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A prolonged dry Mid-Holocene recorded by Moon Lake in the Tengger Desert, arid and semiarid China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2024

Futao Duan ,
Cheng-Bang An ,
Wei Wang ,
Yongtao Zhao  and
Aifeng Zhou
Futao Duan
Affiliation:
Institute of Sci-Tech History and Meteorological Civilization, Research Base for Scientific Cognition and Protection of Cultural Heritage, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210000, China
Cheng-Bang An*
Affiliation:
MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Wei Wang
Affiliation:
Institute of Sci-Tech History and Meteorological Civilization, Research Base for Scientific Cognition and Protection of Cultural Heritage, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210000, China
Yongtao Zhao
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Aifeng Zhou
Affiliation:
MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
*
Corresponding author: Cheng-Bang An; Email: cban@lzu.edu.cn
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Abstract

Reconstructing the Mid-Holocene climate change in arid and semiarid areas can help predict regional moisture availability and resultant lake evolution and vegetation changes due to future warming. Here, we present a sediment core (YLH15A) from Moon Lake in the Tengger Desert, arid and semiarid China. Based on robust accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dating and multiproxy analyses (pollen, grain size, elements, and total organic carbon), we reconstructed regional climate changes since 7.6 cal ka BP. The climate was generally dry from 7.6 to 2.8 cal ka BP, as indicated by the dried-up lake, strong aeolian activities, and no vegetation, except for a short-term wet interval between 5.4 and 4.9 cal ka BP. The generally dry climate shifted after 2.8 cal ka BP, which is suggested by expanded steppe desert/steppe and increased vegetation cover; it was also accompanied by lake development, which was likely related to increased groundwater recharge originating from regional precipitation and temporary floods from adjacent mountain areas. Our results reveal a prolonged dry Mid-Holocene and relatively wet Late Holocene that are basically consistent with climatic records from the central–east Asian arid and hyperarid areas. The prolonged dry climate in the arid and hyperarid areas is likely to be related to high evaporation triggered by high temperatures during the Middle Holocene.

Keywords

Moon LakeTengger DesertMid-HoloceneArid areasProlonged dry climate

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Type
Thematic Set: Asian Climate
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 117 , January 2024 , pp. 43 - 53
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Quaternary Research Center

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