Carbonate formation and water level changes in a paleo-lake and its implication for carbon cycle and climate change, arid China

Abstract

Carbonate deposition is a main inorganic carbon sink in lakes, which varies depending on climate change and internal lake dynamics. Research on the relationship between lake carbonate and climate will help to understand mechanisms of carbon cycle in lacustrine systems. The approach of this study is to explicitly link carbonate formation with Holocene long-term climate change and lake evolution in a paleo-lake (Zhuye Lake), which is a terminal lake of a typical inland drainage basin in arid China. This paper presents analysis on grain-size, carbonate content and mineralogical composition of sediment samples from different locations of Zhuye Lake. The results show that calcite and aragonite are two main components for the lake carbonate, and the carbonate enrichment is associated with lake expansion during the Late Glacial and early to middle Holocene. Holocene lake expansion in arid regions of China is usually connected with high basin-wide precipitation that can strengthen the basin-wide surface carbonate accumulation in the terminal lake. For this reason, Zhuye Lake plays a role of carbon sinks during the wet periods of the Holocene.

Keywords

carbonate / carbon cycle / lake sediments / mineralogical composition / climate change

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