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Lake Ayakum, China/Tibet (NASA, International Space Station, 04/25/11)
Image by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
River deltas and Lake Ayakum in China (Tibet) are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 27 crew member on the International Space Station. The Tibetan Plateau consists of quite a few lakes that dot an otherwise arid landscape. Lake Ayakum is positioned near the northern boundary of the Plateau to the southeast of the Kunlun Mountains. While several of the modest glacier- and snowmelt-fed streams that cross the Tibetan Plateau at some point give rise to main Southeast Asian rivers which includes the Mekong and Yangtze, some empty into saline lakes such as Lake Ayakum. This detailed photograph highlights two river deltas (upper left and lower correct) formed along the southwestern shoreline of the lake. When sediments develop up to the point that a river can no longer flow over them, it will jump to a new channel position and start the process anew. Scientists have noted that, more than geologic time, the channels tend to sweep back and forth — similar to the motion of an automobile windshield wiper — to kind the common semi-circular or fan shape of the delta. Gray to tan surfaces of both deltas indicate prior positions of their respective river channels the uniform coloration and smooth texture recommend that they are comparatively old and are now inactive. In contrast, the younger and at the moment active delta surfaces can be recognized by reddish-brown sediment and clearly visible river channels. Lateral channel migration is particularly evident in the roughly eight-kilometer-wide active delta region at upper left. The reddish coloration of the actively depositing sediment might indicate a modify from the sources that formed the older parts of the deltas (or indicate weathering and soil formation on the older deposits), or an episodic input of dust or other material to the river catchments.
Image credit: NASA
Original image:
spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/pictures/station/crew-27/html/…
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www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/analysis/index.html
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