Landscape evolution and palaeoclimate in the deserts of northwestern China, with a special reference to Badain Jaran and Taklamakan

Abstract

A comparative study of geomorphologic landscapes in the Badain Jaran Desert and Taklamakan Desert was made on the basis of field investigations, thermoluminiscence and radiocarbon dating as well as analysis of sand grain texture. The sand seas of the Badain Jaran Desert differ greatly from that of the Taklamakan Desert in terms of dune morphology, interdune relief, dune stratigraphy and sand sources. The thermoluminiscence ages of the dunes suggest that the basic configuration of the megadunes in the Badain Jaran Desert has not changed at least since Middle Holocene. There were periods of more humid environment during the last glaciation and Holocene in both deserts, but events of higher precipitation in the Badain Jaran Desert were more frequent than in the Taklamakan. In both desert areas, aeolian processes have been intensified during the last 2000 a.