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Landform response of tectonic activity in the Parlung Tsangpo River basin: evidence from digital elevation model-based morphometric analysis in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

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Abstract

Located in the Indo-Eurasian collision zone, the Parlung Tsangpo River is a hot spot for studying tectonic geomorphological responses because of its complex geomorphological environment. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of morphological analysis based on digital elevation model to reveal tectonic activities. The Parlung Tsangpo River is used as the study area to probe how hypsometric integrals (HI), longitudinal profiles (LP), and steepness indices (Ks) respond to tectonic activity. About 98% of the basin area is in the mature stage of geomorphic development; specifically, 49.7% is in sub-maturation, 48.4% is in late maturation, and 1.9% is in an old stage. The HI value at the river source is smaller than that in the middle reaches of the Parlung Tsangpo River, implying that the fracture activity in the region may remain active and persistent after the formation of the river. After considering all of the extracted LPs, four were determined to be distinct. Each of these four sections is straight and has at least one break point, indicating that most of these tributaries are in a period of intense erosion. A more active tectonic indication in the left upstream and Dongjiuqu regions was revealed based on their greater numbers of knickpoints. In addition, their Ks values were larger than in other regions, which was consistent with the LP results. When Ks values become larger, this often indicates the existence of a barrier dam in the Parlung Tsangpo River basin.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Zhongshen Chen, Jinhong Liu and Hui Yang, who helped to check the whole paper.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers: 41871324 and 41771023), Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province Key project of Applied Basic Research (grant number: 2018JY0464), and the Talent Research Fund Project of China West Normal University (grant number: 17YC115).

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  1. School of Land and Resources, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, China

    Mengge Tang, Lan Wei, MingLiang Luo, Yuli He & Liang Kong

  2. Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, CAS, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China

    Weiming Liu

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  1. Mengge Tang
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Tang, M., Wei, L., Luo, M. et al. Landform response of tectonic activity in the Parlung Tsangpo River basin: evidence from digital elevation model-based morphometric analysis in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Arab J Geosci 14, 2266 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-08682-z

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