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Re-assessment of the paleoclimate implications of the Shell Bar in the Qaidam Basin, China

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Abstract

The Shell Bar in the Qaidam Basin, China, is a prominent geological feature composed of millions of densely packed Corbicula shells. Since the mid 1980s, it has been regarded as evidence for existence of a large lake during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 in the presently hyper-arid Qaidam Basin. Early studies suggested the bivalve shells accumulated at the shore of a large lake, whereas more recent work led to the conclusion that the Shell Bar was formed within a deeper water body. Based on our re-assessment of sediments and fossils from the Shell Bar, investigation of exposed fluvio-lacustrine sections upstream of the Shell Bar and study of nearby modern streams, we infer that the Shell Bar represents a stream deposit. Corbicula is a typical stream-dweller around the world. Preservation of Corbicula shells of different sizes, as well as occurrence of many articulated shells, provide evidence against post-mortem transport and accumulation along a lake shore. Additionally, the SE-NW alignment of the Shell Bar is similar to modern intermittent stream beds in its vicinity and corresponds to the present-day slope towards the basin centre further NW, and furthermore, the predominantly sandy sediments also indicate that the Shell Bar was formed in a stream. Abundant ostracod shells in the Shell Bar sediments originated from stream-dwelling species that are abundant in modern streams in the vicinity of the Shell Bar, or in part from fluvio-lacustrine sediments exposed upstream of the Shell Bar, as a result of erosion and re-deposition. Deflation of alluvial fine-grained sediments in the Shell Bar region and protection of the stream deposits by the large and thick-walled Corbicula shells reversed the former channel relief and yielded the modern exposure, which is a prominent morphological feature. Occurrence of Corbicula shells in the Qaidam Basin indicates climate was apparently warmer than present during the formation of the Shell Bar because Corbicula does not live at similar or higher altitudes in the region today. Because the Shell Bar is no longer considered a deposit formed within a lake, its presence does not indicate paleoclimate conditions wetter than today.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Hailei Wang and Biao Zhang for help during fieldwork and Elke Heyde for analysis of water samples. Li–Na Du kindly provided information on the highest-altitude occurrences of living Corbicula in Muyang River, Yunnan Province. We are grateful to Peter Frenzel and an anonymous reviewer for constructive and thorough reviews, which helped to improve the original manuscript, and to Xiaozhong Huang and Mark Brenner for editorial assistance. Funding was provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and China NSF (41121001, 41172168).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Earth and Environmental Science, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 25/H27, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany

    Steffen Mischke

  2. Institute of Geological Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstr. 74-100, 12249, Berlin, Germany

    Steffen Mischke

  3. State Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environment and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Zhongping Lai

  4. Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Environment and Resource, MOE, School of Life and Geographic Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, 810008, China

    Zhongping Lai

  5. Centre for Arid Environment and Paleoclimate Research, School of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Chengjun Zhang

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  1. Steffen Mischke
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  2. Zhongping Lai
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Correspondence to Steffen Mischke.

Appendix

Appendix

Faunal list

Ostracoda

Darwinula stevensoni (Brady & Norman, 1870)

Candona candida (O.F. Müller, 1776)

Candona neglecta (Sars, 1887)

Candona weltneri (Hartwig, 1899)

Fabaeformiscandona caudata (Kaufmann, 1900)

Fabaeformiscandona danielopoli (Yin & Martens, 1997)

Fabaeformiscandona fabaeformis (Fischer, 1854)

Fabaeformiscandona rawsoni (Tressler, 1957)

Pseudocandona sp.

Cyclocypris sp.

Ilyocypris bradyi (Sars, 1890)

Ilyocypris decipiens (Masi, 1905)

Ilyocypris sebeiensis (Yang & Sun, 2004)

Cypris pubera (O.F. Müller, 1776)

Eucypris dulcifons (Diebel & Pietrzeniuk, 1969)

Eucypris mareotica (Fischer, 1855)

Prionocypris sp.

Tonnacypris edlundi (Van der Meeren, Khand & Martens, 2009)

Tonnacypris tonnensis (Diebel & Pietrzeniuk, 1975)

Trajancypris laevis (G.W. Müller, 1900)

Heterocypris incongruens (Ramdohr, 1808)

Heterocypris salina (Brady, 1868)

Cypridopsis vidua (O.F. Müller, 1776)

Limnocythere inopinata (Baird, 1843)

Limnocytherina cf. sanctipatricii (Brady & Robertson, 1869)

Paralimnocythere psammophila (Flössner, 1965)

Leucocythere dorsotuberosa (Huang, 1982)

Leucocythere sp.

Cytherissa lacustris (Sars, 1863)

Cyprideis torosa (Jones, 1850)

Bivalvia

Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774)

Corbicula largillierti (Philippi, 1844)

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Mischke, S., Lai, Z. & Zhang, C. Re-assessment of the paleoclimate implications of the Shell Bar in the Qaidam Basin, China. J Paleolimnol 51, 179–195 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-012-9674-6

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