PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2012, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (11): 1415-1425.doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2012.11.001

• Original Articles •     Next Articles

Magnetic Susceptibility of Glacial Deposits and the Impacting Factors in the Eastern Bordering Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau

ZHANG Wei1, LI Yuanyuan1, FENG Ji2, BI Weili1, LIU Ge1   

  1. 1. College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China;
    2. School of Economic and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2012-01-01 Revised:2012-04-01 Online:2012-11-25 Published:2012-11-25

Abstract: Magnetic susceptibility value of the continuous sediment samples from lakes, loess and paleosol, and deep sea are widely used as an alternative indicator of environmental change. However, magnetic susceptibility measurement has yet to be involved in the research on the non-continuous deposits that reflect the climate change in a specific time period, such as the glacial deposits. This paper reports the study of the magnetic susceptibility of eight typical profiles of glacial deposits in the eastern bordering mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and the comparison of the data to those of deposits from the lake, loess, deep sea and the surface soil. Based on the mass susceptibility and frequency susceptibility data, the magnetic susceptibility of the glacial deposits is characterized and the impacting factors are analyzed. The results are as follows. (1) The magnetic susceptibilitydata of the glacial deposits in the bordering mountains to the east of the Tibetan Plateau show a large amplitude of fluctuation between 3.01×10-8 m3·kg-1 and 1808.80×10-8 m3·kg-1, with a mean value of 147.84×10-8 m3·kg-1, while the frequency magnetic susceptibility values are small and fluctuated between 0 and 6.89%, with a mean value of 1.37%. (2) The temporal and spatial data of the magnetic susceptibility show different characteristics. In other words, the change of magnetic susceptibility in the different glacial stages of the same region is minimal, while the change of that in different regions of the same glacial stage is dramatic. (3) Parent rock lithology is the major factor affecting the magnetic susceptibility of the glacial deposits, while climate conditions havecomplex impact.

Key words: climate, magnetic susceptibility, Tibetan Plateau, till