Optical dating of landslide-dammed lake deposits in the upper Yellow River, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

Two large landslides, Dehenglong and Suozi, blocked the upper Yellow River from Longyang Gorge to Liujia Gorge on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. This research is significant because no relevant chronologies for this landslide-dammed lake had been reported. Twelve OSL samples were collected from the lacustrine sediments of the landslide-dammed lake deposited on both banks of the upper Yellow River. Samples yielded similar ages of ca. 80 ka. The Dehenglong landslide and Suozi landslide are thus inferred to be triggered by ca. 80 ka tectonic movements.