Late quaternary hydrological changes at Tangra Yumco, Tibetan Plateau: a compound-specific isotope-based quantification of lake level changes

Abstract

Lake level fluctuations are important features in paleo-reconstructions that can be linked to past climate changes. Closed-basin lakes on the south-central Tibetan Plateau record the balance between monsoonal precipitation and evaporative loss. To date, most studies provide only qualitative estimates of past hydrological changes. For the first time, we applied hydrogen isotopes (δD) of aquatic and terrestrial n-alkanes to quantify lake volume changes of Tangra Yumco and compared values to newly calculated lake volumes of Nam Co. We also used carbon isotopes of sedimentary n-alkanes to reveal past climate and environmental conditions around the lake. The water volume of Tangra Yumco changed by 146 km3 in the past 17.42 cal ka. Lake volume increased in two steps, the first mainly initiated by glacial meltwater input after 16 cal ka BP, and to a minor extent by first strengthening of the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM). The second increase was caused by intensified summer monsoon precipitation at 11.45 cal ka BP. After 8.0 cal ka BP, lake volume decreased because of arid conditions, until an increase at 0.8 cal ka BP that was probably linked to a wet spell during the Little Ice Age. The lake level changes of Tangra Yumco and Nam Co were affected simultaneously by the ASM, although their amplitudes differed because of different local conditions, such as basin morphology or the blocking effect of neighboring mountains, which influences the rainout of air masses and wind-induced evaporation.