The post-IR IRSL dating of an ancient dammed lake upstream of the Ganglai gorge in the upper-middle reaches of Yarlung Tsangpo

Abstract

The middle reaches of Yarlung Tsangpo, situated on the southern Tibetan Plateau, have experienced extensive river damming events due to glacier advances, resulting in the formation of several ancient dammed lakes. These palaeolakes offer invaluable insights into past hydrological and geomorphological dynamics on the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we reported a newly identified ancient dammed lake, named the Xiaru palaeolake, located upstream of the Ganglai Gorge in the uppermost segment of the middle reaches of Yarlung Tsangpo, and conducted a pioneer chronological investigation of the lake using K-feldspar post-IR IRSL (pIRIR) dating. Quartz minerals from most lacustrine and fluvial sediments can not provide reliable ages characterized with low intensity and large inter-aliquot scatter in equivalent doses (De). In contrast, the K-feldspar exhibited much greater luminescence intensity and narrower De distribution using the pIRIR225 dating protocol. Residual, dose recovery, and fading tests demonstrated that the pIRIR225 signals are well bleached with a relatively low fading rate, making it a more suitable dosimeter for dating applications in the study area. The pIRIR225 ages, derived through single aliquots, standard growth curve (SGC), and single grain measurements, reveal a major phase of the Xiaru Lake between 24.1 ± 1.0 ka and 15.8 ± 1.1 ka, that commenced aligning with the global Last Glacial Maximum. Furthermore, one lacustrine sample dated to 29.9 ± 2.2 ka suggests the possibility of multiple damming events in Ganglai Gorge during the last glacial period, although further evidence is required for a comprehensive interpretation.