Discovery of a large area of ice-wedge networks in Ordos: Implications for the southern boundary of permafrost in the north of China as well as for the environment in the latest 20 kaBP

Cui, Zhijiu; Yang, Jianqiang; Zhang, Wei; Zhao, Liang; Xie, Yan

doi:10.1360/03wd0211

Cited by 27 publications

(33 citation statements)

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“…The lower limit of permafrost (LLP) extended down to 1800 m, and the snowline to 4000 m. In the eastern QTP, however, the continuity of the permafrost was disrupted by deeply incised gorges and gradually transited to alpine permafrost. In the northeast, the northern LLP at 1950–2300 m was connected with that in the Qilian Shan Mountains and was probably connected with the latitudinal southern limit of permafrost (SLP) [ Zhou et al , 2000; Cui et al , 2004].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), a large portion of northern China and central Asia were under the strong influence of aeolian action and the Penultimate Glaciation, with arid and semiarid steppes and grasslands [ Zhou et al , 2000; X. P. Yang et al , 2004]. The Eurasian permafrost expanded southward to 36°30′N in eastern China, to 39°N in northeastern China and to 40°30′N in western China, and connected with elevational permafrost in central Asia and on the QTP with LLPs at 1950–2950 m [ Cui , 1984, 2004; Zhou et al , 2000]. However, the relict lower limit of permafrost (LLP) should have existed at 1800–1900 m. Permafrost should have been absent in the Tenggeli Desert because of its elevations of 1000–1500 m, but present in the Maowusu (Mu Us) Desert on the nearby Eerduosi (Erdos) Plateau with similar latitudes and elevations.…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution of permafrost on the Qinghai‐Xizang (Tibet) Plateau since the end of the late Pleistocene

2007

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The present distribution of permafrost on the Qinghai‐Xizang (Tibet) Plateau (QTP) is largely a relict of the permafrost formed during the late Pleistocene. It has been degrading and shrinking in areal extent under the fluctuating climates, with a general trend of warming, during the Holocene. The major criteria for the occurrence of relict permafrost include the remnants of ancient buried permafrost, relict permafrost tables, thawed sandwiches (taliks), thick‐layered ground ice, and periglacial phenomena such as pingo scars, cryoturbations, primary sand and clayey silt wedges, ice wedge casts, aeolian sand dunes and loesses, thick layers of peat, and humic soils. On the basis of 14C dating of soils, comprehensive analyses, and comparisons of the spatiotemporal distribution of relict and modern permafrost and periglacial phenomena, the evolution of permafrost and periglacial environments since the late Pleistocene was divided into seven stages: (1) the cold period at the end of the late Pleistocene (35,000 to 10,800 years B.P.); (2) the period of significant climatic change during the early Holocene (10,800 to ∼8500–7000 years B.P.), (3) the Megathermal period in the middle Holocene (∼8500–7000 to ∼4000–3000 years B.P.), (4) the cold period in the late Holocene (∼4000–3000 to 1000 years B.P.), (5) the warm period in the later Holocene (1000 to 500 years B.P.), (6) the Little Ice Age (500 to 100 years B.P.), and (7) the recent warming period (100 years B.P. to present). The conditions for permafrost development, distribution, and the paleoclimates and paleoenvironments are discussed for each stage.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of permafrost on the Qinghai‐Xizang (Tibet) Plateau since the end of the late Pleistocene

2007

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“…Given that permafrost degradation approximately coincided with the LGM to DG transition, it is important to consider the role of permafrost in explaining the scarcity of OSL-dated sand from the LGM, compared to the well-preserved aeolian record from the DG. It is unlikely that permafrost prevented aeolian activity in the LGM of northern China, since it is well-documented in other permafrost environments (Dallimore et al, 1997;Bateman and Murton, 2006;Murton and Bateman, 2007). However, it is possible that permafrost in some way influenced aeolian sand accumulation and preservation during the LGM.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Climate-driven changes to dune activity during the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation in the Mu Us dune field, north-central China

et al. 2015

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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“…Empirical proxies, including pollen and phytolith assemblages, permafrost extents, and lipid distributions, have suggested that temperature changes from the LGM to the present in central China yield variable results ranging from as little as 4°C to as much as 13°C (25,(27)(28)(29)(30), and often have an uncertain seasonal bias. The importance of the clumped isotope data we present is that it provides a direct thermodynamically based estimate that can be relatively confidently assigned to a change in summertime temperatures.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

High regional climate sensitivity over continental China constrained by glacial-recent changes in temperature and the hydrological cycle

Eagle

Risi

Mitchell

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The East Asian monsoon is one of Earth's most significant climatic phenomena, and numerous paleoclimate archives have revealed that it exhibits variations on orbital and suborbital time scales. Quantitative constraints on the climate changes associated with these past variations are limited, yet are needed to constrain sensitivity of the region to changes in greenhouse gas levels. Here, we show central China is a region that experienced a much larger temperature change since the Last Glacial Maximum than typically simulated by climate models. We applied clumped isotope thermometry to carbonates from the central Chinese Loess Plateau to reconstruct temperature and water isotope shifts from the Last Glacial Maximum to present. We find a summertime temperature change of 6-7°C that is reproduced by climate model simulations presented here. Proxy data reveal evidence for a shift to lighter isotopic composition of meteoric waters in glacial times, which is also captured by our model. Analysis of model outputs suggests that glacial cooling over continental China is significantly amplified by the influence of stationary waves, which, in turn, are enhanced by continental ice sheets. These results not only support high regional climate sensitivity in Central China but highlight the fundamental role of planetary-scale atmospheric dynamics in the sensitivity of regional climates to continental glaciation, changing greenhouse gas levels, and insolation.A wide range of archives, including speleothem, marine, lake, Himalayan glacier ice core, and loess sediment records, have shown that monsoons exhibit significant variations on orbital and suborbital time scales (e.g., refs. 1-11

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Discovery of a large area of ice-wedge networks in Ordos: Implications for the southern boundary of permafrost in the north of China as well as for the environment in the latest 20 kaBP

Cited by 27 publications

References 2 publications

Evolution of permafrost on the Qinghai‐Xizang (Tibet) Plateau since the end of the late Pleistocene

Evolution of permafrost on the Qinghai‐Xizang (Tibet) Plateau since the end of the late Pleistocene

Climate-driven changes to dune activity during the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation in the Mu Us dune field, north-central China

High regional climate sensitivity over continental China constrained by glacial-recent changes in temperature and the hydrological cycle

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