A central issue when studying landscape evolution is to quantify the effect of surface processes on tectonic deformation. To address this question, we systematically examine the relationship between the late Cenozoic pattern of sedimentary dispersal system in the endorheic Qaidam Basin in the northern Tibetan Plateau and its spatiotemporal variation in hydrological conditions. At present, the depocenter of the Qaidam Basin is located in the southern Qaidam Basin, which correlates with the largest stream runoff, whereas smaller depressions are located in the northern Qaidam Basin owing to lower stream runoffs. The northwestern boundary without obvious runoff corresponds to large-scale modern erosion regions in the northwestern Qaidam Basin. Based on these findings, good spatiotemporal couplings between sedimentary depressions and hydrological conditions have been proved in the Qaidam Basin, indicating that the changing hydrological pattern in the basin-bounding ranges has played as a first-order role in controlling the Quaternary landscape evolution of the Qaidam Basin.

研究景观演化的一个核心问题是量化地表过程对构造变形的影响。为了解决这个问题，我们系统地考察了青藏高原北部内陆柴达木盆地晚新生代沉积扩散系统格局与其水文条件时空变化的关系。目前，柴达木盆地的沉积中心位于柴达木盆地南部，与最大的河流径流有关，而较小的洼地位于柴达木盆地北部，因为河流径流较低。无明显径流的西北边界对应柴达木盆地西北部大面积现代侵蚀区。基于这些发现，