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The n-alkanol paleoclimate records in two peat deposits: a comparative study of the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and Northeast China

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Abstract

A number of studies have revealed that the climate in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and Northeast China is sensitive to postglacial changes. Unfortunately, the link of the past climate evolution between the two regions is not well understood. In this study, two cores are analyzed to determine this link directly. The high-resolution n-alkanol distribution patterns from two typical peat sequences covering the past 16,000 cal years in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and Northeast China, respectively, are closely examined by gas chromatograph–mass spectrometry analysis. In combination with other palaeoclimatic proxies, it is proposed that the n-alkanol average chain length and (C22 + C24)/(C26 + C28) ratio could reflect past climate changes in the two peat sequences. The n-alkanol proxies reveal several climatic intervals in the period from the last deglaciation through the Holocene. A comparison of n-alkanol records between the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and Northeast China indicates that the start and end of the warm Holocene Optimum differed at the two locations. The spatially asynchronous pattern of climatic change is possibly a result of different responses to change in solar radiation. The evolution of the Holocene paleoclimate is more consistent with changes in Northern Hemisphere solar radiation in Northeast China than on the Tibetan Plateau. The Holocene Optimum began and terminated earlier in Northeast China than in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Thus, the two n-alkanol proxies provide valuable insights into the regional Holocene climate and local environmental conditions.

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Acknowledgments

The work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40602004), MOST Special Fund from the State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University, the State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology (SKLLQG0801). We gratefully acknowledge the Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environment Geology of the Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) for access to GC/MS facilities. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful and constructive comments that greatly helped us to improve this contribution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi’an, 710069, China

    Yanhong Zheng & Xiaomin Liu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, 710075, China

    Yanhong Zheng, Weijian Zhou & Zhao Liu

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  1. Yanhong Zheng
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Correspondence to Yanhong Zheng.

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Zheng, Y., Zhou, W., Liu, Z. et al. The n-alkanol paleoclimate records in two peat deposits: a comparative study of the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and Northeast China. Environ Earth Sci 63, 135–143 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0676-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0676-2

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