Late Cretaceous climbing erg systems in the western Xinjiang Basin
- Author(s)
- Chihua Wu, Juan Pedro Rodriguez-Lopez, Chenglin Liu, Xiaoming Sun, Jiuyi Wang, Guoqing Xia, Michael Wagreich
- Abstract
This study reassesses the terrestrial deposits of the Late Cretaceous Tangbian Formation in the western Xinjiang Basin of the South China block. Originally considered to be aqueous deposits, we reinterpret these strata as representing an extensive aeolian system in a desert environment. This paper suggests that the development of aeolian deposits in the Tangbian Fm. represents the culmination of the Late-Cretaceous desertification that followed the relatively humid early Late-Cretaceous epoch in the interior of South China. The area was dominated by subtropical high-pressure systems on a planetary scale, combined with coastal mountains caused by sustained orogenic activity. The interaction between subtropical high pressure systems and topographic conditions ultimately caused the development of a tropical desert climate, characterized by an extensive dry climbing aeolian dune system. We propose that the coastal mountains not only blocked moisture transport from the ocean and led to the aridification of South China interior, but also exerted a control and transformed the original prevailing surface-wind pattern.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Geology
- External organisation(s)
- Sun Yat-sen University, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Universidad Nebrija, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Chengdu University of Technology, Southwest Petroleum University
- Journal
- Marine and Petroleum Geology
- Volume
- 93
- Pages
- 539-552
- No. of pages
- 14
- ISSN
- 0264-8172
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2018.03.038
- Publication date
- 05-2018
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 105121 Sedimentology, 105112 Historical geology
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Economic Geology, Geology, Geophysics, Oceanography, Stratigraphy
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 15 - Life on Land
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/326576d6-4898-439e-8c4e-07b4267888b4