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Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions ›› 2021, Vol. 13 ›› Issue (2): 167-176.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2021.20095

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Possible controlling factors in the development of seasonal sand wedges on the Ordos Plateau, North China

Hugh M. French1,Jef Vandenberghe2(),HuiJun Jin3,4(),RuiXia He4   

  1. 1.Departments of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Department of Geography, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
    2.Institute of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    3.School of Civil Engineering, Institute of Cold-Regions Engineering, Science and Technology, Northeast-China Observatory and Research-Station of Permafrost Geo-Environment-Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China
    4.State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soils Engineering and Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
  • Received:2020-11-03 Accepted:2021-04-02 Online:2021-04-30 Published:2021-05-11
  • Contact: Jef Vandenberghe,HuiJun Jin E-mail:jef.vandenberghe@vu.nl;hjjin@nefu.edu.cn
  • About author:Deceased

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Abstract:

Wedge-like structures filled with silty sand penetrate Quaternary fluvial and aeolian sediments and, in places, Tertiary bedrock on the Ordos Plateau, North China. The wedges reflect thermal contraction cracking of either permafrost or seasonal frost during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Wedges of about 1 m in depth form polygonal nets of 2-3 m in diameter (type B). They contrast with wedges of 3-4 m in depth that form polygons of 10-15 m in diameter (type A). This review focuses upon the highly variable size of the inferred polygon nets and discusses the problem of differentiating between seasonally and perennially frozen ground, or between seasonal frost and permafrost.

Key words: frozen ground, sand-wedge casts, frost fissures, thermal contraction cracking, seasonal frost cracking, desiccation cracking

Figure 1

Map showing (a) location of the Ordos Plateau, Inner Mongolia, China, and (b) location of the city of Dongsheng (Ordos City), northern Ordos1) The extents of modern permafrost that probably existed during the local Last Glacial Maximum are after Zhao et al. (2014) and Jin et al. (2019, 2020); 2) The proposed boundary of the continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones of the Last Permafrost Maximum (LPM) is indicated in Figure 6b in green; 3) The proposed boundary of discontinuous permafrost and deep seasonal frost, as determined by Vandenberghe et al. (2019, 2020), is also indicated in Figure 6b in red, and; 4) The official review code for this map is GS(2020)4634"

Figure 2

Examples of Late Pleistocene sand wedges of type A in the vicinity of Dongsheng, Ordos Plateaua) A typical wedge, viewed in a near-true section, is about 0.4 to 0.5 m wide near the surface and penetrates about 2.8 m below the ground surface. The upper 1 m of the near-surface sediments is evidently frost-disturbed. The stratigraphic contact at a depth of about 1.0 m probably indicates the position of the paleo-permafrost table (stippled line), which is also characterized by the presence of an indurated and oxidized layer ("fragipan"). The yellowish-brown fill in the wedge is the youngest aeolian sand (at the top of the section in Figure 4), mixed with a few pebbles derived from the desert pavement associated with the aeolian activity (the spade shown is 60 cm long); b) An exposure of weathered and dipping Tertiary-age sandstone is penetrated by two sand wedges, one of which is exemplified in the photo. The cracking extends 2 to 4 m into the underlying bedrock. Here, the wedges are viewed in an oblique section. The upper 1.5 m of the wedges represents the younger type B wedge. The fill of the wedges is identical as in photo 2a (the piece of paper is 30 cm long). Note the clear, upturned strata at the right and left sides of the wedge above the piece of paper. Both photos by Jef Vandenberghe on 17 June 2015"

Figure 3

Examples of Early Holocene seasonal-frost cracks (wedges) of type B in the vicinity of Dongsheng, Ordos Plateaua) A silt wedge, about 1.5 m deep. The width is variable, remarkably wider near the surface but abruptly changing to about 15 cm at depths below 60 cm. The spade is 150 cm long. Note the clear upturning structures at the right side of the wedge. Photo by Jef Vandenberghe; b) A silt wedge, viewed in an oblique section, abruptly terminates at a depth of about 100 cm. Photo by Hugh M. French on 16 June 2015"

Figure 4

Schematic diagram illustrating the near-surface lithostratigraphy and inferred paleo-cryostratigraphy observed in the Dongsheng (Ordos City) region (See also Vandenberghe et al., 2019 for more details)1) Large sand wedges (type A) penetrate units 1-4 and are indicative of permafrost. OSL-dating of such large wedges points to an LPM age (23-19 ka B.P.) (Vandenberghe et al. 2019). Large amplitude cryoturbations in unit 2 are probably indicative of an earlier period of permafrost. A desert pavement truncates the cryoturbations; 2) Smaller wedges (type B) are indicative of seasonal frost and/or desiccation cracking. They appear to be slightly younger than the type A wedges and date from LPM to early Holocene; 3) Sedimentary units are: a) Units 0-1: fine-grained aeolian sand; b) Units 2-4: medium-to-coarse sand and gravel"

Figure 5

Part of a polygon network of type B wedges formed during the early Holocene on the Ordos Plateau, China. The polygon network was excavated on June 17, 2015. The rod is subdivided into alternating yellow and white sections of 1 m long. Photo by Jef Vandenberghe"

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