Eastern margin of Tibet supplies most sediment to the Yangtze River

Abstract

Zircon provenance studies of modern and ancient fluvial systems help reveal the relative contributions and importance of upstream sediment sources. A 2014 study of detrital zircon U-Pb age distributions from the Yangtze River (China) and its tributaries proposed a strong anthropogenic control on sediment flux. Those data, along with other data from the region, were reanalyzed using multiple detrital zircon U-Pb age distribution comparison techniques and a distribution-mixing model to construct an improved and quantitative view of provenance. The variability in the Yangtze River trunk stream U-Pb age distributions is evaluated with respect to trunk-to-trunk stream comparisons, trunk-to-tributary comparisons, and in mixture models that consider tributary and bedrock contributions, the latter using a comprehensive compilation of bedrock source terranes. Uniformity in the zircon age distribution of the Yangtze River trunk stream is established in the upper reaches, downstream of the first bend, and maintained by the left-bank tributaries to its outlet. Whether considering the bedrock source terranes or only the modern Yangtze River sediments, the major source of sediments contributing to Yangtze River is clearly the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau (e.g., Songpan Ganze complex, Longmenshan Range), where rock uplift rates are high. The purported increase in anthropogenic impact on sediment yield in the lowlands, at least as viewed through detrital zircon age distributions, is insignificant.