Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Early–middle Holocene hydroclimate changes in the Asian monsoon margin of northwest China inferred from Huahai terminal lake records

  • Original paper
  • Published:
Journal of Paleolimnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the Asian monsoon margin of northwest China, millennial-scale precipitation and effective moisture changes during the Holocene differ from those observed in the primary monsoon area. Whether these differences were caused by a change in precipitation or other hydroclimate factors remains controversial. We selected Huahai Lake, located in the western portion of the Hexi Corridor, at the northwest margin of the Asian monsoon area, to address this question. Using paleoclimate proxies (mineralogical assemblages and immobile elements) and results from a previous study, we inferred hydroclimate changes in this area during the early and middle Holocene (10.5–5.5 cal ka BP). Heavy precipitation and abundant runoff occurred during the early Holocene (10.5–8.8 cal ka BP). Proxies (carbonate content, total organic carbon and C/N) for precipitation minus evaporation (P − E) in the same section, however, revealed low P − E during the early Holocene and highest P − E in the middle Holocene (8.8–5.5 cal ka BP). Therefore, on a millennial timescale, precipitation amount and effective moisture changes were asynchronous during the early and middle Holocene. The precipitation and effective moisture pattern in the study area during that time span was different from patterns in both the Asian monsoon and westerly wind-influenced areas, suggesting an interplay between the two climate features. High precipitation during the early Holocene corresponded to a strengthened Asian monsoon. Highest P − E in the study area occurred during the middle Holocene and may have been caused by low evaporation, rather than high precipitation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aggarwal PK, Fröhlich K, Kulkarni KM, Gourcy LL (2004) Stable isotope evidence for moisture sources in the Asian summer monsoon under present and past climate regimes. Geophys Res Lett 31:L08203

    Google Scholar 

  • An Z, Porter SC, Zhou W, Lu Y, Donahue DJ, Head M, Wu X, Ren J, Zheng H (1993) Episode of strengthened summer monsoon climate of Younger Dryas age on the Loess Plateau of central China. Quat Res 39:45–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • An Z, Colman SM, Zhou W, Li X, Brown ET, Jull AJT, Cai Y, Huang Y, Lu X, Chang H (2012) Interplay between the Westerlies and Asian monsoon recorded in Lake Qinghai sediments since 32 ka. Sci Rep 2:619

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird BW, Polisar PJ, Lei Y, Thompson LG, Yao T, Finney BP, Bain DJ, Pompeani DP, Steinman BA (2014) A Tibetan lake sediment record of Holocene Indian summer monsoon variability. Earth Planet Sci Lett 399:92–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang H, An Z, Wu F, Jin Z, Liu W, Song Y (2013) A Rb/Sr record of the weathering response to environmental changes in westerly winds across the Tarim Basin in the late Miocene to the early Pleistocene. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 386:364–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen X (2010) Physical geography of arid land in China. Science Press, Beijing, pp 286–287 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen F, Yu Z, Yang M, Ito E, Wang S, Madsen DB, Huang X, Zhao Y, Sato T, John B, Birks H, Boomer I, Chen J, An C, Wünnemann B (2008) Holocene moisture evolution in arid central Asia and its out-of-phase relationship with Asian monsoon history. Quat Sci Rev 27:351–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dietze E, Wünnemann B, Hartmann K, Diekmann B, Jin H, Stauch G, Yang S, Lehmkuhl F (2013) Early to mid-Holocene lake high-stand sediments at Lake Donggi Cona, northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China. Quat Res 79:325–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drumond A, Nieto R, Gimeno L (2011) Sources of moisture for China and their variations during drier and -wetter conditions in 2000–2004: a Lagrangian approach. Clim Res 50:215–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng ZD, An C, Wang H (2006) Holocene climatic and environmental changes in the arid and semi-arid areas of China: a review. Holocene 16:119–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herzschuh U (2006) Palaeo-moisture evolution in monsoonal Central Asia during the last 50,000 years. Quat Sci Rev 25:163–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herzschuh U, Borkowski J, Schewe J, Mischke S, Tian F (2014) Moisture-advection feedback supports strong early-to-mid Holocene monsoon climate on the eastern Tibetan Plateau as inferred from a pollen-based reconstruction. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 402:44–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu G, Wang N, Gao S, Li Q, Zhao Q, Guo J (2002) Discovery of Holocene aeolian sand in Huahai Lake and its environmental significance. J Desert Res 22(2):159–165 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang X, Chen F, Fan Y, Yang M (2009) Dry late-glacial and early Holocene climate in arid central Asia indicated by lithological and palynological evidence from Bosten Lake, China. Quat Int 194:19–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson AM, Quade J (2013) Long-term east-west asymmetry in monsoon rainfall on the Tibetan Plateau. Geology 41:351–354

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson AM, Quade J, Huth TE, Lei G, Cheng H, Edwards LR, Olsen JW, Zhang H (2015) Lake level reconstruction for 12.8–2.3 ka of the Ngangla Ring Tso closed-basin lake system, southwest Tibetan Plateau. Quat Res 83:66–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huth T, Hudson AM, Quade J, Guoliang L, Hucai Z (2015) Constraints on paleoclimate from 11.5 to 5.0 ka from shoreline dating and hydrologic budget modeling of Baqan Tso, southwestern Tibetan Plateau. Quat Res 83:80–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jin Z, Cao J, Wu J, Wang S (2006) A Rb/Sr record of catchment weathering response to Holocene climate change in Inner Mongolia. Earth Surf Proc Landf 31:285–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jin L, Chen F, Morrill C, Otto-Bliesner BL, Rosenbloom N (2012) Causes of early Holocene desertification in arid central Asia. Clim Dyn 38:1577–1591

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koinig KA, Shotyk W, Lotter AF, Ohlendorf C, Sturm M (2003) 9000 years of geochemical evolution of lithogenic major and trace elements in the sediment of an alpine lake—the role of climate, vegetation, and land-use history. J Paleolimnol 30:307–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lan Y, Hu X, Xiao S, Wen J, Wang G, Zou S, La C, Song J (2012) Study on climate change in mountainous region of Shulehe River Basin in past 50 years and its effect to mountainous runoff. Plateau Meteorol 31:1636–1644 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Last WM (2001) Mineralogy analysis of lake sediments. In: Last WM, Smol JP (eds) Tracking environmental change using lake sediments. Kluwer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 143–187

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Morrill C (2010) Multiple factors causing Holocene lake-level change in monsoonal and arid central Asia as identified by model experiments. Clim Dyn 35:1119–1132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Wang N, Cheng H, Long H, Zhao Q (2009) Holocene environmental change in the marginal area of the Asian monsoon: a record from Zhuye Lake, NW China. Boreas 38:349–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Wang N, Chen H, Li Z, Zhou X, Zhang C (2012a) Tracking millennial-scale climate change by analysis of the modern summer precipitation in the marginal regions of the Asian monsoon. J Asian Earth Sci 58:78–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Wang N, Morrill C, Anderson DM, Li Z, Zhang C, Zhou X (2012b) Millennial-scale erosion rates in three inland drainage basins and their controlling factors since the Last Deglaciation, arid China. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 365–366:263–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Wang N, Li Z, Zhou X, Zhang C (2013) Climatic and environmental change in Yanchi Lake, Northwest China since the Late Glacial: a comprehensive analysis of lake sediments. J Geogr Sci 23:932–946

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Z, Wang N, Li Y, Cheng H, Chen Q (2014) Precipitation changes during the early Holocene and middle Holocene, implicated by exogenetic detrital mineral changes in Huahai Lake, Hexi Corridor of NW China. J Desert Res 34:1480–1485 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Hu X, Huang W, Wang J, Jiang J (2015a) Variation and trend prediction of the mountain runoffs of the trunk streams fo the Shule River Basin, Hexi Corridor. J Gliciol Geocryol 37:803–810 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Z, Wang N, Cheng H, Ning K, Zhao L, Li R (2015b) Formation and environmental significance of Late Quaternary calcareous root tubes in the deserts of the Alashan Plateau, Northwest China. Quat Int 372:167–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Z, Wang N, Li R, Ning K, Cheng H, Zhao L (2015c) Indication of millennial-scale moisture changes by the temporal distribution of Holocene calcareous root tubes in the deserts of the Alashan Plateau, Northwest China. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 440:496–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu X, Herzschuh U, Shen J, Jiang Q, Xiao X (2008) Holocene environmental and climatic changes inferred from Wulungu Lake in northern Xinjiang, China. Quat Res 70:412–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu B, Jin H, Sun L, Sun Z, Niu Q, Xie S, Li G (2014) Holocene moisture change revealed by the Rb/Sr ratio of aeolian deposits in the southeastern Mu Us Desert, China. Aeolian Res 13:109–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu X, Lai Z, Madsen D, Zeng F (2015) Last deglacial and Holocene lake level variations of Qinghai Lake, north-eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. J Quat Sci 30:245–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long H, Lai Z, Wang N, Li Y (2010) Holocene climate variations from Zhuyeze terminal lake records in East Asian monsoon margin in arid northern China. Quat Res 74:46–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long H, Lai Z, Fuchs M, Zhang J, Li Y (2012) Timing of Late Quaternary palaeolake evolution in Tengger Desert of northern China and its possible forcing mechanisms. Glob Planet Chang 92–93:119–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long H, Shen J, Tsukamoto S, Chen J, Yang L, Frechen M (2014) Dry early Holocene revealed by sand dune accumulation chronology in Bayanbulak Basin (Xinjiang, NW China). Holocene 24:614–626

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcott SA, Shakun JD, Clark PU, Mix AC (2013) A reconstruction of regional and global temperature for the past 11,300 years. Science 339:1198–1201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore DM, Reynolds JC (1997) X-ray diffraction and the identification and analysis of clay minerals. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrill C, Overpeck JT, Cole JE (2003) A synthesis of abrupt changes in the Asian summer monsoon since the last deglaciation. Holocene 13:465–476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nesbitt HW, Young GM (1989) Fommation and diagenesis of weathering profiles. J Geol 97:129–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Opitz S, Wünnemann B, Aichner B, Dietze E, Hartmann K, Herzschuh U, Ijmker J, Lehmkuhl F, Li S, Mischke S, Plotzki A, Stauch G, Diekmann B (2012) Late Glacial and Holocene development of Lake Donggi Cona, north-eastern Tibetan Plateau, inferred from sedimentological analysis. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 337–338:159–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen T, Calvert S (1990) Anoxia vs. productivity: what controls the formation of organic-carbon-rich sediments and sedimentary rocks? Aapg Bull 74:454–466

    Google Scholar 

  • Ran M, Feng Z (2013) Holocene moisture variations across China and driving mechanisms: a synthesis of climatic records. Quat Int 313–314:179–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tapponnier P, Xu Z, Roger F, Meyer B, Arnaud N, Wittlinger G, Yang JS (2001) Geology-Oblique stepwise rise and growth of the Tibet plateau. Science 294:1671–1677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang N, Zhao Q, Li JJ, Hu G, Cheng H (2003) The sand wedges of the last ice age in the Hexi Corridor, China: paleoclimatic interpretation. Geomorphology 51:313–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Cheng H, Edwards RL, He Y, Kong X, An Z, Wu J, Kelly MJ, Dykoski CA, Li X (2005) The Holocene Asian monsoon: links to solar changes and North Atlantic climate. Science 308:854–857

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang K, Jiang H, Zhao H (2006) Advection and convergence of water vapor transport over the northwest China. Adv Water Sci 17:164–169 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Liu X, Herzschuh U (2010) Asynchronous evolution of the Indian and East Asian Summer Monsoon indicated by Holocene moisture patterns in monsoonal central Asia. Earth-Sci Rev 103:135–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang N, Li Z, Cheng H, Li Y, Huang Y (2011) High lake levels on Alxa Plateau during the Late Quaternary. Chin Sci Bull 56:1799–1808

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang N, Li Z, Li Y, Cheng H, Huang R (2012) Younger Dryas event recorded by the mirabilite deposition in Huahai lake, Hexi Corridor, NW China. Quat Int 250:93–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang H, Chen Y, Li W, Deng H (2013a) Runoff responses to climate change in arid region of northwestern China during 1960–2010. Chin Geogr Sci 23:286–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang N, Li Z, Li Y, Cheng H (2013b) Millennial-scale environmental changes in the Asian monsoon margin during the Holocene, implicated by the lake evolution of Huahai Lake in the Hexi Corridor of northwest China. Quat Int 313:100–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Herzschuh U, Shumilovskikh LS, Mischke S, Birks HJB, Wischnewski J, Böhner J, Schlütz F, Lehmkuhl F, Diekmann B, Wünnemann B, Zhang C (2014) Quantitative reconstruction of precipitation changes on the NE Tibetan Plateau since the Last Glacial Maximum—extending the concept of pollen source area to pollen-based climate reconstructions from large lakes. Clim Past 10:21–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang L, Li G, Dong Y, Han D, Zhang J (2015) Using hydrochemical and isotopic data to determine sources of recharge and groundwater evolution in an arid region: a case study in the upper-middle reaches of the Shule River basin, northwestern China. Environ Earth Sci 73:1901–1915

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wünnemann B, Mischke S, Chen F (2006) A Holocene sedimentary record from Bosten Lake, China. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 234:223–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yao B, Liu X, Wang Y, Yang B (2011) Late Holocene climatic changes revealed by mineralogical records from lacustrine core KS-2006 from Lake Kusai in the Hoh Xil area, northern Tibetan Plateau. J Lake Sci 23:903–909 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan D, Cheng H, Edwards RL, Dykoski CA, Kelly MJ, Zhang M, Qing J, Lin Y, Wang Y, Wu J, Dorale JA, An Z, Cai Y (2004) Timing, duration and transitions of the last interglacial Asian monsoon. Science 304:575–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng Y, Chen J, Xiao J, Qi L (2013) Non-residual Sr of the sediments in Daihai Lake as a good indicator of chemical weathering. Quat Res 79:284–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang H, Ma Y, Wünnemann B, Pachur HJ (2000) A Holocene climatic record from arid northwestern China. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 162:389–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang H, Peng J, Ma Y, Chen G, Feng Z, Li B, Fan H, Chang F, Lei G, Wünnemann B (2004) Late Quaternary palaeolake levels in Tengger Desert, NW China. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 211:45–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Chen F, Holmes JA, Li H, Guo X, Wang J, Li S, Lü Y, Zhao Y, Qiang M (2011) Holocene monsoon climate documented by oxygen and carbon isotopes from lake sediments and peat bogs in China: a review and synthesis. Quat Sci Rev 30:1973–1987

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Zhang C, Wu D, Zhou A (2015) Element geochenistry of lake deposits measured by X-ray fluorescence core scanner in northwest China. Mar Geol Quat Geol 35:163–174 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Miss Youhong Gao for help drawing Fig. 1. We also thank the editors and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which led to significant improvement of this manuscript. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41530745, 41301217, and 41371114) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (lzujbky-2015-148).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Center for Desert and Climatic Change in Arid Region, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Zhuolun Li, Nai’ang Wang, Hongyi Cheng & Yu Li

Authors
  1. Zhuolun Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nai’ang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hongyi Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yu Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhuolun Li.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, Z., Wang, N., Cheng, H. et al. Early–middle Holocene hydroclimate changes in the Asian monsoon margin of northwest China inferred from Huahai terminal lake records. J Paleolimnol 55, 289–302 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-016-9880-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-016-9880-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation