A 2700-year high resolution pollen record of climate change from varved Sugan Lake in the Qaidam Basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Zhang, Ke; Zhao, Yan; Yu, Zicheng; Zhou, Aifeng

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.08.008

Cited by 23 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…According to the age-depth model, the sedimentary rates of BSCW-1 ranged from 0.38 to 0.67 cm yr −1 with an average of 0.51 cm yr −1 . Compared with other well-dated lacustrine records for the TP 19 20 21 , the sedimentary rates of Basomtso Lake during the past millennium were much higher. The higher sedimentary rate in Basomtso Lake is related to the high sediment yield from glacier activity as well as the high fluvial runoff fed by glacier melt water and precipitation.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 63%

Rapid climate fluctuations over the past millennium: evidence from a lacustrine record of Basomtso Lake, southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Liu

Herzschuh

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abrupt climate changes and fluctuations over short time scales are superimposed on long-term climate changes. Understanding rapid climate fluctuations at the decadal time scale over the past millennium will enhance our understanding of patterns of climate variability and aid in forecasting climate changes in the future. In this study, climate changes on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau over the past millennium were determined from a 4.82-m-long sediment core from Basomtso Lake. At the centennial time scale, the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), Little Ice Age (LIA) and Current Warm Period (CWP) are distinct in the Basomtso region. Rapid climate fluctuations inferred from five episodes with higher sediment input and likely warmer conditions, as well as seven episodes with lower sediment input and likely colder conditions, were well preserved in our record. These episodes with higher and lower sediment input are characterized by abrupt climate changes and short time durations. Spectral analysis indicates that the climate variations at the centennial scale on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau are influenced by solar activity during the past millennium.

show abstract

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 63%

Rapid climate fluctuations over the past millennium: evidence from a lacustrine record of Basomtso Lake, southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Liu

Herzschuh

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The soil moisture, vegetation cover, and snow cover seem to have negligible impacts on dust emission [ Qiang et al ., ]. Fossil pollen assemblages from the Lake Sugan sediments are dominated by Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia (70% on average) throughout the interval dated by counting annual laminations [ Zhang et al ., ]. Pollen spectra dominated by herbaceous species are also reported from Lake Gasikule in the western Qaidam Basin [ Phillips et al ., ]; however, the pollen grains probably originated from the small riparian area where rivers flow into the lake.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 2000‐year dust storm record from Lake Sugan in the dust source area of arid China

et al. 2013

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Arid northwestern China is considered to be a major source of atmospheric dust supply to the Northern Hemisphere. However, dust storm evolution and dust emission processes in the past remain unclear due to the scarcity of geologic archives in this region. Hydrologically closed lakes in dust source areas act as a trap, providing the opportunity to trace the history of dust emission or eolian activity. Here we present the results of dust storm proxies and a dust storm history from Lake Sugan in the Qaidam Basin, a dust source area, on the northern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau. Grain size analyses of the materials deposited during modern dust storms and of the lake surface sediments demonstrate that the coarse component of the lake sediments was transported primarily by ambient winds when dust storms occurred. In combination with a sediment chronology generated by counting annual laminations, a 2000‐year dust storm history was reconstructed on the basis of changes in the coarse component and magnetic susceptibility of the lake sediments. Frequent and/or intensive dust storms occurred during the intervals AD 300–500, AD 1180–1240, and AD 1500–1700. The occurrence of dust storms largely coincided with the strengthening of the Siberian High with colder air masses from high latitudes, such as during the Little Ice Age, frequently encroaching into the dust source areas in northwestern China. Our results suggest that wind strength plays an important role in dust emissions in arid source areas. However, dust storms in the late 20th century are most likely associated with disturbance of the ground surface caused by petroleum exploitation in the Qaidam Basin.

show abstract

“…Because of the prevailing (hyper)arid conditions, the modern vegetation in the Qaidam Basin represents a transition between the Mongolian desert and the alpine steppe of the Tibetan Plateau (Walter and Box, 1983). Specifically, four major biomes (i.e., alpine meadows, steppes, steppe/deserts, and deserts) occur in the Qaidam Basin and the surrounding mountains (Yu et al, 2001;Zhao and Herzschuh, 2009;Zhang et al, 2010); they consist predominantly of herbs and shrubs of the genera Artemisia, Calligonum, Ephedra, Haloxylon, Kalidium, Nitraria, Reaumuria, Salsola, Sympegma, and Tamarix (Zhao and Herzschuh, 2009;Zhao et al, 2007Zhao et al, , 2010Wei et al, 2011). Forests are confined to the surrounding mountains and mainly consist of Betula, Pinus, and Picea Wei et al, 2011).…”

Section: Regional Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This holds particularly true for the Tibetan Plateau, where the A/C ratio has been used in various studies spanning the Holocene (van Campo and Gasse, 1993;Zhang et al, 2010;Zhao et al, 2007Zhao et al, , 2010Chen et al, 2013). According to Zhao et al (2012), the A/C ratio provides reliable semi-quantitative estimates for the moisture variability in steppe/desert environments during the Holocene if (i) annual precipitation is <500 mm and (ii) the sum of Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae (A+C) pollen grains exceeds ~45 % of the total pollen sum.…”

Section: Implications For the Artemisia/chenopodiaceae Ratio As A Moimentioning

confidence: 99%

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

A 2700-year high resolution pollen record of climate change from varved Sugan Lake in the Qaidam Basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 23 publications

References 36 publications

Rapid climate fluctuations over the past millennium: evidence from a lacustrine record of Basomtso Lake, southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Rapid climate fluctuations over the past millennium: evidence from a lacustrine record of Basomtso Lake, southeastern Tibetan Plateau

A 2000‐year dust storm record from Lake Sugan in the dust source area of arid China

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

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About