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Moisture evolution in North Xinjiang (northwest China) during the last 8000 years linked to the westerlies’ winter half-year precipitation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2020

Xiaonan Zhang ,
Aifeng Zhou Open the ORCID record for Aifeng Zhou [Opens in a new window] ,
Zhendong Huang ,
Chengbang An ,
Yongtao Zhao ,
Liying Yin  and
James M. Russell
Xiaonan Zhang
Affiliation:
Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming650504, China Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
Aifeng Zhou*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
Zhendong Huang
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
Chengbang An
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
Yongtao Zhao
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
Liying Yin
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
James M. Russell
Affiliation:
Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI02912, USA
*
*Corresponding author. e-mail address: [email protected] (A. Zhou)
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Abstract

Winter half-year precipitation dominates variations in hydroclimatic conditions in North Xinjiang, but few researchers have focused on this very important aspect of the Holocene climate. Here we report multiproxy evidence of Holocene hydroclimate changes from the sediments of Wulungu Lake in North Xinjiang. The site is a closed terminal lake fed mainly by meltwater from snow and ice, and today the area is climatically dominated by the westerlies. Grain-size end-member analysis implies an important mode of variation that indicates a gradually increasing moisture trend, with superimposed centennial-scale variations, since 8000 cal yr BP. From 8000 to 5350 cal yr BP, a permanent lake developed, and the lake level gradually rose. Between 5350 and 500 cal yr BP, the moisture status increased rapidly, with the wettest climate occurring between 3200 and 500 cal yr BP. After 500 cal yr BP, the lake level fell. The trend of increasing Holocene wetness indicates a rising winter precipitation in North Xinjiang during the Holocene. This was due to an increase in upwind vapor concentrations caused by increased evaporation and strength of the westerlies, which were determined by the increasing boreal winter insolation and its latitudinal gradient.

Keywords

WesterliesMid-HoloceneLake sedimentsWulungu LakeGrain size
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 100 , March 2021 , pp. 122 - 134
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Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020

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