Postdoctor GE Junyi and his teacher GUO Zhengtang date a representative aeolian sequence near Xihe in Gansu Province using magnetostratigraphy method. They explore the tectonic implications of the sequence relative to the Neogene uplift history of the West Qingling Mountains and discuss the potential links between this history and the formation of the Tibetan Plateau.

These further suggest that the late Miocene growth of the Tibetan Plateau has not significantly affected the West Qinling. Thus, the studied NL-VI aeolian sequence provides not only independent evidence for the uplift history of the West Qinling within an accurate chronological framework, but also provides new insights into the tectonic changes on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.

Fig.1. NL-VI loess-paleosol sequence profile of Xihe basin at southern slope of West Qinling. (Image by GE)

Ge et al. Magnetostratigraphy of the Xihe loess-soil sequence and implication for late Neogene deformation of the West Qinling Mountains. Geophysical Journal International, 2012, 189: 1399–1408(Download Here)