Linhai Yang

Dry early Holocene revealed by sand dune accumulation chronology in Bayanbulak Basin (Xinjiang, NW China)

Understanding the Holocene climate changes (especially moisture variation) and their mechanisms in the semiarid–arid Central Asia (SCA) is very important, as water availability is crucial for sustainable developments in this area. This study presents chronostratigraphy of an aeolian sedimentary sequence from Bayanbulak Basin (Xinjiang, NW China), aiming to infer the Holocene moisture history in the SCA. Luminescence dating technique was selected to construct the age framework of the study section. Since the luminescence signal intensity of quartz from the samples was too low to be detected, feldspar was used as an alternative dosimeter. A newly developed post-infrared (IR) IR-stimulated luminescence (IRSL) (pIRIR) dating protocol on K-feldspar was applied to determine the ages of samples. A set of tests on luminescence characteristics was performed and demonstrate that this method is suitable and the resultant ages are reliable. Combined with the stratigraphic investigation on the sand dune/palaeosol section, the results imply a very dry climatic condition characterized by sand dune accumulation at ~9–8 kyr, and a wet interval of 5–1.6 kyr when a soil layer was formed. This moisture variation pattern is consistent with that inferred from many lacustrine records in the SCA, suggesting a widespread dry period at 11–8 kyr. The present results appear to challenge a new stalagmite δ18O sequence, located nearby to Bayanbulak Basin, which instead suggested a humid early Holocene.

Holocene evolution of Huangqihai Lake in semi-arid northern China based on sedimentology and luminescence dating

The pattern of Holocene palaeoclimatic change in arid-semiarid northern China is debated. The terminal Huangqihai Lake is located at the northern margin of the modern East Asian summer monsoon and sensitive to climate change. We present here a sedimentary section from Huangqihai lake basin which comprises lacustrine and fluvial deposits and is about 8–9 m above the present lake level. Quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was employed to construct the chronology of the section. Based on the OSL chronology and the sedimentological and granulometric analysis, we conclude that (1) the Huangqihai Lake experienced a humid climate during the early part of the Holocene (from c. 10.2 ± 1.0 to 6.7 ± 0.7 ka) with a persistent and stable high lake level; (2) the lake level began to decline indicating aridification between 8.7 ± 0.8 ka and 6.7 ± 0.7 ka, and the climate was drier and variable after 6.7 ± 0.7 ka compared with that of before; (3) from 2.2 ± 0.2 to 0.93 ± 0.07 ka the climatic conditions were highly variable and continuously deteriorating, and the lake was turned into a playa for most of the time. In summary, the climate showed a general drying trend from the early Holocene to the late Holocene.

Abrupt sand-dune accumulation at the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau challenges the wet MIS3a inferred from numerous lake-highstands.

Over the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions, numerous 14C-based lake records revealed a ubiquitous wet climatic period during 40–25 ka (late MIS 3), which is in contradiction with the global pattern of generally cold and dry climates. This paper focuses on OSL dating results of a large set of sand dunes and alluvial sediments (50 OSL ages) from the Qinwangchuan (QWC) Basin at the northeast edge of the Tibetan Plateau, with the aim to test the validity of the anomalous wet condition for the late MIS 3 interval, evidenced by numerous lake highstands. The abrupt sand dune accumulation as indication of increased aridity in the study area was OSL dated to ~40–13 ka. This dry climatic inference of the sand dune system from QWC apparently shows no wet MIS 3a event. Thus, the anomalous wet conditions revealed by high lake levels for the late MIS 3 phase may not be a universal phenomena across entire western China.

Construction of a quartz OSL standardised growth curve (SGC) for aeolian samples from the Horqin dunefield in northeastern China

It has been suggested that the standardised growth curve (SGC) method can be used to de-terminate De accurately and reduce the measurement time. However, different opinions regarding the applicability of the SGC method exist. In this paper, we report the construction of quartz OSL SGC for 35 aeolian samples from different parts of the Horqin dunefield in northeastern China, and then test their applicability for De determination. Our results suggest that: 1) up to a regeneration dose of 80 Gy, the SGC of the Horqin dunefield can be fitted using the exponential plus linear equation, with the r2 value of 0.97, and all the regeneration dose points closely stick to the fitting line, implying that all samples share a very similar dose-response curve; 2) for samples with Des ranging from 1 to 50 Gy, the ratios of SAR De to SGC De fall within the range of 0.9–1.1, and the average ratio of SAR De to SGC De is 1.01±0.01, close to unity. Therefore, the construction of SGC is correct, and the SGC is an effective procedure for accurate De determination for samples from the study area.

TESTING THE STANDARDIZED GROWTH CURVE (SGC) TO OSL DATING COASTAL SEDIMENTS FROM THE SOUTH BOHAI SEA, CHINA

It has been suggested that the standardized growth curve (SGC) method can be used to accurately determinate equivalent dose (De) and reduce measurement time. However, different opinions regarding the applicability of the SGC method exist. In this paper, we evaluated quartz OSL SGCs of marine and coastal sediments of different grain sizes and different cores in the south Bohai Sea in China, and tested their applicability to the determination of De values. Our results suggested as follows: (1) The SGC method is applicable to both multiple- and single-aliquot regenerative-dose (MAR and SAR) protocols of OSL dating and efficiently provides reliable estimates of De. (2) Finesand quartz of different palaeodoses showed highly similar dose-response curves and an SGC was developed, but old samples using the SGC method have large uncertainties. (3) For coarse-silt quartz, two different types of dose-response curves were recorded: low-dose (≤60Gy) and high-dose (≥100Gy). The growth curves of low-dose quartz were similar to each other, facilitating the use of SGC in De estimations, but errors tended to be larger than those obtained in the SAR method. For high-dose (100–300Gy) quartz, the SGC was also found to be reliable, but there was large uncertainty in De (>300Gy) estimation. We suggest that SGC could be employed for the dating of marine and coastal sediments dating using either MAR or SAR OSL protocol and either fine-silt, coarse-silt or fine-sand quartz.