Research Article| August 01, 2013 Magnetostratigraphic determination of the age of ancient Lake Qinghai, and record of the East Asian monsoon since 4.63 Ma Chaofeng Fu; Chaofeng Fu * 1State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth and Environment, CAS, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710075, China2Key Laboratory of Western Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering, Ministry of Education of China & Chang’an university, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710054, China *E-mail: fuchaofeng@gmail.com; fucf@chd.edu.cn. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Zhisheng An; Zhisheng An 1State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth and Environment, CAS, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710075, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Xiaoke Qiang; Xiaoke Qiang 1State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth and Environment, CAS, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710075, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jan Bloemendal; Jan Bloemendal 3School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Roxby Building, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK42011 Cooperative Innovation Center for Arid Environment and Climate Changes, Lanzhou University, Gansu, 730000, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yougui Song; Yougui Song 1State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth and Environment, CAS, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710075, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Hong Chang Hong Chang 1State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth and Environment, CAS, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710075, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2013) 41 (8): 875–878. https://doi.org/10.1130/G34418.1 Article history received: 24 Jan 2013 rev-recd: 27 Mar 2013 accepted: 29 Mar 2013 first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share MailTo Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Chaofeng Fu, Zhisheng An, Xiaoke Qiang, Jan Bloemendal, Yougui Song, Hong Chang; Magnetostratigraphic determination of the age of ancient Lake Qinghai, and record of the East Asian monsoon since 4.63 Ma. Geology 2013;; 41 (8): 875–878. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G34418.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Lake Qinghai, in North China, is the largest interior plateau lake in Central Asia, and is sensitive to climate change and the environmental effects of Tibetan Plateau uplift. We have obtained an almost continuous 626 m long sediment core from an in-filled part of the southern lake basin, which documents both the age of the origin of the lake and the evolution of the East Asian monsoon during the Late Cenozoic. High-resolution magnetostratigraphy provides a chronology back to ca. 5.1 Ma. Analysis of lithofacies and depositional environments reveal that the change from eolian to lacustrine facies occurred at ca. 4.63 Ma, corresponding to a shift from an arid or semi-arid to a more humid climate, which resulted in the origin of Lake Qinghai. Changes in sediment lithology and mean grain size indicate that the lake level fluctuated considerably, superimposed on a long-term trend from higher to lower levels in response to variations in the East Asian Monsoon. This archive is a significant additional source of information on regional and global environmental change, complementing the existing records from north China, which are mainly based on analysis of loess deposits. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.