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Geomorphic evolution of the Sedongpu Basin after catastrophic ice and rock avalanches triggered by the 2017 Ms6.9 Milin earthquake in the Yarlung Zangbo River area, China

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Abstract

Under the effect of global warming, the Sedongpu Basin, located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River on the Tibetan Plateau, has experienced frequent ice and rock avalanche disasters, which were particularly prominent after the 2017 Ms6.9 Milin earthquake, resulting in significant topographic geomorphological changes. The current geomorphology of the Sedongpu Basin, as well as the moraine volume and geomorphological changes since 2017, was interpreted in detail by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and InSAR technology. Sedongpu Basin can be divided into the ice and rock area and moraine area and dam area according to the material and disaster characteristics. There are large structural planes and wide cracks in the ice and rock area, which provide the material basis for ice and rock avalanches. Moraines in the moraine area are widely distributed and very thick; the maximum change in moraine height since 2017 reaches 335 m; the moraine volume has decreased by more than 420 million m3, and strong erosion and geomorphic changes have occurred. The dam in the dam area has a thickness of ~ 37–40 m, and now, the residual dam area is 9.2 km long, with an impact area of more than 8.1 km. The InSAR interpretation shows two large deformation areas; the maximum cumulative deformation reaches 130.7 m, and there is still a possibility of disaster in the future. In addition, it is discussed that the different material properties of different areas make the Sedongpu Basin show obvious vertical zonation characteristics, resulting in disaster chain effects. Such effects not only play a role in modifying the geomorphology of the Sedongpu Basin and the Yarlung Zangbo River channel but also amplify the ice and rock avalanche disasters in the alpine area.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author (Yueping Yin), upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the reviewers for their valuable suggestions.

Funding

This research was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China, grant number 2022YFC3004301; the National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant numbers U2244226 and U2244227; and the China Geological Survey Project, grant number DD20230538.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Haoyuan Gao, Bin Li, Yang Gao, Tiantian Zhang & Jiawei Wan

  2. Key Laboratory of Active Tectonics and Geological Safety, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing, 100081, China

    Bin Li, Yang Gao, Tiantian Zhang & Jiawei Wan

  3. Institute of Geological Environment Monitoring, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yueping Yin

  4. School of Geological Engineering and Geomatics, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China

    Xiaojie Liu

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  1. Haoyuan Gao
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Contributions

Writing, analysis, and interpretation of data: Gao HY; methodology: Yin YP and Li B; UAV resources: Zhang TT and Wan JW; InSAR resources: Liu XJ; and supervision: Yin YP, Li B, and Zhang TT. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yueping Yin.

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Gao, H., Yin, Y., Li, B. et al. Geomorphic evolution of the Sedongpu Basin after catastrophic ice and rock avalanches triggered by the 2017 Ms6.9 Milin earthquake in the Yarlung Zangbo River area, China. Landslides 20, 2327–2341 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-023-02118-3

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