Extreme paleoflood events 3200–3000 a BP in the Jingyuan–Jingtai reaches of the upper Yellow River, China

A set of paleoflood slack water deposit (SWD) beds was identified within slope clasts at the Jinpingcun (JPC) site in the Jingyuan–Jingtai reaches of the upper Yellow River gorges based on sedimentary criteria and analytical results. Paleoflood hydrology methods were applied to reconstruct paleofloo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Holocene (Sevenoaks) 2016-05, Vol.26 (5), p.790-800
Main Authors: Hu, Guiming, Huang, Chun Chang, Zhou, Yali, Pang, Jiangli, Zha, Xiaochun, Guo, Yongqiang, Zhang, Yuzhu, Zhao, Xueru
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Arid zones
Brackish
Canyons
Climate change
Climate variability
Dating techniques
Discharge
Ecological risk assessment
Environmental risk
Flood data
Flood frequency
Floods
Frequency analysis
Historic floods
Holocene
Hydrology
Interactions
Luminescence
Regions
River discharge
Rivers
Semi arid areas
Semiarid zones
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Summary:A set of paleoflood slack water deposit (SWD) beds was identified within slope clasts at the Jinpingcun (JPC) site in the Jingyuan–Jingtai reaches of the upper Yellow River gorges based on sedimentary criteria and analytical results. Paleoflood hydrology methods were applied to reconstruct paleoflood events in the Jingyuan–Jingtai reaches. The paleoflood peak stages were calculated based on the highest end-point elevations of the SWDs. The HEC-RAS model and optically stimulated luminescence dating enabled robust paleo-discharge estimates to be calculated between 12,750 and 16,310 m3/s for paleoflood events that occurred during 3200–3000 a BP. The peak discharges, including gauged and historical flood data at the Lanzhou gauge station and the reconstructed paleoflood peak discharges at the JPC site, were input for flood frequency analysis. These paleo-hydrological approaches can also be applied to other regions in the Yellow River gorges. Furthermore, the ages of the paleoflood events correspond well with the known climatic events at 3100 a BP during Holocene climatic variability. These findings are significant for flood risk estimation, in the assessment of water sources in dryland environments, and in understanding the interactions between hydrological systems and climatic change in arid and semi-arid regions of the upper Yellow River in China.
ISSN:0959-6836
1477-0911
DOI:10.1177/0959683615618257