Chuanqi He

• PhD
• Associate Professor at Sun Yat-sen University

One of the most conspicuous features of a mountain belt is the main drainage divide. Divide location is influenced by a number of parameters, including tectonic uplift and horizontal advection. Thus, the topography of mountain belts can be used as an archive to extract tectonic information. Here we combine numerical landscape evolution modelling an...

Normal fault linkage has significant impacts on uplift patterns and erosional processes in extensional regions. However, geomorphic process-based constraints on landscape response to normal fault linkage are still scarce. Here, we use landscape evolution models to examine how a landscape responds to the linkage of two normal faults. The results dem...

Bedrock river lateral erosion plays a crucial role in landscape evolution, sediment transport and deposition, and the occurrence of geohazards. Fluvial erosion of massive rock is largely driven by impacts of bedload particles, which also drives crack propagation to prepare blocks for plucking. In straight channels, bedload particles generally move...

Drainage divides separate Earth’s surface into individual river basins. Divide migration impacts the evolution of landforms, regional climate, ecosystems and biodiversity. In this Review, we assess the processes and dynamics of divide migration and offer insights into the impact on climate and biodiversity. Drainage divides are not static: they can...

Drainage basins delineate Earth's land surface into individual water collection units. Basin shape and river sinuosity determine water and sediment dynamics, affecting landscape evolution and connectivity between ecosystems and freshwater species. However, a high-resolution global dataset for the boundaries and geometry of basins is still missing....

Mountain‐building events often initiate fluvial erosion waves that usually propagate upstream. Previous studies have delved into the erosion wave, manifested as knickpoint migration, presuming a spatially consistent uplift of plateaus. However, the expansion of plateaus can spatially result in spatially variable rock uplift rates across different r...

The growth history of the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP) is enigmatic, with debates on when and how the NETP significantly uplifted. Here, we use a numerical landscape evolution model to quantitatively investigate the ∼20 Ma growth history of the NETP by studying the formation history of the upstream Yellow River (UYR). The long‐term growth hi...

The reorganization of the drainage system is a crucial process on the Earth's surface. However, there is insufficient understanding of the process and driving mechanism of the reorganization of the mountainous drainage system. Here we demonstrate an example of tectonic subsidence-induced drainage reorganizations between the two largest tributaries...

The growth history of the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP) is enigmatic, with debates on when and how the NETP significantly uplifted. Here, we use a numerical landscape evolution model to quantitatively investigate the ~20 Ma growth history of the NETP by studying the formation history of the upstream Yellow River (UYR). Compared to the observe...

Drainage basins delineate the Earth’s land surface into individual water collection units. Basin shape and river sinuosity determine water and sediment dynamics, affecting landscape evolution and connectivity between ecosystems and freshwater species. However, a high-resolution global dataset for the boundaries and geometry of basins is still missi...

Fold-and-thrust belts (FTBs) develop widely in and around active orogenic belts on Earth. With the accumulation of structural shortening, thrust-related folds can grow by increasing their amplitudes and lengths, providing insights into the structural evolution of FTBs. Investigations of fold growth patterns and landscape responses through time and...

The landscapes on Earth are shaped by the interaction of tectonics and erosion processes and thus is a recorder for past tectonic and climatic histories. A recently proposed geomorphologic index for fluvial landscape, χ, can indicate the drainage divide migration from the smaller‐χ‐value side to the other and provide a quick estimation of the dynam...

The Tian Shan is one of the largest and most active intracontinental mountain belts, and its active deformation has attracted much scientific attention. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of active deformation in the most complex, eastern Tian Shan through the analysis of focal mechanism solutions since 1976, velocity vectors of 25...

The tectonic activity and potential for linkage of adjacent active faults are crucial for seismic assessment. As the two largest faults that bound the Weihe Graben (central China), the Qinling Northern Piedmont Fault (QNF, ~200 km) and the Huashan Piedmont Fault (HPF, ~150 km) are mainly responsible for seismic risk in this densely-populated area,...

Although rotation of fault blocks during seismic and long-term periods has long been recognized in extensional tectonic regimes, the geometry and kinematic behaviors of normal faults at outcrop scale have scarcely been investigated in sufficient detail. In this study, combining with the analysis of high-resolution topography acquired by small unman...

Drainage divides play significant roles in shaping landscapes. Nevertheless, they are not static through space and time. Previous numerical models have demonstrated divide motions in response to asymmetric tectonic uplift. However, natural examples that have nicely recorded these processes and hence could verify the results of numerical simulations...

Segmentation, propagation, and linkage of normal faults often occur in regions of active extension, and observations of the distribution and structural properties of segment boundaries can provide important insights for seismic hazard assessment. In this study, we carry out quantitative geomorphological analysis to evaluate the relative tectonic ac...

The northwestern margin of the Hetao Graben, North China, is bounded by a pronounced 160-km-long Langshan Piedmont fault (LPF). The kinematics and recent tectonic activity of this rift-border fault and its accommodated extensional strain can help us better assess the seismic potentials. In this study, on the basis of high-resolution satellite image...

The Cenozoic graben systems around the tectonically stable Ordos Block, central China, have been considered as ideal places for investigating active deformation within continental rifts, such as the Weihe Graben at the southern margin with high historical seismicity (e.g., 1556 M ~ 8.5 Huaxian great earthquake). However, previous investigations hav...