Geochemical record of Late Quaternary paleoclimate from lacustrine sediments of paleo-lake San Felipe,western Sonora Desert,Mexico

Stratigraphy, mineralogy, major and trace elements, organic carbon, carbonate, sulfate and AMS ¹⁴C dates are used to infer Late Quaternary depositional environments and paleo-hydrological conditions in the paleo-lake San Felipe located in the western part of Sonora Desert. Sediment stratigraphy divides the depth profile into aeolian and pluvio-lacustrine regimes. Aeolian regime is constrained to >44.5 ¹⁴C kyr BP. The pluvio-lacustrine regime consists of two stratigraphic units with characteristic geochemical proxies indicating changing chemical weathering, clastic input, salinity and provenance and provides a measure of varying climatic conditions between ca. 37 and 3 ¹⁴C kyr BP. Lower catchment erosion and inflow into the basin, higher lake productivity, precipitation of Na-sulfate mineral and higher clastic input from the proximal aeolian deposits during ca. 37–14 ¹⁴C kyr BP are comparable to the regional registers of dominant winter rainfall related to westerly storm tracks and colder conditions. In the last 12 ¹⁴C kyr BP, higher sedimentation and inflow and lower productivity are comparable to dominant summer rainfall. Higher humidity and lake productivity during ca. 37–29 ¹⁴C kyr BP is possibly due to the position of westerly storm tracks at 31°N and the gradually reducing humidity till ca. 14 ¹⁴C kyr BP is related to northerly migration of westerly storm tracks. Regional arid conditions during ca. 11 ¹⁴C kyr BP and ca. 6 ¹⁴C kyr BP are characterized by influx of coarser quartz and feldspars into the basin.     

Late Quaternary climate change record from two long sediment cores from Guaymas Basin,Gulf of California

Modern Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California, Mexico) is a region of high diatom productivity where exceptional preservation factors maintain biannually alternating sediment deposition as annual varves. New sediment cores from Guaymas Basin (MD02‐2512 and MD02‐2515) present the opportunity to construct climate records from below the last glacial period. A low‐resolution age model has been constructed from oxygen isotope analysis, correlation with other dated short piston cores from Guaymas Basin and an estimate of sedimentation rate. MD02‐2512 from eastern Guaymas Basin has an age range from the Holocene to late marine isotope stage 6 (MIS 6); MD02‐2515 from western Guaymas Basin has an age range from ～8000 to 40 000 yr. Shipboard analyses of colour reflectance, magnetic susceptibility and sediment density are combined with continuous X‐ray fluorescence scans to reconstruct a picture of glacial climate in the Gulf of California. Eastern Guaymas Basin is affected by glacial sea level fall, which results in a drastic change in productivity rates and sediment type. The laminated record of MIS 5 allows comparison with the Holocene, showing a similarity of sedimentation patterns during deglaciation and a series of very rapid variations just prior to the last glaciation. In western Guaymas Basin there are a series of Younger Dryas‐like events during the glacial, typified by low productivity and high terrigenous input. Long‐term climate and productivity changes appear to be caused by the southward displacement of the Subtropical High pressure zone. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stratigraphic architecture resulting from Late Quaternary evolution of the Riverine Plain, south-eastern Australia

The Riverine Plain of south-eastern Australia is the result of prolonged Cenozoic fluvial activity. Single thread, anabranching and distributary channels and floodplains, and associated aeolian dunes, characterize the uppermost sequences. Based on detailed interpretations of Late Quaternary fluvial sedimentation and surficial stratigraphy for this 77 000-km² basin, earlier ‘prior stream’ and ‘ancestral stream’ models of fluvial deposition, deduced from limited stratigraphic and chronological evidence, are replaced with aggradational palaeochannel and migrational palaeochannel models. Thermoluminescence dating reveals four distinct phases of palaeochannel activity between 105 and 12 ka; the first (Coleambally phase) late in Oxygen Isotope Stage 5, the second (Kerarbury phase) in Stage 3, the third (Gum Creek phase) before and the fourth (Yanco phase) after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Stage 2. The first three of these phases were characterized by mixed-load laterally migrating sinuous palaeochannels with occasional transitions to a straighter bedload-dominated mode, and vice versa. The first two phases concluded with a bedload-dominated episode resulting in aggradational palaeochannels on the surface of the Plain, and the third phase (prior to the LGM) did also in its downstream reaches. The phase following the LGM was characterized entirely by large mixed-load sinuous migrational palaeochannels. These exhibited no terminating bedload episode, because the onset of Holocene climates reduced the size of the flood peaks, greatly diminished the supply of bedload from the upper catchments and resulted in streams evolving to their present highly sinuous suspended load form. The result is a complex stratigraphic architecture consisting of vertically and laterally accreted units extending over hundreds of kilometres in the form of channel-sand stringers, sand sheets and derivative aeolian dunes partially or wholly encased in overbank fines.     

Late Quaternary record of sea-level changes in the Antarctic

The Late Quaternary sediment sequence of the continental margin in the eastern Weddell Sea is well suited for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Two cores from the upper slope, which contain the sedimentary record of the last 300 ky, have been sedimentologically investigated. Age models are based on lithostratigraphy and are correlated with the stable isotope record. As a result of a detailed analysis of the clay mineral composition, grain size distributions and structures, this sedimentary record provides the first marine evidence that the Antarctic ice sheet extended to the shelf edge during the last glacial.The variations in volume and size of the ice sheet were also simulated in numerical models. Changes in accumulation rate and ice temperature are of some importance, but the model revealed that fluctuations are primarily driven by changes in eustatic sea-level and that the ice edge extended to the shelf edge during the last glacial maximum. This causal relationship implies that the maximum ice extension strongly depends on the magnitude and duration of the sea-level depression during a glacial period. The results of the sedimentological investigations and of the numerical models show that the Antarctic ice sheet follows glacial events in the northern hemisphere by teleconnections of sea level. Correspondence to: H. Grobe     

Sedimentology and isotope geochemistry of lacustrine carbonates of the Oligocene Campins Basin, north-east Spain

The non-marine Campins Basin developed in the Oligocene, during a period of early rifting of the Catalan Coastal Ranges. Lacustrine deposits, interbedded between two alluvial units, comprise shallow and deep lacustrine facies. The lower, shallow lacustrine facies are made up of microbialite buildups and thin limestone beds. In the studied area, these facies are overlain by deep lacustrine facies which consist of alternations of several, metre-thick carbonate- and mudstone-dominated intervals. In addition to calcite, which is characteristic of the shallow lacustrine facies, aragonite and abundant dolomite are present in the deep lacustrine facies. This mineralogical change in the sequence reflects an overall increase in the Mg/Ca ratio of the lake waters. The deep lacustrine sequences are interpreted as having formed in a hydrologically closed basin that was subject to changes in the Mg/Ca ratio of the water, probably related to variations in the evaporation/precipitation rate. The sedimentological, mineralogical and isotopic characteristics of the Campins Basin dolomites suggest that, in general, they are primary in origin. The stable isotope data show an approximate covariance between δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O in the lower shallow lacustrine carbonates (calcite) which suggests that they formed during the onset of closure of the lake. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values of the deep lacustrine carbonates display three different clusters that are roughly related to the carbonate mineralogy. Normalisation with respect to calcite of the isotopic compositions of dolomite and aragonite from the deep lacustrine carbonates allows the integration of all these isotope values into one covariant trend. The sequential appearance of different carbonate minerals and the isotopic covariant trend may indicate an overall evaporative concentration of the lake waters. The change in slope of the covariant trend for the isotope values between the shallow and the deep lacustrine carbonates might reflect the change in the waterbody morphology recorded in the basin fill sequence.     

Sedimentology and seismic geomorphology of a lacustrine depositional system from the deep zone of the Gaoyou Sag,Subei Basin,eastern China

Sandstones of the Dainan Formation in the Gaoyou Sag of the Subei Basin are important hydrocarbon reservoirs. This paper studies the sedimentary facies and sandstone dispersal patterns in the Gaoyou Sag, based on the analysis of sedimentology and seismic geomorphology. The data used in this study include lithological data, wire-line-log data and three-dimensional (3D) seismic data. The target strata are the Eocene Daiyi Member (E₂d₁³, E₂d₁² and E₂d₁¹) and the lower Dai'er Member (E₂d₂⁵), which belong to three third-order sequences. Five types of depositional systems were identified in the Dainan Formation based on core observation and log-facies analysis. They are, respectively, delta, fan delta, sub-lacustrine fan, nearshore subaqueous fan and lacustrine system. Stratal slices from 3D seismic volumes have been used to map the sandstone dispersal patterns and to document the evolution of the depositional systems within these third-order sequences and associated systems tracts. In the low-stand systems tract and the high-stand systems tract, sandstones of delta, fan delta and nearshore subaqueous fan were well developed and can be delineated by stratal slices showing distinct progradation towards the deep lake centre. In the transgressive systems tract, sandstones are less common. Stratal slices indicate that the depositional environments of individual third-order sequences evolved from gravel-rich or sand-rich fans to lacustrine mudstones, and finally to mixed sandstone–mudstone fans. Sandstone dispersal patterns appear to be primarily controlled by syn-sedimentary faults, and generally sandstone thickness decreases with distance from the syn-sedimentary faults. Deltas and fan deltas have different characteristics in sand-body thickness because they have different sedimentary subfacies. The proposed geomorphology and sedimentary evolution of the lacustrine depositional system may aid in the prediction of potential reservoir distribution in the Gaoyou Sag.     

广东三水盆地第四纪网状河沉积特征

珠江三角洲西北部的三水盆地范围内发育典型的网状河体系。它们具有重复分叉合并、坡降低以及河道深且窄的特点，并且发育天然堤、河间湖泊和洼地等地貌单元。钻井资料显示，网状河的沉积记录以泛滥平原地区沉积的悬浮负载的细粒沉积物为主，由砂砾和砂组成的河道沉积物分布比较局限，呈较窄的带状，被包裹在细粒的泛滥平原积物之中。主干河道表现出较高侧向稳定性垂向继承性，形成了较厚的砂体。较小的分叉河道则容易发生决口改道，沉积了较薄的砂体。河间湖泊沉积主要为含植物碎片的灰黑色粉砂质淤泥，沼泽中植物遗体的堆积形成了泥炭层。晚更新世以来的构造沉降、全球海平面上升以及河流搬运物质的快速加积是珠江三角洲平原地区形成网状河体系的主要原因.     

Late Quaternary environments and biogeography in the Great Basin

Plant and animal remains found in packrat (Neotoma spp.) middens and cave fill from the eastern and southern Great Basin region reveal the presence of subalpine conifers and boreal mammals at relatively low elevations during the Late Wisconsin. Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) and bristlecone pine (P. longaeva) were important in the late Pleistocene plant communities throughout this region. Spruce (Picea cf. engelmannii) and common juniper (Juniperus communis) were present in some of the more northerly localities, and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and white fir (Abies concolor) were present in southern and eastern localities. Single needle pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla), common across this region today, was apparently not present north of the Sheep Range of southern Nevada during the Late Wisconsin. Pikas (Ochotona cf. princeps), small boreal mammals present in only a few Great Basin mountain ranges today, were common throughout the region. Heather voles (Phenacomys cf. intermedius) have been found in two cave fill deposits in Nevada, though they are unknown in the Great Basin today. Limber and bristlecone pines are generally restricted to rocky substrates in modern subalpine habitats in the Great Basin, and this may also have been the case when these plants grew at lower elevations during the Late Wisconsin. Subalpine conifers were present on the rock outcrops sampled by the packrat middens, but shrub communities, perhaps dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), may have been present on alluvial valley-bottom substrates. Forested habitats would thus have been isolated habitat islands, as they are today. Boreal small mammals, including pikas and heather voles, were able to colonize the Great Basin mountain ranges during the late Pleistocene. We suggest that these mammals were able to survive in the intervening valley-bottoms under a cool-summer climatic regime, and that continuous forest or woodland corridors were not necessary for migration.     

Sedimentology and paleohydrology of Late Quaternary lake deposits in the northern Namib Sand Sea, Namibia

The Namib Sand Sea is the largest active desert dunefield in southern Africa, and is comprised mainly of large north-south linear dunes. In the interdune areas of the northern Sand Sea eleven small areas of calcareous lacustrine sediment have been studied. These beds are typically less than a metre thick and are dominantly comprised of calcareous sandstones to mudstones and sandy limestones. The carbonates are mainly magnesian calcites (1–14% MgCO₃) with some protodolomite and aragonite. Calcified reed casts and fresh to brackish water gastropods, diatoms, and ostracods are present in some beds. δ¹⁸O values indicate a hot and dry climate. A number of enriched δ¹³C values may reflect high salinity, low organic populations, or carbonate recrystallization.These carbonate-rich lacustrine deposits are indicative of increased periods of moisture availability in this normally hyperarid region during the Late Quaternary. The origin of the water responsible for depositing these sediments may be: (1) ponding at the end point of the Tsondab River, which at one time extended farther west into the Sand Sea; (2) flooding into interdune corridors when water levels rose in rivers such as the Kuiseb; (3) groundwater seepage into depressions either through dunes that border rivers or from the underlying Tsondab Sandstone; and (4) increased rainfall. We do not believe that there is evidence to support a major increase in precipitation over the region. However, even a small increase in precipitation in the headwaters of valleys that drain toward the Sand Sea might: (1) generate enough additional runoff to extend the terminal point of rivers such as the Tsondab farther into the dunes; (2) cause lateral flooding from major valleys into interdune corridors; and (3) recharge aquifers. The sedimentary records at Narabeb, Ancient Tracks, and West Pan, which lie along the old course of the Tsondab River, favor a ponded river origin for them, whereas groundwater seepage is favored at other sites. The chronology of deposition, based on radiocarbon dates, suggests that ponding and recharge occurred earlier in the lower, western part of the area, and later in the east. This is in harmony with the view that the end point of the Tsondab River progressively retreated eastward between about 30 and 14 ka BP, as dunes blocked its route.     

Sedimentology of Quaternary calcareous tufas from Gafsa,southwestern Tunisia

Well-preserved tufa deposits exhibit a diversity of field fabrics along the major structural feature in Gafsa area and extent between Jebel El Mida in the southeast and Sidi Ahmed Zarrouk and Jebel Ben Younes in northwest. The deposition history of the tufa is defined by three major stages; the first occurred in a perched springline or slope system with dominance of the autochthonous facies (stromatolitic tufa facies, i.e. boundstone sheets of micrite and peloids, and phytoherm framestone facies) in the proximal zone and microdetrital tufa in distal sites. The second stage occurred in a mixture of perched springline and poorly drained paludal environments that characterized by the abundance of allochems and chalk and marl. The third deposition stage occurred in a mixture of paludal and braided fluviatile environments with allochthonous tufa facies (oncoidal cyanolith tufa facies, phytoclast tufa facies and lithoclast and intraclast tufa facies). Tufas are of particular interest since their occurrences are linked to tectonic activity and extensional fault systems. Gafsa strike-slip fault, in addition to its tectonic role in creating fluid paths to the surface through flowing springs, it acts as a major regional sill that controlled paleoflow directions, discharge locations, volume, rate and fluctuations of the water supply. Tufa cessation could be explained by increasing aridity during late Holocene and subsequent reduced rainfall, increased evaporation and water table falling, which reduce the amount of recharge and its subsequent dissolution in the recharge area.     

Late Quaternary distal tephra-fall deposits in lacustrine sediments, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Tephra-fall deposits from Cook Inlet volcanoes were detected in sediment cores from Tustumena and Paradox Lakes, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, using magnetic susceptibility and petrography. The ages of tephra layers were estimated using 21 ¹⁴C ages on macrofossils. Tephras layers are typically fine, gray ash, 1-5 mm thick, and composed of varying proportions of glass shards, pumice, and glass-coated phenocrysts. Of the two lakes, Paradox Lake contained a higher frequency of tephra (0.8 tephra/100 yr; 109 over the 13,200-yr record). The unusually large number of tephra in this lake relative to others previously studied in the area is attributed to the lake's physiography, sedimentology, and limnology. The frequency of ash fall was not constant through the Holocene. In Paradox Lake, tephra layers are absent between ca. 800-2200, 3800-4800, and 9000-10,300 cal yr BP, despite continuously layered lacustrine sediment. In contrast, between 5000 and 9000 cal yr BP, an average of 1.7 tephra layers are present per 100 yr. The peak period of tephra fall (7000-9000 cal yr BP; 2.6 tephra/100 yr) in Paradox Lake is consistent with the increase in volcanism between 7000 and 9000 yr ago recorded in the Greenland ice cores.     

Late Quaternary vegetation in the Southwestern Columbia Basin,Washington

A 33,000-yr pollen record from Carp Lake provides information on the vegetation history of the forest/steppe border in the southwestern Columbia Basin. The site is located in the Pinus ponderosa Zone but through much of late Quaternary time the area was probably treeless. Pollen assemblages in sediments dating from 33,000 to 23,500 yr B.P. suggest a period of temperate climate and steppe coinciding with the end of the Olympia Interglaciation. The Fraser Glaciation (ca. 25,000–10,000 yr B.P.) was a period of periglacial steppe or tundra vegetation and conditions too dry and cold to support forests at low altitudes. Aridity is also inferred from the low level of the lake between 21,000 and 8500 yr B.P., and especially after about 13,500 yr B.P. About 10,000 yr B.P. Chenopodiineae and other temperate taxa spread locally, providing palynological evidence for a shift from cold, dry to warm, dry conditions. Pine woodland developed at the site with the onset of humid conditions at 8500 yr B.P.; further cooling is suggested at 4000 yr B.P., when Pseudotsuga and Abies were established locally.     

The Late Quaternary sedimentary record in Scoresby Sund, East Greenland

Until recently, little was known about the Quaternary marine sedimentary record in East Greenland. Geophysical and geological investigations in Scoresby Sund were undertaken to characterize the nature and chronology of this record. Seismic records show that almost 70% of the outer fjord system is covered by about 10 m of unlithified sediments, making direct correlation with the Quaternary records on land and the adjacent continental margin difficult. These acoustically unstratified sediments are scoured by icebergs above 550 m water depth. Almost 90% of core material is massive diamicton of Holocene age, deposited mainly from iceberg rafting and turbid meltwater. Sedimentation rates are 0.1 -0.3 m 1000 yr-¹. Thicker accumulations of unlithified Quaternary sediments in Scoresby Sund occur as sediment ridges and in two other major depocentres. A low sediment ridge runs across the mouth of Scoresby Sund, and is interpreted as an end moraine of Late Weichselian Flakkerhuk stadial age. The very restricted sediment thickness suggests that grounded ice filled the fjord during the Flakkerhuk and an ice shelf was not present. High inputs of ice rafted debris to the continental margin at about 18 000 BP indicate this as a probable age for the moraine. During the Allerød Interstadial, ice probably retreated from the outer fjord system, since massive diamictons similar to those of Holocene age are present at the base of most cores. A major depocentre of acoustically stratified sediments at the head of Hall Bredning is interpreted to represent ice proximal deposits from a glacier margin extending across the fjord. It is adjacent to dated moraines on land and is inferred to be of Milne Land stadial age (about 10 000 BP). A similar age is interpreted for acoustically laminated sediments and a moraine at the entrance of Vikingebugt, on the south side of Scoresby Sund. Dated kame terraces in the inner fjord system indicate that ice retreated to its present position 6–7000 years ago.     

鄂尔多斯盆地西缘砾质冲积扇沉积学特征

晚三叠世鄂尔多斯西缘冲积扇沉积主要由碎屑流、颗粒流、片流及河道砾岩等组成。文中讨论了各类砾岩的沉积学特征,同时指出,不同成因的砾岩,其粒度分布曲线形态及某些粒度参数亦不同.据此本文提出了根据-系列新的粒度分布曲线形态和粒度参数Mdf,Rgs和Mdf/Rgs等甄别冲积扇中不同类型砾岩的设想。     

Late Quaternary environmental change of Yellow River Basin: An organic geochemical record in Bohai Sea (North China)

Bulk geochemical characterization (total organic carbon, grain size distribution, carbon isotope composition) and molecular biomarkers (lignin phenols, straight chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers) were analyzed for a 21 m core from the Bohai Sea (North China), spanning ca 21 ka BP. These paleo-proxies presented remarkable differences between the late glacial period and the Holocene, reflecting continental and coastal environments, respectively. Two peat layers were deposited during the period of ca 9000-8460 yr BP. Thereafter the core site has been consistently covered by seawater until recent reclamation of land from the sea. The occurrence of a total organic carbon maximum from ca 6000-3800 yr BP was attributed to delivery of organic carbon enriched sediments via the Yellow River, consistent with increased vegetation density and higher development of soil under warm and humid mid-Holocene climate conditions. The distributions of lignin phenol compositions and C₃₁/C₂₉n-alkane ratio suggested the largest expansion of woody plants between ca 5300 and 4000 yr BP, corresponding to the extremely favorable climatic conditions. Since ca 3800 yr BP, an abrupt increase in the C₃₁/C₂₉n-alkane ratio suggested higher abundance of grasses, consistent with a drying climate trend after the mid-Holocene. Since our coastal sediments close to the Yellow River outflow contain catchment-integrated environmental signals of the river basin, molecular proxies demonstrate that the variability of vegetation distributions in the Holocene is a widespread phenomenon in those areas adjacent to Yellow River Basin.     

Middle to Late Pleistocene environments based on stable organic carbon and nitrogen isotopes of loess-palaeosol sequences from the Carpathian Basin

Stable organic carbon and nitrogen isotopes can be used to interpret past vegetation patterns and ecosystem qualities. Here we present these proxies for two loess-palaeosol sequences from the southern Carpathian Basin to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment during the past 350 ka and establish regional commonalities and differences. Before now, isotopic studies on loess sequences from this region were only conducted on deposits from the last glacial cycle. We conducted methodological tests involving the complete decalcification of the samples prior to stable isotope analyses. Two decalcification methods (fumigation method and wet chemical acidification), different treatment times, and the reproducibility of carbon isotope analyses were tested. Obtained results indicate that the choice of the decalcification method is important for organic carbon stable isotope analyses of loess-palaeosol sequences because ratios vary by more than 10‰ between the wet chemical and fumigation methods, due to incomplete carbonate removal by the latter. Therefore, we suggest avoiding the fumigation method for studies on loess-palaeosol sequences. In addition, our data show that samples with TOC content <0.2% bear increased potential for misinterpretation of their carbon isotope ratios. For our sites, C₃-vegetation is predominant and no palaeoenvironmental shifts leading to a change of the dominant photosynthesis pathway can be detected during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. Furthermore, the importance of further stable nitrogen isotope studies is highlighted, since this proxy seems to reflect past precipitation patterns and reveals favourable conditions in the southern Carpathian Basin, especially during interstadials.     

Late Oligocene-early Miocene evolution of the Lunpola Basin,central Tibetan Plateau,evidences from successive lacustrine records

Widespread Cenozoic sediments in and around the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are thought to have played an important role in explaining the process of the India-Asia collision as well as its interactions with global and regional paleoclimate. However, high-resolution temporal frameworks of sedimentary sequences and controls on geological and climatic events are still absent. To study the abovementioned issues, we investigate the Oligocene-Miocene lacustrine sequences (the Dingqinghu Formation) of the Lunpola Basin, central TP. In this work, cyclostratigraphic analyses are conducted with gamma ray log and pollen data to establish a high resolution temporal framework ranging from ca. 25.4 to 18.0 Ma for the sections. Along these sections, sediment accumulation rates are calculated with orbital signals to monitor clastic input of the lake basin; elemental, palynological, and isotopic data are summarized to depict the paleoclimate and paleoelevation evolution of this drainage system. Integrating all these clues together, we sort out a chronological list of events including lake basin, tectonics, and paleoclimate: regional uplift took place at 23.7 Ma; simultaneously, a distinct lake-basin transition characterized by accelerated sediment accumulation rate is recognized; about 0.2 Ma later at 23.5 Ma, catchment scale drought occurred and maintained to the end of the sections. Our results demonstrate that paleoclimate did not impose decisive influence on the late Oligocene-early Miocene evolution of the lake basin; instead, regional uplift and its associated accelerated exhumation of the source area resulted in the lake-basin transition and paleoclimatic drought. After reviewing the Oligocene-Miocene sedimentary records distributed in and around the TP, we argue that the 23.7 Ma geological event of the Lunpola Basin is probably not a single case but a regional effect of a dramatic tectonic transition of the plateau.     

A lacustrine record from Lop Nur,Xinjiang, China: Implications for paleoclimate change during Late Pleistocene

Climate variability during the Late Pleistocene is studied from the proxies in core CK-2 drilled from the Luobei Depression (91°03′E, 40°47′N), Lop Nur in the eastern Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China. Geophysical and geochemical properties, including magnetic susceptibility, granularity, chroma, carbonate content, loss on ignition and trace elements, have been determined to reconstruct the environmental evolution of the area during 32–9 ka BP. The chronology is established by uranium–thorium disequilibrium dating techniques.Our data suggest four paleoclimate stages, indicating glacial variations between cold–humid and warm–arid environments. A period of extreme humidity occurred during 31,900–19,200 yr BP is attributed the last glacial maximum (LGM). The period was followed by a warm–arid episode during 19,200–13,500 yr BP. Then a cold–humid interval during 13,500–12,700 yr BP may correspond to another cooling phases at high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The last stage from 12,700 to 9000 yr BP has a trend that the climate turned warm and arid. The Lop Nur region is characterized by particularly humid stadials and arid interstadials. The climate variability in Lop Nur was constrained by global climate change because it is correlated with Dansgaard–Oeschger and Heinrich events, which were observed at the northern high latitudes. The synchroneity of the palaeoclimatic events suggested that cold air activity at the northern high latitudes was the most important factor that influenced the climate evolution in the Lop Nur region. A probable mechanism that involves the migration of westerly winds is proposed to interpret this synchroneity.     

Evidence of Younger Dryas and Neoglacial cooling in a Late Quaternary palaeotemperature record from a speleothem in eastern Victoria,Australia

A calcitic stalagmite collected from a limestone cave in the Buchan area of eastern Victoria has been dated by three mass-spectrometric uranium series analyses. Two growth phases are represented: the older from 13.4 to 10.6 ka and the younger from 3.2 to 2.1 ka. Oxygen isotope analysis reveals that temperatures were below present-day values at all times, but particularly cool conditions are indicated between 12.3 and 11.4 ka, and Neoglacial conditions occurred at about 3 ka. The older cold climate event is clearly synchronous with the Younger Dryas in Europe and this is the first time that strong evidence for this event has been found in Australia. Carbon isotope variations are interpreted as indicating changes in plant productivity on the surface and are most likely controlled by variations in summer rainfall. They indicate particularly high levels of plant productivity from 11.5 to 11.0 ka. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.