Quantitative reconstruction of the lake water paleotemperature of Daihai Lake, Inner Mongolia, China and its significance in paleoclimate

By measuring Sr/Ca ratios of the ostracod shells (Limnocthere cf. inopinata) in sediments of the Daihai Lake, and combined with Sr²⁺/Ca²⁺ ratios of the lake water, this paper obtained paleosalinity of the lake water. Vaporizing experiment of the lake water in laboratory showed that there was a quantitative relationship between salinity and oxygen isotope. Using this relationship, oxygen isotope values of the paleo-lake water were calculated. By measuring the oxygen isotope of the authigenic carbonate in the lake’s sediments, and in combination with the oxygen isotope values of the paleo-lake water, the paleotemperature of the lake water was calculated. Finally, based on these proxies, the paleoclimate in the lake basin was explored.