Palaeodrainage basin, as an important component of the source-to-sink system, contains critical information on provenance and palaeoenvironment. Previous studies indicate that the scaling relationships of source-to-sink system components generally follow power laws, and channel-belt thickness represents a reliable first-order proxy for the drainage area. In this study, a database of borehole cores and geophysical well logs of the Jurassic coal measures from Saishiteng area in the northern Qaidam Basin was used to reconstruct the palaeogeography, and to identify single-story channel-belts. Three palaeochannels, namely, River A, River B and River C, were identified which were persistent throughout the Dameigou and Shimengou Formations during the Middle Jurassic. The mean channel-belt thicknesses of River A, River B and River C in the Dameigou Formation were 9.8 m, 8.9 m and 7.9 m, respectively, and those in the Shimengou Formation were 7.4 m, 6.2 m and 5.4 m, respectively. We estimate the drainage area of three major rivers by using scaling relationships between drainage area and channel-belt thickness. The drainage areas of River A, River B and River C in the Dameigou Formation were 63.0 × 103 km2, 50.1 × 103 km2 and 37.7 × 103 km2, respectively, and those in the Shimengou Formation were 32.3 × 103 km2, 21.2 × 103 km2 and 15.3 × 103 km2, respectively. The drainage basin lengths of River A, River B and River C in the Dameigou Formation were 300.4 km, 239 km and 180.2 km, respectively, and those in the Shimengou Formation were 154.3 km, 101.3 km and 73.1 km, respectively. For both the Dameigou and Shimengou Formations, River A showed the largest scale, followed by River B and River C succeedingly, which was mainly determined by the stretch direction of provenance in the southern Qilian Mountains. The variations of channel-belt thickness, drainage area and drainage basin length between Dameigou and Shimengou Formations are the response of source-to-sink system to the transformation from extension to compression depression during the Middle Jurassic in the northern Qaidam Basin.

中文翻译：

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河道带标度关系在柴达木盆地北部赛什腾地区中侏罗统源汇系统中的应用

古流域作为源汇系统的重要组成部分，包含着物源和古环境的重要信息。先前的研究表明，源汇系统组件的比例关系通常遵循幂律，通道带厚度代表了流域面积的可靠一阶代理。本研究利用柴达木盆地北部赛什腾地区侏罗系煤系钻孔岩心和地球物理测井数据库重建古地理，识别单层河道带。在中侏罗世，在大梅沟组和石门沟组中发现了 3 条古河道，即 A 河、B 河和 C 河。A河平均河带厚度，大梅沟组B河、C河分别为9.8 m、8.9 m和7.9 m，石门沟组分别为7.4 m、6.2 m和5.4 m。我们利用流域面积与河道带厚度之间的比例关系估算了三大河流的流域面积。大梅沟组A河、B河、C河流域面积分别为63.0×103 km2、50.1×103 km2和37.7×103 km2，石门沟组流域面积为32.3×103 km2、21.2×103 km2和 15.3 × 103 平方公里，分别。大梅沟组A河、B河、C河流域长度分别为300.4 km、239 km和180.2 km，石门沟组流域长度分别为154.3 km、101.3 km和73.1 km。对于大梅沟组和石门沟组，A河规模最大，B河次之，C河次之，这主要是由祁连山南部物源的伸展方向决定的。大梅沟组和石门沟组河道带厚度、流域面积和流域长度的变化是柴北缘中侏罗统由源汇系统向压陷转变的响应。