Journal of Sedimentary Research, 2017, v. 87, 253–271 Research Article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2017.14 SEASONAL PATTERN IN THE HIGH-ELEVATION FLUVIAL TRAVERTINE FROM THE JIUZHAIGOU NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE, SICHUAN, SOUTHWESTERN CHINA 1 2 1 2 3 4 STEFANO LUGLI, YA TANG, MATTEO REGHIZZI, XUE QIAO, B. CHARLOTTE SCHREIBER, AND GUIPING DENG 1Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Universita` degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy 2Department of Environmental Science, College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, North 24, South Section One, First Ring Road, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China 3Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, P.O. Box 351310, Seattle, Washington 98195, U.S.A. 4Jiuzhaigou Administrative Bureau, Zhangzha Town, Jiuzhaigou County 623402, Sichuan, China e-mail:
[email protected] ABSTRACT: The Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve on the Tibetan Plateau (Sichuan, southwestern China) is characterized by the deposition of fluvial travertine in a spectacular array of shoals, waterfalls, pool dams, and multicolored lakes. This is possibly the highest vegetated travertine setting of the world, from 2200 to 2900 m above sea level, an environment sensitive to minimal changes in temperature and precipitation regime. The evolution of the system is driven by two seasonal monsoon climate patterns with a wet spring–summer travertine deposition and then a dry fall–winter characterized by no precipitation or erosion. Spring and phreatic–vadose deposits transition from laminated columnar calcite to clotted micrite encrustation, possibly correlated with a mid-Holocene peak in precipitation and high lake levels in the northeastern Tibetan area connected to glacial advance.