In situ cosmogenic ^(10)Be dating of the Quaternary glaciations in the southern Shaluli Mountain on the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

It is generally considered that four-times ice age happened during the Quaternary epoch on the Tibetan Plateau. However, the research on the chronology of the four-times ice age is far from enough. The Shaluli Mountain on the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau is an ideal place for plaeo-glacier study, because there are abundant Quaternary glacial remains there. This paper discusses the ages of the Quaternary glaciations, based on the exposure dating of roche moutonnée, moraines and gla- cial erosion surfaces using in situ cosmogenic isotopes 10Be. It is found that the exposure age of the roche moutonnée at Tuershan is 15 ka, corresponding to Stage 2 of the deep-sea oxygen isotope, suggesting that the roche moutonnée at Tuershan is formed in the last glacial maximum. The expo- sure age of glacial erosion surface at Laolinkou is 130―160 ka, corresponding to Stage 6 of the deep-sea oxygen isotope. The oldest end moraine at Kuzhaori may form at 421―766 kaBP, corre- sponding to Stages 12―18 of the deep-sea oxygen isotope. In accordance with the climate charac- teristic of stages 12,14,16 and 18 reflected by the deep-sea oxygen isotope, polar ice cores and loess sequence, the oldest end moraine at Kuzhaori may form at stage 12 or stage 16, the latter is more possible.

New Discovery of the Quaternary Glaciation Remains in Tala Mountain of Ar Horqin Banner, Inner Mongolia

Objective Northeast China is located in a cold region with high latitude. In the mid-low mountain areas, the existence of Quaternary glacier as well as its range and nature are always controversial. The glacial paleogeomorphology of Northeast China had been extensively studied and explored. The results revealed that Quaternary glaciers was developed in the northern part of Great Hinggan Ranges and Changbai Mountains. However, some scholars believed that the development of the Quaternary glaciers in China resulted from tectonic coupling and close relation with the elevation of mountains. In Northeast China, glaciation did not occur in any mid-low mountain areas during the Quaternary except the Changbai Mountains where the elevation is more than 2600 m. The question is whether glaciation occurred in the mid-low mountain areas of Northeast China during the Quaternary？ In order to clarify this question, this paper reports the Quaternary glacial remains of Tala Mountain, which were newly discovered in Ar Horqin Banner, lnner Mongolia and their age dating.

Late Cenozoic Geology and Paleo-environment Change in the Eastern Edge of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

There are late Cenozoic lacustrine deposits and loess and red clay and moraines in eastern edge of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Various genetic sediments recorded rich information on late Cenozoic paleo-environment changes. Xigeda lacustrine formed during 4.2 Ma B.P.-2.6 Ma B.P. There were 9 periodic warm-cold alternations. Eolian deposition in western Sichuan began at 1.15 Ma B.P. The loess-soil sequences recorded successively 14 paleo-monsoon climate cycles. Laterite in Chengdu plain recorded 5 stages of paleoclimatic stages since 1.13 Ma B.P. There was an old glacial period of 4.3 Ma B.P. in eastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. During Quaternary, there are 5 extreme paleoclimatic events corresponding with 5 glaciations.

Connections between Evaporite Deposition and Glacial Periods since the Middle Pleistocene in Salt Lakes in the Western Qaidam Basin, China

The Quaternary was the main evaporite deposition period in the Qaidam Basin(QB), but the correlation between the evaporite deposition period and the glacial period is still unclear. In this study, the research objects are primarily evaporite-bearing strata in a 461.58 m-long drill core in the QB. X-ray powder diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) were applied to study the evaporite minerals, U-Th dating being applied to construct the ~(230)Th geochronological framework. Evaporite deposition from Marine Isotope Stage(MIS) 15 to MIS 4 in the borehole was reconstructed via mineralogical and geochronological data. The evaporite minerals are mainly halite(NaCl), mirabilite(Na_(2)SO_(4)·10H_(2)O), thenardite(Na_(2)SO_(4)) and gypsum(CaSO_(4)·2H_(2)O). A total of 9 effective ~(230)Th data points, ranging from 492.5 ± 43.0 ka to 62.0 ± 11.9 ka, were obtained. The depositional age of the earliest halite layer in the borehole is 592.5–563.0 ka. There were mirabilite deposits in the QB during the cold glacial environment of MIS 6. During MIS 4, the study area desiccated, with mirabilite and halite being deposited. This study suggests that mirabilite is an indicator mineral for the glacial environment in the QB, while halite deposition does not correspond well to glaciation.

Two Necessary Conditions for the Glacial-Interglacial Cycles in the Quaternary

Milankovitch Theory shows that glacial-interglacial cycles in the Quaternary are related to the variation of solar insolation forcing linked to the earth＇s astronomical parameters.However,the summer insolation at northern high latitudes,usually considered as the main external forcing for the ice age as Milankovitch pointed out,is marked by the 19- and 23-ka precession periodicities,which is not consistent with the glacial-interglacial cycles.On the other hand,recent studies indicate that the annual mean insolation dominated by the obliquity is also an important external forcing in glacial cycles.In this paper,it is assumed that the glacial oscillation is regulated simultaneously by the annual mean insolation at northern high latitudes related to obliquity and the noon insolation at summer solstice at the ice-line latitude related to precession. Only when both of them exceed some thresholds,does the ice sheet start to melt continuously to induce the global warming and deglaciation.Furthermore,the periodicity transition of glacial cycles at mid-Pleistocene was a natural change when the ice sheet thickness altered.A conceptual model based on this idea gives encouraging results compared with the isotopic data.

Evidence for glaciation predating MIS-6 in the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range, southeastern Tibet

Southeastern Tibet is one of the most glaciated regions on the Tibetan Plateau both at present and during the Quaternary. Numerical dating of glacial deposits has allowed the establishment of a provisional chronology of Quaternary glacial fluctuations in this region, with the oldest glaciation(Guxiang Glaciation) occurring in marine oxygen isotope stage 6(MIS-6).During our recent field investigations, a morphostratigraphically older lateral moraine than that of the Guxiang Glaciation has been first identified, which is ~500–600 m above the Guxiang Glaciation moraine and discontinuously preserved on valley shoulders in the Bodui Zangbo River valley, eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range in southeastern Tibet. Considering the moraine is best preserved at Nitong Village, here we name the glacier advance which deposited the moraine as "Nitong Glaciation". Using electron spin resonance(ESR) technique, we dated the Nitong Glaciation moraine to 506.3±60.4 ka. Taking into account the age error and climatic conditions, we consider it most likely that the Nitong Glaciation occurred during MIS-12, although it might had happened sometime earlier.