Glacial geomorphology of the Bayan Har sector of the NE Tibetan Plateau
- 1 January 2008
- journal article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Journal of Maps
- Vol. 4 (1), 42-62
- https://doi.org/10.4113/jom.2008.96
Abstract
We here present a detailed glacial geomorphological map covering 136,500 km2 of the Bayan Har sector of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau - an area previously suggested to have nourished the most extensive Quaternary glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau. The map, presented at a scale of 1:650,000, is based on remote sensing of a 90 m SRTM digital elevation model and 15/30 m Landsat ETM+ satellite imagery. Seven landform types have been mapped; glacial valleys, glacial troughs, glacial lineations,marginal moraines, marginal moraine remnants, meltwater channels and hummocky terrain. A large number of glacial landforms exist, concentrated around mountain blocks protruding above the surrounding plateau area, testifying to former glacial activity. In contrast, large plateau areas of lower altitude lack glacial landforms. The mapped glacial geomorphology indicates multiple former glacial advances primarily by valley and piedmont glaciers, but lends no support to the hypothesis of ice sheet scale glaciation in the area. The presented glacial geomorphological map demonstrates the usefulness of remote sensing techniques for mapping the glacial geomorphology of the Tibetan Plateau, and it will be used for reconstructing the paleoglaciology of the Bayan Har sector of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.Part of urn:nbn:se:su:diva-750Keywords
This publication has 35 references indexed in Scilit:
- The extent and chronology of Cenozoic Global GlaciationQuaternary International, 2007
- Displacement and timing of left-lateral faulting in the Kunlun Fault Zone, northern Tibet, inferred from geologic and geomorphic featuresJournal of Asian Earth Sciences, 2007
- Late Quaternary glacier advances in the upper catchment area of the Indus River (Ladakh and Western Tibet)Quaternary International, 2006
- Cosmogenic radionuclide evidence for the limited extent of last glacial maximum glaciers in the Tanggula Shan of the Central Tibetan PlateauQuaternary Research, 2006
- Three Holocene and late Pleistocene glacial stages inferred from moraines in the Lingshi and Thanza village areas, BhutanQuaternary International, 2002
- Glaciers and mass wasting processes: their influence on the shaping of the Kali Gandaki valley (higher Himalaya of Nepal)Quaternary International, 2000
- Preservation of landforms under ice sheets and ice capsGeomorphology, 1994
- Relative dating of Quaternary moraines, Rongbuk valley, Mount Everest, Tibet: Implications for an ice sheet on the Tibetan PlateauQuaternary Research, 1991
- Quaternary glaciation of tibet: The geological evidenceQuaternary Science Reviews, 1991
- Bedrock Control on Glacial Limits: Examples from the Ladakh and Zanskar Ranges, North-Western Himalaya, IndiaJournal of Glaciology, 1985