Variations 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

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.