Characteristics, multi-phase evolution and genesis of weathering pits in Qing Mountain, Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract

A total of 80 weathering pits (gnammas), located on granite surfaces of Qing Mountain (青山), Hexigten (克什克腾) Global Geopark, Inner Mongolia, were identified and measured in terms of dimensional and orientational features. This article attempts to extract characteristics of the weathering pits by descriptive statistics and orientation rose diagrams, investigate the multi-phase evolution by the modified gnamma morphological analysis (GMA) method, and shed new light on the possible genesis and the influencing factors. Following the modified GMA method, weathering pits in Qing Mountain have been divided into six groups and compared with analogous sites to deduce their approximate age, which might be no older than 30 ka B.P., and explore the possibility that the multi-phase evolution of weathering pits may arise from responses to climate change. In consequence, we suggest that the combination of weathering, especially salt weathering, and wind erosion, both of which are closely related to climatic variation, take the main responsibility for the formation and development of weathering pits in Qing Mountain.

Keywords

weathering pit / modified gnamma morphological analysis method / multi-phase evolution / genesis / Qing Mountain / Inner Mongolia

References

[1] Barnett V, Lewis T. Outliers in Statistical Data, 1994, 3th Ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 584.

[2] Bradley P S, Fayyad U M. Shavlik J. Refining Initial Points for K-Means Clustering. Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Machine Learning, San Francisco, 1998, 91-99.

[3] Cui Z J, Li H J, Nan L, . The Discovery of Giant Potholes in Hebei and Inner Mongolia, and the Chifeng Air Duct. Chinese Science Bulletin, 1999, 44(13): 1429-1434.

[4] Domínguez-Villar D. Early Formation of Gnammas (Weathering Pits) in a Recently Glaciated Area of Torres Del Paine, Southern Patagonia (Chile). Geomorphology, 2006, 76: 137-147.

[5] Domínguez-Villar D, Arteaga C, García-Giménez R, . Diurnal and Seasonal Water Variations of Temperature, pH, Redox Potential and Conductivity in Gnammas (Weathering Pits): Implication for Chemical Weathering. Journal of Arid Environments, 2008, 72: 37-48.

[6] Domínguez-Villar D, Jennings C E. Multi-Phase Evolution of Gnammas (Weathering Pits) in a Holocene Deglacial Granite Landscape, Minnesota (USA). Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 2008, 33: 165-177.

[7] Domínguez-Villar D, Razola L, Carrasco R M, . Weathering Phases Recorded by Gnammas Developed since Last Glaciation at Serra da Estrela, Portugal. Quaternary Research, 2009, 72: 218-228.

[8] Etienne S. The Role of Biological Weathering in Periglacial Areas: A Study of Weathering Rinds in South Iceland. Geomorphology, 2002, 47: 75-86.

[9] Fahey B D. Weathering Pit Development in the Central Otago Mountain of Southern New Zealand. Arctic and Alpine Research, 1986, 18(3): 337-348.

[10] Goudie A S, Viles H A. Salt Weathering Hazards, 1997 Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 256.

[11] Guan Y Y, Wang Y, Yao P Y, . Environmental Evolution since the Holocene in the Haolaihure Ancient Lake, Keshiketengqi, Inner Mongolia. Geological Bulletin of China, 2010, 29(6): 891-900.

[12] Guglielmin M, Cannone N, Strini A, . Biotic and Abiotic Processes on Granite Weathering Landforms in a Cryotic Environment, Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 2005, 16: 69-85.

[13] Hall A M, André M F. New Insights into Rock Weathering from High-Frequency Rock Temperature Data: an Antarctic Study of Weathering by Thermal Stress. Geomorphology, 2001, 41: 23-55.

[14] Hall A M, Phillips W M. Weathering Pits as Indicators of the Relative Age of Granite Surfaces in the Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 2006, 88: 135-150.

[15] Hall K, Arocena J M, Boelhouwers J, . The Influence of Aspect on the Biological Weathering of Granites: Observations from the Kunlun Mountains, China. Geomorphology, 2005, 67: 171-188.

[16] Han T L. Moulin Discovered, 2004 Beijing: Huaxia Publishing House, 190.

[17] Han T L. An Argument with Academician Shi Yafeng on the Genesis of Glacial Potholes Formed by Granite Negative Spheroidal Weathering. Geological Review, 2010, 56(4): 538-542.

[18] Han T L, Lao X, Guo K Y. Rare Moulin Swarms Discovered in the Medium-Low Mountains Areas in Hebei and Inner Mongolia. Geological Review, 1999, 45(5): 456-462.

[19] Huggett R J. Fundamentals of Geomorphology, 2011, 3th Ed. New York: Routledge, 516.

[20] Inner Mongolia Tenth Geological Mineral Explorations Institute 1: 50 000 Regional Geological Surveys in Hexigten, 1998

[21] Kusky T M, Zhai M G. The Neoarchean Ophiolite in the North China Craton: Early Precambrian Plate Tectonics and Scientific Debate. Journal of Earth Science, 2012, 23(3): 277-284.

[22] Lee M R, Parsons I. Biomechanical and Biochemical Weathering of Lichen-Encrusted Granite: Textural Controls on Organic-Mineral Interactions and Deposition of Silica-Rich Layers. Chemical Geology, 1999, 161: 385-397.

[23] Li H J, Cui Z J, Zhao L. Origin of Pots in Inner Mongolia and Northern Hebei—Also about the Classification of Pots. Acta Geographica Sinica, 2001, 56(2): 223-231.

[24] Lü H B. On the Melt Water Origin of Potholes Found on Granite Ridges—A Consultation with Academician Shi Yafeng. Geological Review, 2010, 56(5): 693-700.

[25] Lü H B, Ren X H, Xu M, . An Argument on the Genesis of Potholes Formed by Differential Weathering or Wind Deflation. Geological Review, 2008, 54(2): 192-198.

[26] Lü H B, Ren X H, Yang C. Landform Evidences of Quaternary Continental Glaciation in Chifeng and Vicinity Areas, North of China. Geological Review, 2006, 52(3): 379-384.

[27] MacQueen J. Some Methods for Classification and Analysis of Multivariate Observations. Proceedings of the Fifth Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical Statistics and Probability, Berkeley., 1976, 1: 281-297.

[28] Migoń P, Goudie A S. Granite Landform of the Central Namib. Acta Universitatis Carolinae, (Suppl.), 2000, 17-38.

[29] Migoń P. Granite Landscapes of the World, 2007 New York: Oxford University Press, 384.

[30] Mooi E, Sarstedt M. A Concise Guide to Market Research—The Process, Data, and Methods Using IBM SPSS Statistics, 2011 Heidelberg: Springer, 308

[31] Razali N M, Wah Y B. Power Comparisons of Shapiro-Wilk, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Lilliefors and Anderson-Darling Tests. Journal of Statistical Modeling and Analytics, 2011, 2(1): 21-33.

[32] Shi Y F. Comments on the Moulin Argument Provided by Mr. Han Tonglin: A Misunderstanding of Granite Negative Spheroidal Weathering. Geological Review, 2010, 56(3): 349-354.

[33] Shi Y F. The Possibility of Glacier Development in East China during Quaternary. Geological Review, 2011, 57(1): 44-49.

[34] Shi Y F, Cui Z J, Su Z. The Quaternary Glaciations and Environmental Variations in China, 2005 Shijiazhuang: Hebei Scientific & Technical Publishers, 618.

[35] Smith L L. Weather Pits in Granite of the Southern Piedmont. Journal of Geomorphology, 1941, 4: 117-127.

[36] Sun H Y, Tian M Z, Wu F D, . Discovery and Significance of Quaternary Glacial Vestiges in the Hexigten Area of the Southern Da Hinggan Mountains, Inner Mongolia. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition), 2005, 79: 401-406.

[37] Sun H Y, Tian M Z, Wu F D. Characteristics and Origin of Granite Mortars in the Hexigten World Geopark. Geological Review, 2007, 53: 486-490.

[38] Teng M Y. Study on GIS-Based Environmental Archaeology in Chifeng Area, 2009 Beijing: Science Press, 241.

[39] Twidale C R. Granite Landforms, 1982 Amsterdam: Elsevier, 372.

[40] Twidale C R. Granite Landform Evolution: Factors and Implications. Geologische Rundschau, 1986, 75(3): 769-779.

[41] Twidale C R, Vidal-Romaní J R. Landforms and Geology of Granite Terrains, 2005 London: Taylor & Francis Group, 351

[42] Vidal-Romaní J R, Twidale C R. Structural or Climatic Control in Granite Landforms? The Development of Sheet Structure, Foliation, Boudinage, and Related Features. Coruña, 2010, 35: 189-208.

[43] Wang Y, Wang S B, Zhao Z Z, . Vegetation and Environmental Changes in Hexiqten Qi of Inner Mongolia in the Past 16 000 Years. Acta Geoscientica Sinica, 2005, 26(5): 449-453.

[44] Watts S H. Weathering Processes and Products under Arid Arctic Conditions: A Study from Ellesmere. Geografiska Annaler, Series A, Physical Geography, 1983, 65(1–2): 85-98.

[45] Wu C. Pothole-a Mark of Fluvial Erosion on Ancient Landform: Discuss with Han Tonglin about Moulin of Northern North China in the Book of <Moulin Discovery>. Geography and Geo-Information Science, 2007, 23(3): 74-77.

[46] Wu C, Xu Q H, Zhao Y X, . A Study on Multi-Original Potholes in North China Mountain Regions—A Discussion on “Glacial Potholes” and Other “Glacial Landforms” in North China Mountain Regions. Geological Review, 2012, 58(2): 319-325.

[47] Yang G F, Wu F D, Ge Z L, . Paleoclimate Variations Inferred from Organic Carbon Isotopic Composition in Hetao Plain in North China since Late Glacial Period. Journal of Earth Science, 2010, 21: 274-276.

[48] Zhang Y X, Liu L. Pothole on Hilltops is not the Evidence for Quaternary Glacier in Eastern China. Science & Technology Review, 2011, 29(33): 62-68.

[49] Zhu W. The Geological Characteristics and Tectonic Significance of Late Mesozoic Granites of Hexigten in Inner Mongolia: [Dissertation], 2010 Taiyuan: Taiyuan University of Technology, 1-75.

[50] Zhu W, Li L, Wang E W. Discussion on the Geneses of Granite Mortars in Hexigten Banner’s Qingshan Geopark in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Sci.-Tech. Information Development & Economy, 2010, 21(7): 192-194.