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The paleoclimatic environment reconstruction of Lop Nur in NW China in UAV spectroscopy

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Abstract

The change in the ecological environment in the arid core area is a critical issue in the context of global warming. To study the paleoclimate evolution, precise identification of minerals deposited in Asia’s arid hinterland, Lop Nur Salt Lake, NW China was conducted. The hyperspectral data of the salt crust was sampled to identify the species and content of sedimentary minerals, and the multispectral photos were used to reconstruct the salt crust morphology using the unmanned aerial vehicles platform. The SUnSAL (sparse unmixing by variable splitting and augmented Lagrangian) method was employed to inverse the sedimentary mineral components along the shoreline. The heterogeneity of salt and clay minerals in bright and dark ear-shaped strips was evaluated. The paleoclimatic environment associated with salt lake extinction was reconstructed by analyzing paleoclimate records of sediments, spectral reflectance and morphology of the salt crust. Results show that: (1) the variations in the micro-geomorphology of the salt crust are obviously the reason for the formation of bright and dark ear-shaped strips and the differences in the species and relative content of the sedimentary minerals are the microscopic reason. The high ratio of sedimentary salt minerals to clay minerals (RS/C) contributes to the high reflectivity, and the salt crust presents a bright texture. The low RS/C results in the low reflectivity, salt crust presents a dark texture; (2) the bright and dark ear-shaped strips represent warm-arid and cold-humid climates. The shape of the Lop Nur Lake shoreline evolved due to alternating warm-dry and cold-humid paleoclimate changes.

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Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Target Microwave Properties, Deqing Academy of Satellite Applications, Huzhou, 313200, China

    Lan Yang, Tingting Zhang, Huaze Gong & Yuyang Geng

  2. Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Lan Yang & Tingting Zhang

  3. School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Lan Yang & Guangjin Tian

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  1. Lan Yang
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  2. Tingting Zhang
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  3. Huaze Gong
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  4. Yuyang Geng
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  5. Guangjin Tian
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Correspondence to Tingting Zhang.

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Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 42071313, 41571363), the Science and Technology Project for Black Soil Granary (No. XDA28080500), and the Scientific Investigation of Natural and Cultural Heritage of Lop Nur Region (No. 2014FY210500)

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Yang, L., Zhang, T., Gong, H. et al. The paleoclimatic environment reconstruction of Lop Nur in NW China in UAV spectroscopy. J. Ocean. Limnol. 41, 1425–1443 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-022-1341-9

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