Quaternary River Erosion, Provenance, and Climate Variability
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2017 Quaternary River Erosion, Provenance, and Climate Variability in the NW Himalaya and Vietnam Tara Nicole Jonell Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Earth Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Jonell, Tara Nicole, "Quaternary River Erosion, Provenance, and Climate Variability in the NW Himalaya and Vietnam" (2017). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 4423. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/4423 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. QUATERNARY RIVER EROSION, PROVENANCE, AND CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN THE NW HIMALAYA AND VIETNAM A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geology and Geophysics by Tara Nicole Jonell B.S., Kent State University 2010 M.S., New Mexico State University, 2012 May 2017 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are so many people for which I am thankful. Words can barely express the gratitude I have for my advisor, Dr. Peter D. Clift, who has countlessly provided humor and outstanding support throughout this project. I cannot imagine completing this research without his untiring guidance both in the lab and outside in the field. I also wish to thank my advisory committee for their invaluable insight and patience: Dr. Barbara Dutrow, Dr. Sophie Warny, and Dr. Robert Rohli. This work would not have been possible without financial support from the Charles T. McCord Jr. chair in petroleum geology at Louisiana State University. Further financial assistance was provided by a Geological Society of America Student Research Grant, the Farouk El-Baz Student Research Award, and scholarships awarded by Louisiana State University and the New Orleans and Shreveport geological societies. My co-authors cannot be recognized enough for sharing their wisdom and expertise: Dr. Andrew Carter, Dr. Philipp Böning, Dr. Lewis A. Owen, Dr. Jean-Luc Schwenniger, Dr. Long V. Hoang, Dr. Hella Wittmann, Dr. Katharina Pahnke, Dr. Tammy Rittenour, Tina Hoang, and Dr. Madhav Musari. Many thanks to Jan Blöthe, Henry Munack, Jason Dortch, and Eduardo Garzanti for their astute advice on geomorphometric analysis and sediment provenance. Without the logistical genius of Fida Hussein Mittoo, Afzal and Efu Mittoo, Tashi, and all of Rockland Tourism, little would have been accomplished in Ladakh and Zanskar. Through the power of lemon tea, lime pickle, fresh chulli, Godfather5000, and chocolate, peaks were reached and basins explored. I am very grateful for the unwavering generosity provided by Dr. Arun Ahluwalia at Panjab University while in India, and Dr. ii Long V. Hoang at the Hanoi University of Mining and Geology in Vietnam. I would like to thank all of the department administrative and laboratory staff, especially Heather Lee, Rick Young, Michael Strain, and Wanda Leblanc. To my past and present Louisiana State University students, cohorts, and lab mates: you are all weird and wonderful and gave me such flack and friendship that I will constantly cherish. And lastly, to my family: I blame all of you for introducing me to the wild, fascinating universe and for challenging me to become a better explorer and scientist. Without your unyielding support, I would not be here. iii PREFACE The chapters in this dissertation are written in a format for publication in peer- reviewed academic journals. Each of the main chapters contains a separate abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion, so that each chapter can be considered independently. All cited references are compiled together under one heading after the conclusion for continuity between chapters. An introduction is provided for the reader to outline the overall objectives and themes of this project, and a final summary to underscore the larger findings and implications of this work. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...................................................................................................ii PREFACE...........................................................................................................................iv LIST OF FIGURES..........................................................................................................viii LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................xv ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................xvi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................1 1.1 Objectives and Themes......................................................................................1 1.2 Organization.......................................................................................................2 CHAPTER 2. CLIMATIC AND GLACIAL IMPACT ON EROSION PATTERNS AND SEDIMENT PROVENANCE IN THE HIMALAYAN RAIN SHADOW, ZANSKAR RIVER, NW INDIA.............................................................................................................4 2.1 Abstract..............................................................................................................4 2.2 Introduction........................................................................................................5 2.3 Background........................................................................................................7 2.3.1 Climatic and Geographic Setting.........................................................7 2.3.2 Geologic Setting................................................................................11 2.4 Methods............................................................................................................14 2.4.1 Basin Morphology.............................................................................15 2.4.2 Bulk Sediment Petrography..............................................................17 2.4.3 Major and Trace Element Geochemistry...........................................18 2.4.4 Isotope Geochemistry........................................................................18 2.4.5 Detrital U-Pb Zircon Geochronology................................................24 2.5 Results..............................................................................................................28 2.5.1 Basin Morphology.............................................................................28 2.5.2 Bulk Sediment Petrography...............................................................30 2.5.3 Major and Trace Element Geochemistry...........................................31 2.5.4 Isotope Geochemistry........................................................................33 2.5.5 Detrital U-Pb Zircon Geochronology................................................35 2.6 Discussion........................................................................................................37 2.6.1 Downstream Provenance Evolution..................................................37 2.6.2 Controls on Erosion...........................................................................46 2.7. Conclusions.....................................................................................................50 CHAPTER 3. QUANTIFYING EPISODIC EROSION AND TRANSIENT STORAGE ON THE WESTERN MARGIN OF THE TIBETAN PLATEAU, UPPER INDUS RIVER................................................................................................................................52 3.1 Abstract............................................................................................................52 3.2 Introduction......................................................................................................53 v 3.3 Background......................................................................................................55 3.3.1 Sediment Buffering in the Indus River..............................................55 3.3.2 Zanskar River Climate and Geology.................................................59 3.4 Methods............................................................................................................62 3.4.1 Field Observations and Sampling......................................................63 3.4.2 Sediment Petrography.......................................................................63 3.4.3 Detrital U-Pb Zircon Geochronology................................................67 3.4.4 Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating......................................72 3.4.5 Basin Morphology and Sediment Volumes.......................................75 3.5 Results..............................................................................................................81 3.5.1 Bulk Sediment Petrography...............................................................81 3.5.2 Detrital U-Pb Zircon Geochronology................................................81 3.5.3 Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating......................................82 3.5.4 Basin