›› 2012, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (5): 920-925.

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Analysis on Depositional Features of the Late Holocene Paleo-flood Slackwater Deposit in Middle Reaches of the Weihe River

ZHAO  Mei, CHA  Xiao-Chun, HUANG  Chun-Chang, PANG  Jiang-Li, YANG  Ling   

  1. College of Tourism and Environmental Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China
  • Received:2011-09-16 Revised:2012-03-06 Online:2012-09-15 Published:2012-10-09

Abstract: Based on the field investigation, a Holocene paleo-flood slackwater deposit (SWD) in a Holocene loesspaleosol profile was found in middle reaches of the Weihe River Basin. The grain size, magnetic susceptibility, CaCO3, loss-on-ignition and surface micro-structure of quartz grains were analyzed in laboratory. The results showed that the properties of SWD were different from those of loess and paleosol. This SWD is identified as the most typical Holocene paleoflood deposit. According to the OSL dating and stratigraphy comparison, the age of the SWD was identified during 3 200-2 800 aBP, which just was the transition period from the mid-Holocene climatic optimum toward the late Holocene dry conditions, and the unstable climatic system and the weakening summer monsoon brought out a sharp change of precipitation and caused the occurrence of extreme paleo-flood. This study results are of great scientific significance in understanding the local hydrology change response to global change.

Key words: Holocene, paleo-flood event, loess-paleosols profile, Slackwater deposit, climate change, Xianyang, Weihe River