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Fluvial incision caused irreversible environmental degradation of an ancient city in the Mu Us Desert, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2020

Penghui Wen ,
Nai'ang Wang Open the ORCID record for Nai'ang Wang [Opens in a new window] ,
Yixin Wang ,
Yinzhou Huang ,
Hongyi Cheng  and
Tonghui He
Penghui Wen
Affiliation:
College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Center for Glacier and Desert Research, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
Nai'ang Wang*
Affiliation:
College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Center for Glacier and Desert Research, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
Yixin Wang
Affiliation:
College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Center for Glacier and Desert Research, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
Yinzhou Huang
Affiliation:
College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Center for Glacier and Desert Research, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
Hongyi Cheng
Affiliation:
College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Center for Glacier and Desert Research, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
Tonghui He
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory for Restoration and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystem, Ministry of Education/Breeding Base of State Key Laboratory for Preventing Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration, Ningxia University, Yinchuan750021, China
*
*Corresponding author at: College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Center for Glacier and Desert Research, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China. E-mail address: [email protected]; [email protected] (N. Wang).
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Abstract

Ancient cities are excellent spatiotemporal indicators for the study of historical human activities and environmental change. The ancient city of Sanchahe is located at the southern margin of the Mu Us Desert, China. It is an ideal location for studying the complex relationships between historical desertification and human activities. Field observations of the ancient city walls, a well, and a spring, as well as 14C dating, grain size, spatial analysis of archaeological sites, and analyses of historical seismicity, indicated that neotectonics may have contributed to crustal uplift and accelerated fluvial incision of the Wuding River. This rapid incision caused a decline in groundwater levels, which is an important reason for the irreversible environmental degradation around Sanchahe city over the past 800 yr. This study provides new evidence for such environmental degradation and may contribute to a better understanding of historical desertification in the Mu Us Desert.

Keywords

Environmental degradationFluvial incisionGroundwater declineMu Us DesertSanchahe
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 99 , January 2021 , pp. 1 - 13
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Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020

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