The causes of the disappearance of the ancient town of Loulan in Xinjiang, China have been generally agreed to derive from two factors: human activities and natural factors (environmental variations). In this paper, t...The causes of the disappearance of the ancient town of Loulan in Xinjiang, China have been generally agreed to derive from two factors: human activities and natural factors (environmental variations). In this paper, the Muzart Glacier was selected as an example, and found that the length of the glacier has been gradually decreasing and the snow line has been retreating to a higher altitude, both results contributing to a decrease in river flow below the Muzart Glacier. From the distribution of moraines in the Tianshan Mountains and adjacent areas in different periods, the paper speculates that there have been four minor glacial periods since the Quaternary. Although the durations and scales of the four minor glacial periods were different, they all indirectly influenced the formation and disappearance of the Lop Nur Lake. The events of the fourth minor glacial period are the important impact factors in the existence and disappearance of Loulan. Whether the disappearance of Loulan can be related to the events of the three previous minor glacial periods needs further investigation.展开更多
The Lop Nur Salt Lake, located in the eastern part of the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China, has become a playa in the Quaternary. Rhombic in shape, the Lop Nur depression is mainly controlled by the NE-striking and nearly...The Lop Nur Salt Lake, located in the eastern part of the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China, has become a playa in the Quaternary. Rhombic in shape, the Lop Nur depression is mainly controlled by the NE-striking and nearly N-S-striking sets of faults. Since 1995, a superlarge brine potash deposit with potash resources of 2.50×10^8s t has been found in the Luobei subbasin in the northeastern part of the Lop Nur. We intensively studied the features and formation mechanism of faults inside the Lop Nur through satellite images, geomorphologic survey and continuous conductivity imaging and found seven subparallel graben faults formed under the action of nearly N 10° E principal compressional stress during deposition of the Lop Nur Salt Lake. These faults are up to 〉60 km long and 1-4 km wide and may extend downward for 1000 m or more. It is just under the action of these tensional faults that potash subbasius formed. The largest subbasin is the Luobei subbasin and the smaller ones are the Luoxi hollow, Erbei hollow and Tienan hollow. Investigation also indicates that the graben faults in the Lop Nur not only control the origin of the potash subbasins, but they themselves are also good brine reservoir structures, in which abundant potash-rich brines are stored. Therefore, The faults had played an important role in the potash formation of the Lop Nur.展开更多
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 hint...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.展开更多
Saline lakes are useful repositories for paleo-climatic records. In recent years, magnetic properties of saline lake sediments have been widely applied to establish paleo-climatic change. However,the influence factors...Saline lakes are useful repositories for paleo-climatic records. In recent years, magnetic properties of saline lake sediments have been widely applied to establish paleo-climatic change. However,the influence factors of magnetic properties in saline lakes have not been fully understood, which complicates the paleoenvironmental interpretation.Here, we present a rock magnetic analyses result of LOP_1 profile(40°26′09″′N, 90°21′23″E) from Lop Nur, a well-known saline lake, located in the eastern Tarim Basin in northwestern China. We combined the particle size, total organic content, and mineral characteristics analysis to assess the influence factors of magnetic properties in Lop Nur and its environmental significance. The results indicate that early diagenesis is the major influence factor on magnetic properties of Lop Nur saline sediments.Authigenic greigite and pyrite are identified within organic-rich sediments, which produce zones with high and low magnetic susceptibilities, respectively.The different authigenic iron sulfide contents in different layers are related to sedimentary environment changes. Sufficient supplies of organic matter and sulphate and low sedimentation rates favour the pyritization process. Moreover, if pyritization was constrained, intermediate greigite formed and was preserved. In oxidizing environments, sediment magnetic properties are consistent with those of source materials from Tarim Basin and are mainly controlled by particle size and hydrodynamic sorting of mainly detrital magnetite is largely unaffected by early diagenesis. Our study demonstrates that magnetic properties can provide a robust approach for studying depositional environment change in saline lake. In addition, the information obtained in this study would also provide insights into the geochemical processes of iron element in saline lakes.展开更多
The Lop Nur dry salt lake,Xinjiang province,is charactered by typical physiognomy salt-crust,located in39.6-41.3N.latitude and 89.6-91.4E.longitude.The thickness of salt-crust is about from 20 cm to 100 cm,and
Lop Nur is located in the interior of Asian and the lowest part in the eastern Tarim Basin.It is the final destination of major river systems in Tarim Basin and the accumulation center of salt materials(Xia,1987).As
The Lop Nur Lake, a famous lake in the arid areas of China, is located in the communi-cations center of the ancient Silk Road which facilitated the flow of culture between China andWestern countries and enjoyed the gr...The Lop Nur Lake, a famous lake in the arid areas of China, is located in the communi-cations center of the ancient Silk Road which facilitated the flow of culture between China andWestern countries and enjoyed the great reputation in the ancient history of China. Since the re-cent 100 years, some Chinese and foreign scholars have explored and investigated here, they,however, could not get to the hinterland of the lake basin due to the hard and dangerous roads.Therefore, there are many divergences and controversies about the Lop Nur Lake region[1'2]. Inorder to clarify these issues, know the usable natural resources and sum up the historical experi-ences and lessons of dry-up of the Lop Nur Lake, a scientific investigation team was organized byXinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to carry out the investigation and researchabout the Lop Nur Lake region in the 1980s. Recently, some personnel from CCTV and other in-stitutions went to the lower reaches of the Tarim River and the Lop Nur Lake region to undertakethe research for coordinating the strategic decision of the Great Development of Western Chinaand the synthetic harnessing of the Tarim River, and a series of achievements in scientific researchhave been achieved.展开更多
基金funded by National Basic Research Program of China (2010CB951003)Opening Fund of Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology and Desert Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘The causes of the disappearance of the ancient town of Loulan in Xinjiang, China have been generally agreed to derive from two factors: human activities and natural factors (environmental variations). In this paper, the Muzart Glacier was selected as an example, and found that the length of the glacier has been gradually decreasing and the snow line has been retreating to a higher altitude, both results contributing to a decrease in river flow below the Muzart Glacier. From the distribution of moraines in the Tianshan Mountains and adjacent areas in different periods, the paper speculates that there have been four minor glacial periods since the Quaternary. Although the durations and scales of the four minor glacial periods were different, they all indirectly influenced the formation and disappearance of the Lop Nur Lake. The events of the fourth minor glacial period are the important impact factors in the existence and disappearance of Loulan. Whether the disappearance of Loulan can be related to the events of the three previous minor glacial periods needs further investigation.
文摘The Lop Nur Salt Lake, located in the eastern part of the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China, has become a playa in the Quaternary. Rhombic in shape, the Lop Nur depression is mainly controlled by the NE-striking and nearly N-S-striking sets of faults. Since 1995, a superlarge brine potash deposit with potash resources of 2.50×10^8s t has been found in the Luobei subbasin in the northeastern part of the Lop Nur. We intensively studied the features and formation mechanism of faults inside the Lop Nur through satellite images, geomorphologic survey and continuous conductivity imaging and found seven subparallel graben faults formed under the action of nearly N 10° E principal compressional stress during deposition of the Lop Nur Salt Lake. These faults are up to 〉60 km long and 1-4 km wide and may extend downward for 1000 m or more. It is just under the action of these tensional faults that potash subbasius formed. The largest subbasin is the Luobei subbasin and the smaller ones are the Luoxi hollow, Erbei hollow and Tienan hollow. Investigation also indicates that the graben faults in the Lop Nur not only control the origin of the potash subbasins, but they themselves are also good brine reservoir structures, in which abundant potash-rich brines are stored. Therefore, The faults had played an important role in the potash formation of the Lop Nur.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.42071313,41571363)the Science and Technology Project for Black Soil Granary(No.XDA28080500)the Scientific Investigation of Natural and Cultural Heritage of Lop Nur Region(No.2014FY210500)。
文摘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.
基金supported by the NationalNatural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.41701012)the project "ComprehensiveScientific Investigation of Natural and CulturalHeritage in the Lop Nur Region" (Grant No.2014FY210500)
文摘Saline lakes are useful repositories for paleo-climatic records. In recent years, magnetic properties of saline lake sediments have been widely applied to establish paleo-climatic change. However,the influence factors of magnetic properties in saline lakes have not been fully understood, which complicates the paleoenvironmental interpretation.Here, we present a rock magnetic analyses result of LOP_1 profile(40°26′09″′N, 90°21′23″E) from Lop Nur, a well-known saline lake, located in the eastern Tarim Basin in northwestern China. We combined the particle size, total organic content, and mineral characteristics analysis to assess the influence factors of magnetic properties in Lop Nur and its environmental significance. The results indicate that early diagenesis is the major influence factor on magnetic properties of Lop Nur saline sediments.Authigenic greigite and pyrite are identified within organic-rich sediments, which produce zones with high and low magnetic susceptibilities, respectively.The different authigenic iron sulfide contents in different layers are related to sedimentary environment changes. Sufficient supplies of organic matter and sulphate and low sedimentation rates favour the pyritization process. Moreover, if pyritization was constrained, intermediate greigite formed and was preserved. In oxidizing environments, sediment magnetic properties are consistent with those of source materials from Tarim Basin and are mainly controlled by particle size and hydrodynamic sorting of mainly detrital magnetite is largely unaffected by early diagenesis. Our study demonstrates that magnetic properties can provide a robust approach for studying depositional environment change in saline lake. In addition, the information obtained in this study would also provide insights into the geochemical processes of iron element in saline lakes.
文摘The Lop Nur dry salt lake,Xinjiang province,is charactered by typical physiognomy salt-crust,located in39.6-41.3N.latitude and 89.6-91.4E.longitude.The thickness of salt-crust is about from 20 cm to 100 cm,and
文摘Lop Nur is located in the interior of Asian and the lowest part in the eastern Tarim Basin.It is the final destination of major river systems in Tarim Basin and the accumulation center of salt materials(Xia,1987).As
文摘The Lop Nur Lake, a famous lake in the arid areas of China, is located in the communi-cations center of the ancient Silk Road which facilitated the flow of culture between China andWestern countries and enjoyed the great reputation in the ancient history of China. Since the re-cent 100 years, some Chinese and foreign scholars have explored and investigated here, they,however, could not get to the hinterland of the lake basin due to the hard and dangerous roads.Therefore, there are many divergences and controversies about the Lop Nur Lake region[1'2]. Inorder to clarify these issues, know the usable natural resources and sum up the historical experi-ences and lessons of dry-up of the Lop Nur Lake, a scientific investigation team was organized byXinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to carry out the investigation and researchabout the Lop Nur Lake region in the 1980s. Recently, some personnel from CCTV and other in-stitutions went to the lower reaches of the Tarim River and the Lop Nur Lake region to undertakethe research for coordinating the strategic decision of the Great Development of Western Chinaand the synthetic harnessing of the Tarim River, and a series of achievements in scientific researchhave been achieved.
