Oscillation of mineral compositions in Core SG-1b, western Qaidam Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau

Fang, Xiaomin; Li, Minghui; Wang, Zhengrong; Wang, Jiuyi; Li, Jiao; Liu, Xiaoming; Zan, Jinbo

doi:10.1038/srep32848

Cited by 25 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Increases in the medium-coarse silt and sand fractions in the respective core intervals indicate lake-level drops, and by extension, a prevalence of drier conditions (Lu et al, 2015). This finding is further supported by the coeval deposition of evaporites in the SG-1b core (Fang et al, 2016). On a supraregional scale, synchronous transitions towards drier conditions in Central Asia are also documented for the Chinese Loess Plateau and the Pacific Ocean.…”

Section: Principal Component Analysismentioning

confidence: 61%

Late Pliocene vegetation turnover on the NE Tibetan Plateau (Central Asia) triggered by early Northern Hemisphere glaciation

Koutsodendris

Allstädt

Kern

et al. 2019

Global and Planetary Change

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To reconstruct the timing and underlying forcing of major shifts in the composition of terrestrial ecosystems in arid Central Asia during the late Cenozoic (past ~7 Ma), we carry out palynological analysis of lake sediments from the Qaidam Basin (NE 2 Tibetan Plateau, China). Our results show that the steppe/semi-desert biomes dominating the Qaidam Basin experienced marked turnovers at ~3.6 and 3.3 Ma. Most notably, the younger of these turnover events is characterized by a two-to threefold expansion of Artemisia at the expense of other steppe/semi-desert taxa. This turnover event led to the replacement of the Ephedraceae/Chenopodiaceaedominated and Nitraria-rich steppe/semi-deserts that were dominant in the Qaidam Basin during the Paleogene and abundant during the Miocene by Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae-dominated steppe/semi-deserts as they exist until today. The vegetation turnover events are synchronous with shifts towards drier conditions in Central Asia as documented in climate records from the Chinese Loess Plateau and the Central North Pacific Ocean. On a global scale, they can be correlated to early glaciation events in the Northern Hemisphere during the Pliocene. Integration of our palynological data from the Qaidam Basin with Northern Hemisphere climateproxy and regional-scale tectonic information suggests that the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau posed ecological pressure on Central Asian plant communities, which made them susceptible to the effects of early Northern Hemisphere glaciations during the late Pliocene. Although these glaciations were relatively small in comparison to their Pleistocene counterparts, the transition towards drier/colder conditions pushed previously existing plant communities beyond their tolerance limits, thereby causing a fundamental reorganization of arid ecosystems. The Artemisia dominance since ~3.3 Ma resulting from this reorganization marks a point in time after which the Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae pollen ratio can serve as a reliable indicator for moisture availability in Central Asia.

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Section: Principal Component Analysismentioning

confidence: 61%

Late Pliocene vegetation turnover on the NE Tibetan Plateau (Central Asia) triggered by early Northern Hemisphere glaciation

Koutsodendris

Allstädt

Kern

et al. 2019

Global and Planetary Change

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“…(c) Huatugou halite content record (Luo et al, ). (d) Aragonite content record from the SG1 core in the western Qaidam Basin (Fang et al, ). (e) CaCO 3 content record from Ls2 drilling cores in the Lop Nor in the Tarim Basin (Liu et al, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Qaidam Basin, the aragonite content from the nearby SG1 core (Figures and ) shows a clear increase at ~3.3 Ma. Aragonite is a type of carbonate minerals deposited during strong evaporation phase, and its content increase indicates drying climate in the Qaidam Basin (Fang et al, ). Our data are also consistent with an observed change from wetter fluvial/overbank strata to playa‐lacustrine and evaporite strata in the northeastern Qaidam Basin at 3.3 Ma (Heermance et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of halite throughout the section indicates that the lake was persistently shallow (i.e., playa), and therefore lake (Luo et al, 2018). (d) Aragonite content record from the SG1 core in the western Qaidam Basin (Fang et al, 2016). (e) CaCO 3 content record from Ls2 drilling cores in the Lop Nor in the Tarim Basin (Liu et al, 2014).…”

Section: Environmental Implications Of χ Fd /Hirm and Grain Size Varimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Central Asian Drying at 3.3 Ma Linked to Tropical Forcing?

Nie

Meng

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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The processes controlling middle‐latitude environmental changes are poorly understood. Both high‐latitude ice sheets and tropical oceans can affect climate and environments in middle latitudes, but separating their relative contribution is challenging. Coincidence of intensive Northern Hemisphere glaciations and increased dust accumulation rates at ~2.7 Ma on the Chinese Loess Plateau and North Pacific Ocean is often used to indicate high latitudes' dominant role on middle‐latitude climate change. Here we present new and compile available evidence from the Qaidam Basin and the Tarim Basin of central Asia demonstrating a phase of drying at ~3.3 Ma. The drying is synchronous with proposed timing of closure of the Indonesian Seaway, which has been suggested to cause significant oceanic surface heat adjustments and corresponding decreased heat and moisture transport to middle/high latitudes. These new results suggest a tropical forcing of aridification for the late Pliocene central Asian environmental evolution.

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“…Paleogeographic studies (Chen and Bowler, 1986;Huang et al, 1993;Mischke et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2012;Fang et al, 2016) on the intermontane endorheic Qaidam Basin (QB), located in China's desert region in the north of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), revealed that it once contained a mega-lake system during the mid-Pliocene (ca. 3.3-3.0 Ma BP) and before.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival of the Qaidam mega-lake system under mid-Pliocene climates and its restoration under future climates

Scherer

2020

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. The Qaidam Basin in the north of the Tibetan Plateau has undergone drastic environmental changes during the last millions of years. During the Pliocene, the Qaidam Basin contained a freshwater mega-lake system although the surrounding regions showed increasingly arid climates. With the onset of the Pleistocene glaciations, lakes began to shrink and finally disappeared almost completely. Today, hyperarid climate conditions prevail in the low-altitude parts of the Qaidam Basin. The question of how the mega-lake system was able to withstand the regional trend of aridification for millions of years has remained enigmatic so far. This study reveals that the mean annual water balance, i.e. the mean annual change in terrestrial water storage in the Qaidam Basin, is nearly zero under present climate conditions due to positive values of net precipitation in the high mountain ranges and shows positive annual values during warmer, less dry years. This finding provides a physically based explanation for how mid-Pliocene climates could have sustained the mega-lake system and that near-future climates not much different from present conditions could cause water storage in reservoirs, raising lake levels and expanding lake areas, and may even result in restoration of the mega-lake system over geological timescales. The study reveals that a region discussed as being an analogue to Mars due to its hyperarid environments is at a threshold under present climate conditions and may switch from negative values of long-term mean annual water balance that have prevailed during the last 2.6 million years to positive ones in the near future.

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Oscillation of mineral compositions in Core SG-1b, western Qaidam Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 25 publications

References 40 publications

Late Pliocene vegetation turnover on the NE Tibetan Plateau (Central Asia) triggered by early Northern Hemisphere glaciation

Late Pliocene vegetation turnover on the NE Tibetan Plateau (Central Asia) triggered by early Northern Hemisphere glaciation

Central Asian Drying at 3.3 Ma Linked to Tropical Forcing?

Survival of the Qaidam mega-lake system under mid-Pliocene climates and its restoration under future climates

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