A 94–10Ka Pollen Record of Vegetation Change in Qaidam Basin
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 431 (2015) 43–52 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/palaeo A94–10 ka pollen record of vegetation change in Qaidam Basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau Haicheng Wei a,QishunFana, Yan Zhao b,HaizhouMaa, Fashou Shan a,FuyuanAna,QinYuana a Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China b Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China article info abstract Article history: Drill core (ISL1A) was obtained from the Qarhan Salt Lake in central eastern Qaidam Basin, northeastern Tibetan Received 19 May 2014 Plateau (NE TP). Fossil pollen and the lithology of the core sediment were analyzed in conjunction with AMS 14C Received in revised form 27 March 2015 and 230Th dating. The results indicated that Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae dominated the steppe/desert steppe Accepted 24 April 2015 vegetation developed around the lake between 94 and 51.2 ka, corresponding with the organic-rich silty clay de- Available online 4 May 2015 posited in the core sediments. Pediastrum continuously appeared in the core sediments between 94 and 51.2 ka, Keywords: indicating freshwater to oligohaline conditions of the paleo-Qarhan Lake during the late marine isotope stage Pollen record (MIS) 5, MIS 4, and early MIS 3. During the 51.2 to 32.5 ka period, Ephedra dominated shrub-desert vegetation Climate change expanded in the basin, while, Pediastrum disappeared in the core sediments. The core sediments consisted of in- Qaidam Basin terbedded layers of halite silt and clay-rich halite between 51.2 and 32.5 ka, signifying a shift toward drier hydro- Late Pleistocene logic conditions.
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