Late Cenozoic Chemical Weathering and Environmental Changes Recorded in the Co Ngoin Sediments,Central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

A series of faulted inland basins were developed in the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, among which the Co Ngoin Basin containing thick lacustrine sediments is located in the peripheral area of the Indian monsoon. In this paper, we present the weathering history and paleoclimatic changes in the last 2.8 Ma based on studies of high-resolution temporal distributions of Sr, Rb and Zr concentrations, Rb/Sr and Zr/Rb ratios and δ 13C and TOC for the Co Ngoin sediments, in combination with the sediment properties, grain size distribution and clay mineralogy. The sedimentary records indicate three environmental stages in the last 2.8 Ma. At the core depth of 197?170 m (about 2.8?2.5 Ma), low-intensity chemical weathering in the Co Ngoin catchment was experienced under warm-dry to cool-wet climate conditions with relatively low Sr concentration and high Rb/Sr and Zr/Rb ratios. The sudden occurrence of both subalpine coniferous forest and coarse sand and gravel sediments in the Co Ngoin core reflects a strong tectonic uplift. The high Sr concentrations and low Rb/Sr and Zr/Rb ratios reflect a relatively strong chemical weathering between 2.5 Ma and 0.8 Ma (at the core depth of 170?38.5 m) under a temperate/cool and wet climate, characterized by mud and silt with fine sand, probably indicating a stable process of denudation and planation of the plateau. Above the depth of 38.5 m (about 0.8?0 Ma), the coarsening of sediments indicates a strong tectonic uplift and a relatively low intensity of chemical weathering as supported by the record of sediments having relatively low Sr concentrations and high Rb/Sr and Zr/Rb ratios. Since then, the plateau has taken the shape of the modern topographic pattern above 4000 m a.s.l.

Carbonate verse silicate Sr isotope in lake sediments and its response to Little Ice Age

The 87Sr/86Sr ratios of silicate (acid-insoluble, AI) and carbonate (acid-soluble, AS) of the lake sediments from the Daihai Lake, Inner Mongolia, since the last 500 years are measured respectively, indicating that chemical weathering of silicate minerals was in an early stage since the Little Ice Age within the Daihai watershed by combination with mineral constitute, Rb/Sr ratio and CaCO3 content in the sediments. During the Little Ice Age maximum, an evi-dent peak in the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of both silicate and carbon-ate in sediments suggests that a cold climate condition is un-favorable to dissolving radiogenic strontium from silicate minerals. Meanwhile, the variation of 87Sr/86Sr ratios of sili-cate and carbonate also reflects a projected warming climate favorable to intensifying chemical weathering after the Little Ice Age. Consequently, the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of both silicate and carbonate in inland lake sediments can be used as an effec-tive proxy of the past climate in single watershed.