the river channel and the outlets of the tributaries are in the old stage. The side near the Bailuyuan is in its infancy (Figure 6). This “maturity-old-infancy” structure may indicate that the Lishan Mountain, north of the Bahe River, was in a period of vigorous tectonic activity, which made the side of the Bailuyuan under constant erosion still strong tectonic activity.

4.2.3 Hack profile of the Bahe River Basin

The middle and upper reaches of the Bahe River and its tributaries (Wangchuan River, Qinghe River, and Liuyu River) have more pronounced convex shapes in their Hack profiles, suggesting that the river is likely in its infancy and is more affected by tectonic activity (Figure 7), reflecting the fact that the Bahe River Basin as a whole is significantly impacted by the mountain uplift of the North Qinling Mountains. Although a small part of the upper Chanhe River is located inside the Qinling Mountains, and the overall convex section is shorter, it has little influence on the whole river channel. The Bahe River tributaries (Baima River, Bainiu River, Wuli River, Shili River, Shahe River, and Honghe River) tend to be more “linear” as they get closer to the lower reaches. Still, some of the river sections are slightly upper convex, indicating that the lower reaches tend to be in equilibrium and are less tectonically active than the middle and upper reaches but are still influenced by the tectonic activity.

4.2.4 k sn value of the Bahe River Basin

The tectonic uplift rate increases in direct proportion to the k sn value in the middle Bahe River region near Lishan Mountain (Figure 8). The lithology and k sn alterations in the middle Bahe River Basin are the same from north to south, though, as it is composed of Quaternary deposits. The impact of climate on alterations to river channels cannot be ruled out because the variation in precipitation is negligible. As the upper reaches of the Bahe River are located in the North Qinling orogenic area and have higher k sn values than the intermediate reaches, it is clear that the North Qinling uplift has a greater impact there.

5 Geomorphic origin of the Bahe River Basin

The Lishan - North Qinling region has greater tectonic activity than the eastern section, which is consistent with our findings that tectonic activity is active in the Bahe River basin [17,37]. Tectonic activity in the SE Weihe Basin tends to shift from the basin boundary into the rift center. Based on the extraction of the river section Hack profile, regional topographic relief, HI, and k sn of the river channel, it can be tentatively concluded that the geomorphology of the Bahe River Basin may be influenced by strong tectonic movements as a whole. The basin appears to be in the middle and early stages of tectonic activity maturity, indicating ongoing geological processes. The river channel exhibits strong river erosion ability, especially the middle Bahe River. This suggests that the midstream of the Bahe River is specifically affected by the title of uplift caused by the slip of the Lishan Piedmont Fault, which continuously erodes the left bank of the Bahe River on the side of Bailuyuan. In contrast, the right bank of the middle sections of the Bahe River is comparatively well maintained, resulting in an asymmetrical distribution of terraces on both banks of the Bahe River. The upper Bahe River terraces may be severely destroyed and poorly conserved because of the tremendous tectonic uplift of the North Qinling Mountains, which is occurring at the same time. The Bahe River geomorphology is an essential basis for speculating the history of regional tectonic geomorphology and climate evolution due to the remote effect of tectonic movements on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The formation of the Bahe River terraces may be primarily attributed to tectonic uplift and climate changes. Within a dynamic geological context characterized by tectonic deformation and the northeastward extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau, the Weihe Basin has experienced subsidence and the development of normal faults on both sides. These processes have contributed to the violent uplift of the Qinling orogenic belt. Simultaneously, the Ordos block is undergoing vertical uplift, dipping from northwest to southeast [38–41]. Since then, the fault subsidence in the Weihe Basin has continued to expand (Figure 9). The Weihe River and its tributaries’ rapid incision may be fundamentally due to the region’s considerable surface elevation, which has allowed for the preservation of a number of terraces. Therefore, the comparatively elevated North Qinling orogenic band and the relatively subsided Weihe Basin fault zone directly govern the majority of the Bahe River Basin. By cutting a channel, the Bahe River creates terraces. The lithology and k sn changes in the middle Bahe River basin are the same from north to south despite the fact that it is composed of Quaternary deposits. There is little variation in the amount of precipitation. However, the shift in k sn values and the distribution of lithology in the basin make it somewhat impossible to disregard the effects of climate change on the evolutionary movement of the river.

Figure 9 Spatial and temporal evolution of the horizontal expansion of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau since 1.8 Ma (modified from the study by Li [41]).
Figure 9

Spatial and temporal evolution of the horizontal expansion of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau since 1.8 Ma (modified from the study by Li [41]).

The formation and preservation of terraces on geomorphic time scales (from 102 to 105 years) require a quantifiable tectonic uplift rate [42]. The river incision rate indicates the trend of tectonic uplift in mountainous areas to a certain extent and, in specific cases, can reflect the surface uplift rate [43,44,45]. The development time of the T1–T5 terrace of the Bahe River is 1.2, 0.8, 0.5, 0.12, and 0.01 Ma [46], corresponding to the Qingzang Movement C (1.8 Ma), the Kun-Huang Movement (1.2–0.6 Ma), and the Gonghe Movement (∼0.15 Ma) during the uplifting stage of the Tibetan Plateau. In addition, the majority of the river terraces on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau has responded successfully to the Tibetan Plateau’s uplift since 1.2 Ma. Their downcutting rates show a “fast-slow-fast” trend (Figure 10), further supporting the fact that the tectonic cyclones control the development of river terraces in the Weihe Basin [47,48,49]. The tectonic gyrations influence the growth of fluvial terraces [47,50]. The river terraces within the Weihe Basin exhibit distinct characteristics in terms of development and rate of downcutting. Specifically, between 1.2 and 0.6 Ma, and since 0.15 Ma, the terraces are more extensively developed and display a higher rate of downcutting. This period coincides with the Kun-Huang and Gonghe movements. The accelerated rate of downcutting during this timeframe indicates an intensified regional tectonic uplift. Conversely, the number of terraces developed between 0.6 and 0.15 Ma is relatively small, and the rate of downcutting is low, which corresponds to a phase of relatively stable tectonic uplift (Figure 10). Therefore, it may be inferred that regional uplift determines how many terraces and how much of an altitude shift most of the Weihe Basin’s terraces experience, and that the terrace series can serve as a marker for the process of surface uplift.

Figure 10 Comparison of the formation age of the Weihe Basin and surrounding river terraces and the marine isotope stages (modified from Li and Zhang [42]).
Figure 10

Comparison of the formation age of the Weihe Basin and surrounding river terraces and the marine isotope stages (modified from Li and Zhang [42]).

The river terrace phase map demonstrates how subsequent crustal deformation frequently influences how river terraces evolve. The lower terraces’ altitude fluctuations are more in line with those of the river channel, according to the Bahe River terrace phase map (Figure 11), automatically retrieved river terraces, and the findings of earlier research [51]. The higher terraces tilt more as they get closer to the upper reaches, indicating that the middle and upper reaches are more significantly influenced by tectonic uplift than the lower reaches and may be influenced by both the Lishan Mountain tilting movement and the uplift of the North Qinling Mountains. T5 terraces are not present near the Bahe River, but the T4 and T3 terraces and the river channel are, as shown in Figure 11, somewhat distorted around Xiangwang in the lower Bahe River, and the Chang’an-Lintong Fault passes through the lower Bahe River. In addition, it demonstrated the regionally diversified function of tectonic activity in the geomorphic history of the basin by confirming that the local northern Chang’an-Lintong Fault displaced the downstream terraces of the Chanhe and Bahe rivers.

Figure 11 Longitudinal profiles of terraces in the middle Bahe River.
Figure 11

Longitudinal profiles of terraces in the middle Bahe River.

In conclusion, tectonic uplift has been occurring in the background of an increase in the average rate of Bahe River fluvial downcutting since the early Pleistocene. The rapid river downcutting in the Weihe basin can therefore be attributed primarily to the increase in regional topography and slope, and the development of the Bahe River terrace is a reaction to the uplift of the North Qinling Mountains, which is facilitated by the north-eastward transfer of stresses from the tectonic movements of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Although river datum changes of the lower Bahe River may also impact terrace formation, the impact is small, so the Bahe River terraces and watershed geomorphology may be mainly the result of tectonic movements in the process of climate change.

6 Conclusion

In this article, we use the geomorphic parameter extracted from ALOS 30 m DEM data to digitize the geomorphic features of the Bahe River Basin. The river terraces and the geomorphic genesis of the basin were further discussed. The following conclusions are drawn:

  1. The Bahe River Basin has five levels of terraces, continuously distributed in the middle Bahe River, especially in Lantian County. On the basis of the extracted geomorphological parameters of the Bahe River Basin, we proposed that the Bahe River Basin was in the middle – early stage of the intense tectonic activity. In addition, the river had a high capacity for erosion, suggesting that the Bahe River’s geomorphological history may have been primarily driven by the region’s intense tectonic activity, despite that the effects of climate change were nonnegligible.

  2. The Bahe River terraces primarily formed as a result of tectonic uplift driven by climate changes. Both regional topography and slope rise as a result of the regional uplift. Further evidence that the Lishan-North Qinling Mountains uplift was caused by the movement of the Lishan piedmont fault and aided by the north-eastward transfer of tectonic stresses from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is provided by the formation of the Bahe River terrace.

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Key R&D Program fund of Shaanxi Province (No. 2023-ZDLSF-28). We thank Hong Chang and Ling Yang of the Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese of Academy Sciences, for their data processing and linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

  1. Conflict of interest: The authors declare there is no conflict.

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Received: 2023-01-09
Revised: 2023-09-21
Accepted: 2023-09-22
Published Online: 2023-10-28

© 2023 the author(s), published by De Gruyter

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2022-0555
Keywords for this article
Bahe river; basin fluvial terraces; geomorphological parameters; geomophogensis; Tibetan Plateau uplift
Creative Commons
BY 4.0

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Regular Articles
  2. Diagenesis and evolution of deep tight reservoirs: A case study of the fourth member of Shahejie Formation (cg: 50.4-42 Ma) in Bozhong Sag
  3. Petrography and mineralogy of the Oligocene flysch in Ionian Zone, Albania: Implications for the evolution of sediment provenance and paleoenvironment
  4. Biostratigraphy of the Late Campanian–Maastrichtian of the Duwi Basin, Red Sea, Egypt
  5. Structural deformation and its implication for hydrocarbon accumulation in the Wuxia fault belt, northwestern Junggar basin, China
  6. Carbonate texture identification using multi-layer perceptron neural network
  7. Metallogenic model of the Hongqiling Cu–Ni sulfide intrusions, Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Insight from long-period magnetotellurics
  8. Assessments of recent Global Geopotential Models based on GPS/levelling and gravity data along coastal zones of Egypt
  9. Accuracy assessment and improvement of SRTM, ASTER, FABDEM, and MERIT DEMs by polynomial and optimization algorithm: A case study (Khuzestan Province, Iran)
  10. Uncertainty assessment of 3D geological models based on spatial diffusion and merging model
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  12. Impact of AMSU-A and MHS radiances assimilation on Typhoon Megi (2016) forecasting
  13. Contribution to the building of a weather information service for solar panel cleaning operations at Diass plant (Senegal, Western Sahel)
  14. Measuring spatiotemporal accessibility to healthcare with multimodal transport modes in the dynamic traffic environment
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  17. Reconstruction of paleoglacial equilibrium-line altitudes during the Last Glacial Maximum in the Diancang Massif, Northwest Yunnan Province, China
  18. A prediction model for Xiangyang Neolithic sites based on a random forest algorithm
  19. Determining the long-term impact area of coastal thermal discharge based on a harmonic model of sea surface temperature
  20. Origin of block accumulations based on the near-surface geophysics
  21. Investigating the limestone quarries as geoheritage sites: Case of Mardin ancient quarry
  22. Population genetics and pedigree geography of Trionychia japonica in the four mountains of Henan Province and the Taihang Mountains
  23. Performance audit evaluation of marine development projects based on SPA and BP neural network model
  24. Study on the Early Cretaceous fluvial-desert sedimentary paleogeography in the Northwest of Ordos Basin
  25. Detecting window line using an improved stacked hourglass network based on new real-world building façade dataset
  26. Automated identification and mapping of geological folds in cross sections
  27. Silicate and carbonate mixed shelf formation and its controlling factors, a case study from the Cambrian Canglangpu formation in Sichuan basin, China
  28. Ground penetrating radar and magnetic gradient distribution approach for subsurface investigation of solution pipes in post-glacial settings
  29. Research on pore structures of fine-grained carbonate reservoirs and their influence on waterflood development
  30. Risk assessment of rain-induced debris flow in the lower reaches of Yajiang River based on GIS and CF coupling models
  31. Multifractal analysis of temporal and spatial characteristics of earthquakes in Eurasian seismic belt
  32. Surface deformation and damage of 2022 (M 6.8) Luding earthquake in China and its tectonic implications
  33. Differential analysis of landscape patterns of land cover products in tropical marine climate zones – A case study in Malaysia
  34. DEM-based analysis of tectonic geomorphologic characteristics and tectonic activity intensity of the Dabanghe River Basin in South China Karst
  35. Distribution, pollution levels, and health risk assessment of heavy metals in groundwater in the main pepper production area of China
  36. Study on soil quality effect of reconstructing by Pisha sandstone and sand soil
  37. Understanding the characteristics of loess strata and quaternary climate changes in Luochuan, Shaanxi Province, China, through core analysis
  38. Dynamic variation of groundwater level and its influencing factors in typical oasis irrigated areas in Northwest China
  39. Creating digital maps for geotechnical characteristics of soil based on GIS technology and remote sensing
  40. Changes in the course of constant loading consolidation in soil with modeled granulometric composition contaminated with petroleum substances
  41. Correlation between the deformation of mineral crystal structures and fault activity: A case study of the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault and the Milin fault
  42. Cognitive characteristics of the Qiang religious culture and its influencing factors in Southwest China
  43. Spatiotemporal variation characteristics analysis of infrastructure iron stock in China based on nighttime light data
  44. Interpretation of aeromagnetic and remote sensing data of Auchi and Idah sheets of the Benin-arm Anambra basin: Implication of mineral resources
  45. Building element recognition with MTL-AINet considering view perspectives
  46. Characteristics of the present crustal deformation in the Tibetan Plateau and its relationship with strong earthquakes
  47. Influence of fractures in tight sandstone oil reservoir on hydrocarbon accumulation: A case study of Yanchang Formation in southeastern Ordos Basin
  48. Nutrient assessment and land reclamation in the Loess hills and Gulch region in the context of gully control
  49. Handling imbalanced data in supervised machine learning for lithological mapping using remote sensing and airborne geophysical data
  50. Spatial variation of soil nutrients and evaluation of cultivated land quality based on field scale
  51. Lignin analysis of sediments from around 2,000 to 1,000 years ago (Jiulong River estuary, southeast China)
  52. Assessing OpenStreetMap roads fitness-for-use for disaster risk assessment in developing countries: The case of Burundi
  53. Transforming text into knowledge graph: Extracting and structuring information from spatial development plans
  54. A symmetrical exponential model of soil temperature in temperate steppe regions of China
  55. A landslide susceptibility assessment method based on auto-encoder improved deep belief network
  56. Numerical simulation analysis of ecological monitoring of small reservoir dam based on maximum entropy algorithm
  57. Morphometry of the cold-climate Bory Stobrawskie Dune Field (SW Poland): Evidence for multi-phase Lateglacial aeolian activity within the European Sand Belt
  58. Adopting a new approach for finding missing people using GIS techniques: A case study in Saudi Arabia’s desert area
  59. Geological earthquake simulations generated by kinematic heterogeneous energy-based method: Self-arrested ruptures and asperity criterion
  60. Semi-automated classification of layered rock slopes using digital elevation model and geological map
  61. Geochemical characteristics of arc fractionated I-type granitoids of eastern Tak Batholith, Thailand
  62. Lithology classification of igneous rocks using C-band and L-band dual-polarization SAR data
  63. Analysis of artificial intelligence approaches to predict the wall deflection induced by deep excavation
  64. Evaluation of the current in situ stress in the middle Permian Maokou Formation in the Longnüsi area of the central Sichuan Basin, China
  65. Utilizing microresistivity image logs to recognize conglomeratic channel architectural elements of Baikouquan Formation in slope of Mahu Sag
  66. Resistivity cutoff of low-resistivity and low-contrast pays in sandstone reservoirs from conventional well logs: A case of Paleogene Enping Formation in A-Oilfield, Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea
  67. Examining the evacuation routes of the sister village program by using the ant colony optimization algorithm
  68. Spatial objects classification using machine learning and spatial walk algorithm
  69. Study on the stabilization mechanism of aeolian sandy soil formation by adding a natural soft rock
  70. Bump feature detection of the road surface based on the Bi-LSTM
  71. The origin and evolution of the ore-forming fluids at the Manondo-Choma gold prospect, Kirk range, southern Malawi
  72. A retrieval model of surface geochemistry composition based on remotely sensed data
  73. Exploring the spatial dynamics of cultural facilities based on multi-source data: A case study of Nanjing’s art institutions
  74. Study of pore-throat structure characteristics and fluid mobility of Chang 7 tight sandstone reservoir in Jiyuan area, Ordos Basin
  75. Study of fracturing fluid re-discharge based on percolation experiments and sampling tests – An example of Fuling shale gas Jiangdong block, China
  76. Impacts of marine cloud brightening scheme on climatic extremes in the Tibetan Plateau
  77. Ecological protection on the West Coast of Taiwan Strait under economic zone construction: A case study of land use in Yueqing
  78. The time-dependent deformation and damage constitutive model of rock based on dynamic disturbance tests
  79. Evaluation of spatial form of rural ecological landscape and vulnerability of water ecological environment based on analytic hierarchy process
  80. Fingerprint of magma mixture in the leucogranites: Spectroscopic and petrochemical approach, Kalebalta-Central Anatolia, Türkiye
  81. Principles of self-calibration and visual effects for digital camera distortion
  82. UAV-based doline mapping in Brazilian karst: A cave heritage protection reconnaissance
  83. Evaluation and low carbon ecological urban–rural planning and construction based on energy planning mechanism
  84. Modified non-local means: A novel denoising approach to process gravity field data
  85. A novel travel route planning method based on an ant colony optimization algorithm
  86. Effect of time-variant NDVI on landside susceptibility: A case study in Quang Ngai province, Vietnam
  87. Regional tectonic uplift indicated by geomorphological parameters in the Bahe River Basin, central China
  88. Computer information technology-based green excavation of tunnels in complex strata and technical decision of deformation control
  89. Spatial evolution of coastal environmental enterprises: An exploration of driving factors in Jiangsu Province
  90. A comparative assessment and geospatial simulation of three hydrological models in urban basins
  91. Aquaculture industry under the blue transformation in Jiangsu, China: Structure evolution and spatial agglomeration
  92. Quantitative and qualitative interpretation of community partitions by map overlaying and calculating the distribution of related geographical features
  93. Numerical investigation of gravity-grouted soil-nail pullout capacity in sand
  94. Analysis of heavy pollution weather in Shenyang City and numerical simulation of main pollutants
  95. Road cut slope stability analysis for static and dynamic (pseudo-static analysis) loading conditions
  96. Forest biomass assessment combining field inventorying and remote sensing data
  97. Late Jurassic Haobugao granites from the southern Great Xing’an Range, NE China: Implications for postcollision extension of the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean
  98. Petrogenesis of the Sukadana Basalt based on petrology and whole rock geochemistry, Lampung, Indonesia: Geodynamic significances
  99. Numerical study on the group wall effect of nodular diaphragm wall foundation in high-rise buildings
  100. Water resources utilization and tourism environment assessment based on water footprint
  101. Geochemical evaluation of the carbonaceous shale associated with the Permian Mikambeni Formation of the Tuli Basin for potential gas generation, South Africa
  102. Detection and characterization of lineaments using gravity data in the south-west Cameroon zone: Hydrogeological implications
  103. Study on spatial pattern of tourism landscape resources in county cities of Yangtze River Economic Belt
  104. The effect of weathering on drillability of dolomites
  105. Noise masking of near-surface scattering (heterogeneities) on subsurface seismic reflectivity
  106. Query optimization-oriented lateral expansion method of distributed geological borehole database
  107. Petrogenesis of the Morobe Granodiorite and their shoshonitic mafic microgranular enclaves in Maramuni arc, Papua New Guinea
  108. Environmental health risk assessment of urban water sources based on fuzzy set theory
  109. Spatial distribution of urban basic education resources in Shanghai: Accessibility and supply-demand matching evaluation
  110. Spatiotemporal changes in land use and residential satisfaction in the Huai River-Gaoyou Lake Rim area
  111. Walkaway vertical seismic profiling first-arrival traveltime tomography with velocity structure constraints
  112. Study on the evaluation system and risk factor traceability of receiving water body
  113. Predicting copper-polymetallic deposits in Kalatag using the weight of evidence model and novel data sources
  114. Temporal dynamics of green urban areas in Romania. A comparison between spatial and statistical data
  115. Passenger flow forecast of tourist attraction based on MACBL in LBS big data environment
  116. Varying particle size selectivity of soil erosion along a cultivated catena
  117. Relationship between annual soil erosion and surface runoff in Wadi Hanifa sub-basins
  118. Influence of nappe structure on the Carboniferous volcanic reservoir in the middle of the Hongche Fault Zone, Junggar Basin, China
  119. Dynamic analysis of MSE wall subjected to surface vibration loading
  120. Pre-collisional architecture of the European distal margin: Inferences from the high-pressure continental units of central Corsica (France)
  121. The interrelation of natural diversity with tourism in Kosovo
  122. Assessment of geosites as a basis for geotourism development: A case study of the Toplica District, Serbia
  123. IG-YOLOv5-based underwater biological recognition and detection for marine protection
  124. Monitoring drought dynamics using remote sensing-based combined drought index in Ergene Basin, Türkiye
  125. Review Articles
  126. The actual state of the geodetic and cartographic resources and legislation in Poland
  127. Evaluation studies of the new mining projects
  128. Comparison and significance of grain size parameters of the Menyuan loess calculated using different methods
  129. Scientometric analysis of flood forecasting for Asia region and discussion on machine learning methods
  130. Rainfall-induced transportation embankment failure: A review
  131. Rapid Communication
  132. Branch fault discovered in Tangshan fault zone on the Kaiping-Guye boundary, North China
  133. Technical Note
  134. Introducing an intelligent multi-level retrieval method for mineral resource potential evaluation result data
  135. Erratum
  136. Erratum to “Forest cover assessment using remote-sensing techniques in Crete Island, Greece”
  137. Addendum
  138. The relationship between heat flow and seismicity in global tectonically active zones
  139. Commentary
  140. Improved entropy weight methods and their comparisons in evaluating the high-quality development of Qinghai, China
  141. Special Issue: Geoethics 2022 - Part II
  142. Loess and geotourism potential of the Braničevo District (NE Serbia): From overexploitation to paleoclimate interpretation
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