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Monsoonal control on a delayed response of sedimentation to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

Zhang, Fei; Jin, Zhangdong; West, A. Joshua; An, Zhisheng; Hilton, Robert G.; Wang, Jin; Li, Gen; Densmore, Alexander L.; Yu, Jimin; Qiang, Xiaoke; Sun, Youbin; Li, Liangbo; Gou, Longfei; Xu, Yang; Xu, Xinwen; Liu, Xingxing; Pan, Yanhui; You, Chen-Feng

Monsoonal control on a delayed response of sedimentation to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake Thumbnail


Authors

Fei Zhang

Zhangdong Jin

A. Joshua West

Zhisheng An

Robert G. Hilton

Jin Wang

Gen Li

Jimin Yu

Xiaoke Qiang

Youbin Sun

Liangbo Li

Longfei Gou

Yang Xu

Xinwen Xu

Xingxing Liu

Yanhui Pan

Chen-Feng You



Abstract

Infrequent extreme events such as large earthquakes pose hazards and have lasting impacts on landscapes and biogeochemical cycles. Sediments provide valuable records of past events, but unambiguously identifying event deposits is challenging because of nonlinear sediment transport processes and poor age control. Here, we have been able to directly track the propagation of a tectonic signal into stratigraphy using reservoir sediments from before and after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Cycles in magnetic susceptibility allow us to define a precise annual chronology and identify the timing and nature of the earthquake’s sedimentary record. The grain size and Rb/Sr ratio of the sediments responded immediately to the earthquake. However, the changes were muted until 2 years after the event, when intense monsoonal runoff drove accumulation of coarser grains and lower Rb/Sr sediments. The delayed response provides insight into how climatic and tectonic agents interact to control sediment transfer and depositional processes.

Citation

Zhang, F., Jin, Z., West, A. J., An, Z., Hilton, R. G., Wang, J., …You, C. (2019). Monsoonal control on a delayed response of sedimentation to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Science Advances, 5(6), https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav7110

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 9, 2019
Online Publication Date Jun 5, 2019
Publication Date Jun 5, 2019
Deposit Date Jun 27, 2019
Publicly Available Date Jun 27, 2019
Journal Science Advances
Publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 5
Issue 6
DOI https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav7110

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).





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