Oxygen‐18 and carbon‐13 records for the last 14,000 years from Lacustrine carbonates of Siling‐Co (Lake) in the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

To understand paleoenvironmental changes for the central Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, we analyzed stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon from calcium carbonates in a bottom sediment core collected from Siling-Co (lake). Five conventional and two TAMS 14C dates indicate that the core recovered sediments of the last 14,000 years. Calcium carbonates in the sediments seem to be primary carbonates precipitated chemically in the lake, and not clastic particles from limestones distributed around the lake, because of large variation of isotopic ratios, isotopic covariance since 6,000 yr BP and similarity between dates from total calcium carbonates and organic carbon. Their isotopic composition therefore reflects that of the lake water. We present the following paleoenvironmental history over the last 14,000 years in the central part of the plateau, from secular variations of δ18O, δ13C and CaCO3 content throughout the core: (1) Desiccation was dominant during the latter part of the Last Glacial stage (14,000 to 11,000 yr BP). (2) The Last Glacial stage abruptly terminated at 11,000 yr BP. (3) A temperate and stable climate was dominant from 11,000 to 5,000 yr BP. (4) Climatic conditions fluctuated from 5,000 to the present, including two strong desiccation periods (5,000 to 4,000 yr BP and 3,000 to 2,000 yr BP) and an intermediate period of heavy rainfall (4,000 to 3,000 yr BP). This period is also characterized by a covariant O and C isotopic trend.