Open AccessVariations in the wind‐energy regime of the T aklimakan D esert, central A sia, over the last 700 years as inferred from nebkha sedimentology and chronology
Author(s) -
Wang Xunming,
Lang Lili,
Hua Ting,
Zhang Caixia,
Li Hui
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
boreas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.95
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1502-3885
pISSN - 0300-9483
DOI - 10.1111/bor.12063
Subject(s) - sedimentology , geology , arid , aeolian processes , wind speed , carbonate , geomorphology , paleontology , atmospheric sciences , oceanography , chemistry , organic chemistry
Changes in the wind‐energy environment between AD 1359 and 2010 in the T aklimakan D esert (central A sia) are recorded by the evolution of C hinese tamarisk ( T amarix taklamakanensis ) nebkhas. The carbonate component and sedimentological properties of the nebkha excavated during the study, together with AMS 14 C dating control, indicate that significant regional environmental changes have occurred in the central T aklimakan D esert during the last 700 years. The nebkha data presented show that in the periods of AD c. 1480–1560, c. 1640–1690, c. 1760–1820, c. 1860–1930 and c. 1970–1980 the T aklimakan D esert was a relatively high wind‐energy environment. Although changes in the wind‐energy regime in the desert were mainly in phase with fluctuations of the S iberian H igh, the wind systems and the variations in wind energy exhibit slight differences when compared with the T arim B asin. Nebkhas that develop in this region originate from the surfaces of mobile dunes or sand sheets, which differs from the origins of nebkhas found in other arid regions of C hina.