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Shrinking lakes in Tibet linked to the weakening Asian monsoon in the past 8.2 ka

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Yiwei Chen ,
Yongqiang Zong ,
Bo Li ,
Shenghua Li  and
Jonathan C. Aitchison
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Abstract

Expansion or shrinkage of closed lakes is a natural response to fluctuations in precipitation and evaporation, linked closely to changes in strength or position of atmospheric circulation. In Tibet, there are many such lakes with paleo-shorelines that can be used for reconstructions of climate history. Despite the fact that many paleo-shorelines are well preserved in Tibet, dating them has been seriously hindered by various difficulties. Here we present the first optical dating chronology for a series of paleo-shorelines in Zhari Namco, the third-largest inland lake in central Tibet. Our results indicate that the lake level has dropped 128 m over the past 8.2 ka. Younger shorelines are found at lower altitudes, indicating that the shorelines follow a geomorphic-chronological order and a broadly continuous trend of stepwise shrinkage. The surface area of Zhari Namco has shrunk in size from 4605 km2 at 8.2 ka ago to 996 km2 at present; 300 km2 of water has been lost from this lake. Such a loss in water implies a significant reduction in precipitation over the past 8.2 ka, a likely result of a weakening Asian monsoon. Following the decreasing precipitation since the early Holocene, this area has become increasingly arid.

Keywords

OSL datingPaleo-shorelinesLake Zhari NamcoAsian monsoon
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 80 , Issue 2 , September 2013 , pp. 189 - 198
Copyright
University of Washington

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Footnotes

1 Current address: Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
2 Current address: School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

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