Environmental changes during the past 13500 cal. a BP deduced from lacustrine sediment records of Lake Qinghai, China

Abstract

A 475-cm long sediment core (QH-2005) from Lake Qinghai was used to carry out multi-proxy analysis of δ18O and body length of ostracod valves and redness and grain size of sediments, in order to reconstruct environmental changes during the past 13500 cal. a BP. The age model was based on 6 14C dates for bulk orgnic carbon (BOC) and 2 14C dates for lignin. The lignin 14C dates are apparently younger than the corresponding layers’ BOC 14C dates, indicating that the reservoir age varied from 728 to 1222 a since the Late Glacial and from 2390 to 2490 a immediately before the pre-bomb era. Hence, the 14C age model for Core QH-2005 was corrected by the changing reservoir age. Ostracod δ18O values were primarily related to dilution and evaporative enrichment of the lake water. The reconstructed salinity based on ostracod body length coincides well with ostracod δ18O values. High redness and mean grain size (MZ) values indicate increased riverine supply to Lake Qinghai associated with increasing monsoon rainfall. Multi-proxy results show that climate during 13500–10900 cal. a BP was relatively cold and dry with frequent short-term fluctuations; a warm and wet climate began at about 10900 cal. a BP and culminated around 6500 cal. a BP as a result of monsoon strengthening; the climate became cold and dry afterwards and has remained relatively stable since 3400 cal. a BP. Our data also reveal short-term (millennial/centennial timescales) climatic fluctuations including: Younger Dryas events, ice-rafting events 8 and 1 (by ∼11000 cal. a BP and ∼1600 cal. a BP respectively), 8200 cal. a BP cold event, Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period.