Quaternary glaciations in central China (Li Siguang)
Glaciaciones cuaternarias en China central (Li Siguang)
- Date
- 1933-1947 · confidence medium
- Place
- Mount Lushan, Jiujiang, Jiangxi, China
- Credited to
- Li Siguang (J. S. Lee)
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
In the 1930s Li Siguang described tillite deposits, striated pebbles and U-shaped valleys on Mount Lushan, which he interpreted as traces of Quaternary glaciers in central and southern China, and argued that climate also changed at low latitudes. Later he proposed geomechanics, a theory of China's tectonic structures.
His interpretation of Lushan is now strongly questioned: many geologists attribute the deposits to debris flows rather than glaciers. The date is approximate: the first field report is from 1933 and the main study from 1937.
What it led to
- studies of the Chinese Quaternary and debate on the glaciations of eastern Asia
- geomechanics and oil prospecting in China