Sedimentary evolution of the embayed beach from Qinghai Lake, northern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

Lacustrine beach ridges are often used to reconstruct past lake levels. However, the sedimentary architecture involved in their sedimentary evolution remains unclear, particularly for embayed beaches. To better understand the sedimentary processes, the sedimentary architecture and geomorphology of a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of paleolimnology 2023-10, Vol.70 (3), p.225-240
Main Authors: Hao, Lewei, Tao, Huifei, Liu, Shasha, Lee, Eun Young, Guo, Ruiliang, Li, Shutong, Qiu, Junli, Lv, Chengfu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beach ridges
Beaches
Climate Change
Deposition
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Evolution
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Geology
Geomorphology
Ground penetrating radar
Heterogeneity
Hydrodynamics
Lagoons
Lakes
Original Paper
Paleontology
Physical Geography
Radar
Ridges
Sediment
Sediment distribution
Sedimentary facies
Sedimentology
Sediments
Surf zone
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Summary:Lacustrine beach ridges are often used to reconstruct past lake levels. However, the sedimentary architecture involved in their sedimentary evolution remains unclear, particularly for embayed beaches. To better understand the sedimentary processes, the sedimentary architecture and geomorphology of an embayed beach on the southern of Qinghai Lake were investigated using ground penetrating radar (GPR), trenches, and modern beach observation. The embayed beach's deposits are composed of three major sedimentary facies: washover deposition, fair-weather swash deposition, and lagoonal deposition. According to the variations in sedimentary facies, the formation of the embayed beach can be divided into two stages: lake-level highstand and lake-level lowstand. During lake-level highstand stage, geomorphic changes primarily occur in the cross-shore direction. A single beach ridge with washover lobes and sheets developed along the entire embayed beach. During lake-level lowstand stage, the sediments are mainly transported alongshore within the embayed beach. The northern end shows progradational complex deposits including beach ridge, lagoon and beach system, while only a beach ridge is present at the southern end. Hydrodynamic changes in two stages lead to the heterogeneity of sediment distribution, reflected in the morphology and the sedimentary architecture. The interaction of topography and hydrodynamics controls the formation and evolution of the embayed beach. This study improves the understanding of the sedimentary processes involved in embayed beaches.
ISSN:0921-2728
1573-0417
DOI:10.1007/s10933-023-00293-w