Lake Hovsgol basin as a new study site for long continental paleoclimate records in continental interior Asia: General context and current status Introduction

• Published in: Quaternary International
• Main Authors: Prokopenko, Alexander A., Kuzmin, Mikhail I., Li, Hong-Chun, Woo, Kyung-Sik, Catto, Norm R.
• Other Authors: Department of Earth Sciences
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2009
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarc*; ice core
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2009.02.031; http://ir.lib.ncku.edu.tw/handle/987654321/97014

Lacustrine sedimentary strata in the Lake Hovsgol rift basin, NW Mongolia, preserved an important regional archive with new powerful proxies for climate change in continental interior Asia. Two scientific drilling campaigns of the Hovsgol Drilling Project (HDP) recovered the most complete and best resolved mid-late Pleistocene paleoclimate archive in Mongolia. With the basal age of ca. 1 Ma, Lake Hovsgol drill core section complements those obtained previously in the neighboring Lake Baikal, and contains regional paleoclimate proxy records on a timescale comparable to that of marine sedimentary records and the longest Antarctic ice core record. Works in this volume discuss changes in lake chemistry, biota and environment, closely linked with drill core lithology and depositional trends apparent from sediment facies. The current collection of works illustrates the potential of proxy signals in the Hovsgol record and highlights new important constraints on their interpretation. Because of a nearly continuous record of endogenic carbonate accumulation in Lake Hovsgol, a wealth of paleoclimate proxy data is preserved in carbonate mineralogy, elemental geochemistry and stable isotope composition; such a unique long record was not previously available in this part of the world. The repetitive pattern of changes in the lake's water budget in response to the climatic cycles of the Pleistocene is established and constrained by absolute dating and the robust paleomagnetic event/reversal timescale. The new proxy records from the HDP sediment sections are both relevant and timely contributions to the discussion of the nature of paleoclimate changes in continental interior Asia during prior glacial and interglacial intervals of the Pleistocene. These records help establish the early timing of the post-glacial changes in atmospheric circulation and effective moisture budget in the region and resolve the previously proposed scenarios of extreme precipitation gradients during glacial periods. The key primary data presented in this volume make a compelling case for further in-depth studies of the available records and for future deeper drilling into the early Pleistocene and the Pliocene strata in this basin. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.