FOSSIL PIGMENTS AS INDICATORS FOR PALAEOCLIMATIC INTERPRETATIONS - A CASE STUDY OF QINGHAI LAKE

An 82 cm core was collected from Qinghai Lake in the Qinghai- Xizang Plateau , China and sectioned in intervals of 1 cm for analysis of pigments (i.e. chlorophyll derivatives , carotenoids , myxoxanthophyll .oscillaxanthin) and 210Pb .210Pb dating was used to establish the chronological sequence . The concentrations of myxoxanthophyll and oscillaxanthin from the cyanophytes increase with temperature. There are four peak values at 0-14 cm ( present-1891a), 25cm (1786a), 45cm (1581a) . 60cm (1416a) representing four warm and low water level periods during the past 700 years. This was confirmed by the high concentration of carbonate and 13C in these stages. In these 700 years , there were also 4 periods of cold wet climate and high water level as indicated by the tree ring index and high value of native chlorophyll and high , variable CD/TC ratios .