Distinguishing aeolian signature from lacustrine sediments of the Qaidam Basin in northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its palaeoclimatic implications

Abstract

Abstract Qarhan playa is located in the eastern-central Qaidam Basin in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. As a lake-depocenter since the Pleistocene and surrounded by Gobi and yardang fields, it might have deposited abundant aeolian materials. Distinguishing its aeolian signature from lacustrine sediments is important for understanding the landform processes and environmental changes, which is the focus of the current study. Based on major-elements analysis, microtextures of quartz grains, and features of grain-size frequency curves and other grain-size parameters, we demonstrate the existence of aeolian component in the lacustrine sequences of a 102 m core (ISL1A). Grain-size distribution curve statistics on 60 samples from two extreme palaeoclimate environments (hyperarid and humid), as well as multi-proxies records comparison, indicate that the mode at about 40 μm represents the aeolian component and the 10–70 μm fraction of grain-size is a valid proxy of East Asian winter monsoon, and that the 70–650 μm fraction represents the intensity of dust storms. The erosive lacustrine sediments in the western Qaidam Basin and the alluvial/fluvial fans in nearby piedmont are probably important sources for these aeolian materials. The similarities of major-element data for samples from the Qaidam Basin (both lacustrine and loess), Qinghai Lake (loess), and the Chinese Loess Plateau (loess) indicate that the Qaidam Basin is a dust source for the loess in Qinghai Lake and the Chinese Loess Plateau.