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干旱区地理 ›› 2018, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (6): 1251-1259.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2018.06.12

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Climate change derived from Anggeertu Lake in the Tengger Desert since 988 AD

CAO Zhi-hong, AN Cheng-bang, YIN Li-ying, DUAN Fu-tao, HAO Sheng-tun, ZHOU Ai-feng   

  1. Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
  • Received:2018-06-06 Revised:2018-08-15 Online:2018-11-25

Abstract: Reconstruction of Chinese paleoclimatic changes based on ancient written records basically seldom covered the desert regions.The study on ancient climate change based on records from lakes in deserts is a weak point and needs to be strengthened.Research on physicochemical properties of lacustrine sediment,such as the particle size,the chemical elements and the percentage composition of carbonate,is one of the most important methods of inverting the history of local climate change.In this paper,the paleoclimatic/environmental changes of Tengger Desert,Inner Mongolia,China,since 988 AD are investigated by acquiring a 166 cm long sediment core from the Anggeertu Lake in the desert.The physicochemical analyses mainly focus on the characteristics of grain size,X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) core scanning,loss-on-ignition,and precision dating.The results show that during 988-1383 AD,the Anggeertu Lake was developed into small lakes from depressions and the chemical weathering in the lake was weak.The climate was overall cold and wet accompanied by several warm fluctuations.The period of 1383-1560 AD was in the Medieval Warm Period when the climate was warm and dry in the study area.The Anggeertu Lake was expanded with rapid growth of aquatic plants resulting in precipitation of massive carbonate,which accounted for 8.16% of the lake sediment.With the arrival of Little Ice Age Maximum in China (1560-1700 AD),the coldest period came after the formation of the Anggeertu Lake.The precipitation was increased and the climate went colder and wetter.After 1700 AD,the particle size of lake sediment was getting finer year by year and Anggeertu Lake continued to expand.The temperature began to rise,reaching its peak in 1900 AD along with several wet fluctuation during this period (1700-1900 AD).In addition,the percentage of carbonate reached 10.15%.After the formation of the Anggeertu Lake,the climate in the study area is characterized by alternating "cold-wet" and "warm-dry".This kind of climatic evolution property of lacustrine sediment was consistent with what other indicators revealed in northwest westerly region of China.However,there exists a temporal hysteresis by using physicochemical analyses.These preliminary results can provide important references to study the paleoclimatic changes of deserts in northwest China.At the same time,this paper has improved the unbalanced research work on arid and semi-arid area in China.

Key words: lake sediment, characteristic of grain size, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) core scanner analysis, climate change, Tengger Desert

CLC Number: 

  • P532