The critical geological events in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain during the Late Cenozoic

The uplift of the Tibetan Plateau since the Late Cenozoic has led to the important adjustment in the geomorphology patterns, paleoclimate systems and sedimentary systems in China.The unified drainage system was formed in the vast area from the eastern Tibetan plateau to marginal sea and the persistent sedimentation controlled by this drainage system resulted in the emergency of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain in the Eastern China.The critical geological events such as the uplift of the Taihang Mountain, subsidence of the continental shelf in the marginal sea, the connection of the Huang River and the large scale of transgression in the Late Quaternary profoundly changed the natural environment of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, which until now still affect the social and economic development and become an important concerned scientific issue.The study of these events is of great significance to the understanding of the formation and evolution of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain in the Late Cenozoic, and can also provide a theoretical basis for easing the current tense human-earth relationship in this area.The comprehensive analysis of the tectonic and geomorphic processes of the formation and development of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain in the late Cenozoic, the opening of the Yellow River and the transgression of the late Quaternary results in the following conclusions.The uplift of the Tibetan Plateau was the root causes for the formation of the present geomorphology and land-sea pattern of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain; the connection of the Huang River led to significant change of the earth surface processes, drainage evolution and source-sink processes in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain; three large scale transgression events in the coastal area and related land-sea interaction not only brought about the change of the sedimentary environment but also formed the special landscapes of deeply incised valley; the key time of the above critical geological events in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain is Miocene and Late Quaternary.This paper also summarized the problems in the study of the tectono-climatic interaction, the dynamic evolution of the geomorphology and chronology in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain.Urgent works should be carried out on the multidisciplinary and systematic research in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain.