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Early to mid-Holocene lake high-stand sediments at Lake Donggi Cona, northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Elisabeth Dietze ,
Bernd Wünnemann ,
Kai Hartmann ,
Bernhard Diekmann ,
Huijun Jin ,
Georg Stauch ,
Sizhong Yang  and
Frank Lehmkuhl
Elisabeth Dietze*
Affiliation:
Institute of Geographical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Center of Ecosystem Dynamics of Central Asia (EDCA), Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Bernd Wünnemann
Affiliation:
Institute of Geographical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Center of Ecosystem Dynamics of Central Asia (EDCA), Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany School of Geography and Oceanography, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
Kai Hartmann
Affiliation:
Institute of Geographical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Center of Ecosystem Dynamics of Central Asia (EDCA), Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Bernhard Diekmann
Affiliation:
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Research Unit Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Huijun Jin
Affiliation:
Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (CAREERI), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou, China
Georg Stauch
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
Sizhong Yang
Affiliation:
Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (CAREERI), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou, China
Frank Lehmkuhl
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
*
*Corresponding author at: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section 5.2 Climate Dynamics and Landscape Evolution, Potsdam, Germany. Fax: + 49 30 83870753. E-mail address:[email protected] (E. Dietze).
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Abstract

Lake high-stand sediments are found in three onshore terraces at Lake Donggi Cona, northeastern Tibetan Plateau, and reveal characteristics of hydrological changes on lake shorelines triggered by climate change, geomorphological processes, and neo-tectonic movements. The terraces consist of fluvial–alluvial to littoral-lacustrine facies. End-member modeling of grain-size distributions allowed quantification of sediment transport processes and relative lake levels during times of deposition. Radiocarbon dating revealed higher than modern lake levels during the early and mid Holocene. Lake levels follow the trend of Asian monsoon dynamics, and are modified by local non-climatic drivers. Site-specific impacts explain fluctuations during the initial lake-level rise ~ 11 cal ka BP. Maximum lake extension reached ~ 9.2 cal ka BP, at ~ 16.5 m above present lake level (a.p.l.l.). Littoral and lacustrine sediment deposition paused during a phase of fluvial activity and post-depositional cryoturbations at ~ 8.5 cal ka BP, when the lake level fell to ~ 8 m a.p.l.l. After a second maximum at ~ 7.5 cal ka BP, lake level declined slightly at ~ 6.8 cal ka BP, probably due to a non-climatic pulse that caused lake opening. The level remained high until a transition towards drier conditions ~ 4.7 cal ka BP. Though discontinuous, high-stand sediments provide a unique, high-resolution archive.

Keywords

Lake level fluctuationsLake high-stand sedimentEnd-member modeling (EMMA)Grain size distributionsTibetan PlateauAsian monsoon
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 79 , Issue 3 , May 2013 , pp. 325 - 336
Copyright
University of Washington

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