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<p>Northwest China is a core zone of Asian inland aridification and a key focus of paleoclimatic research, as it is highly sensitive to large-scale atmospheric circulation shifts. The Kumishi Basin, an inland salt lake located on the southern flank of the East Tianshan Mountains, lies at the transition zone between the Northern Hemisphere Westerlies and the fringe of the Asian monsoon. This unique geographical position makes it an ideal archive for recording paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental variability. Since the Late Pleistocene, the basin has accumulated continuous evaporite sequences that preserve high-resolution geochemical signals of past climate changes. To reconstruct the hydrological and climatic evolution of the Kumishi Basin during the Late Pleistocene–Holocene, this study analyzed the δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O compositions of sediments from two continuous profiles, with grain-size analysis used as supporting evidence. Results confirm that the Kumishi Basin represents a closed inland saline system, with δ¹³C values ranging from − 0.03‰ to 1.38‰ (mean: 0.68‰) and δ¹⁸O values ranging from − 7.22‰ to -4.71‰ (mean: -6.32‰). Despite the dominance of aridity, which aligns with Central Asia’s long-term aridification trend, intermittent freshwater influxes or possible cooling events generated transient humid intervals. This conclusion is supported by the depleted δ¹⁸O signatures and hydrological fluctuations of the saline system. These findings indicate that the basin’s climate is primarily governed by the westerly circulation, and its paleoclimatic fluctuations are consistent with changes in the high-latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Amid global climate change, adaptive management of arid zones in northwest China is critical for mitigating ecological degradation. The isotopic data from this study provide insights into the paleoclimatic evolution mechanisms of the East Tianshan region, and offer a scientific basis for the sustainable utilization of salt lake resources and ecosystem conservation.</p>

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Using δ¹³C-δ¹⁸O to trace late Pleistocene–Holocene hydrological-climatic evolution of Kumishi Salt Lake (East Tianshan): implications for inland Asian aridification

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月12日

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  • Tiantao Yin,
  • Huaiwen Wang,
  • Mao zheng Zhan

摘要

Northwest China is a core zone of Asian inland aridification and a key focus of paleoclimatic research, as it is highly sensitive to large-scale atmospheric circulation shifts. The Kumishi Basin, an inland salt lake located on the southern flank of the East Tianshan Mountains, lies at the transition zone between the Northern Hemisphere Westerlies and the fringe of the Asian monsoon. This unique geographical position makes it an ideal archive for recording paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental variability. Since the Late Pleistocene, the basin has accumulated continuous evaporite sequences that preserve high-resolution geochemical signals of past climate changes. To reconstruct the hydrological and climatic evolution of the Kumishi Basin during the Late Pleistocene–Holocene, this study analyzed the δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O compositions of sediments from two continuous profiles, with grain-size analysis used as supporting evidence. Results confirm that the Kumishi Basin represents a closed inland saline system, with δ¹³C values ranging from − 0.03‰ to 1.38‰ (mean: 0.68‰) and δ¹⁸O values ranging from − 7.22‰ to -4.71‰ (mean: -6.32‰). Despite the dominance of aridity, which aligns with Central Asia’s long-term aridification trend, intermittent freshwater influxes or possible cooling events generated transient humid intervals. This conclusion is supported by the depleted δ¹⁸O signatures and hydrological fluctuations of the saline system. These findings indicate that the basin’s climate is primarily governed by the westerly circulation, and its paleoclimatic fluctuations are consistent with changes in the high-latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Amid global climate change, adaptive management of arid zones in northwest China is critical for mitigating ecological degradation. The isotopic data from this study provide insights into the paleoclimatic evolution mechanisms of the East Tianshan region, and offer a scientific basis for the sustainable utilization of salt lake resources and ecosystem conservation.