14C AMS Dating of Wooden Cores from Historic Buildings for Archaeological and Dendrochronological Research in High Asia

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 1358-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Scharf ◽  
A Bräuning ◽  
W Kretschmer ◽  
B Wegner ◽  
F Darragon
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Species Level ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Historic Buildings ◽  
Pinus Densata ◽  
High Asia ◽  
Ams Dating ◽  
First Time ◽  
Occurrence Of Species

We had the opportunity to collect valuable wooden core samples from historic monasteries, temples, and secular buildings in 4 regions of High Asia, namely Dolpo (Nepal), ancient Nyangpo, Gyalrong/Minyag, and Lhasa and surroundings (all on the Tibetan Plateau, China). Tree species collected for dating include Pinus wallichiana (Dolpo), Juniperus tibetica, Pinus densata and several species of the genera Picea (spruce), Larix (larch), and Abies (fir) on the Tibetan Plateau, which could not always be determined to the species level due to the parallel occurrence of species of the same genus in these regions. Some of the wood samples were successfully dendro-dated with local tree-ring chronologies, but many could not, indicating a potentially higher age than the existing local chronologies. By accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating and wiggle-matching 199 14C samples from 73 collected timbers, it was possible to date these wood samples with high precision, and important information about the possible time of construction of these important historic buildings was obtained for the first time. Floating chronologies of 14C-dated wood span the periods AD 650 to 900 in Dolpo and ∼200 BC to AD 420 on the Tibetan Plateau. Besides dating of the wood samples from these historic monuments, 14C AMS dating with wiggle-matching gives the opportunity to extend the range of the currently existing regional tree-ring chronologies for future environmental reconstructions on the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas.

Process-based modeling of tree-ring formation and its relationships with climate on the Tibetan Plateau

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 31-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minhui He ◽  
Vladimir Shishov ◽  
Nazgul Kaparova ◽  
Bao Yang ◽  
Achim Bräuning ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Ring Formation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau

scholarly journals Critical minimum temperature limits xylogenesis and maintains treelines on the Tibetan Plateau

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxia Li ◽  
Eryuan Liang ◽  
Jozica Gricar ◽  
Sergio Rossi ◽  
Katarina Cufar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Minimum Temperature ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Climatic Variable ◽  
Eastern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Tree Ring Data ◽  
Xylem Growth ◽  
Ecological Mechanisms

ABSTRACTPhysiological and ecological mechanisms that define treelines are still debated. It is suggested that the absence of trees above the treeline is caused by the low temperature that limits growth. Thus, we raise the hypothesis that there is a critical minimum temperature (CTmin) preventing xylogenesis at treeline. We tested this hypothesis by examining weekly xylogenesis across three and four growing seasons in two natural Smith fir (Abies georgei var. smithii) treeline sites on the south-eastern Tibetan Plateau. Despite differences in the timing of cell differentiation among years, minimum air temperature was the dominant climatic variable associated with xylem growth; the critical minimum temperature (CTmin) for the onset and end of xylogenesis occurred at 0.7±0.4 °C. A process-based-modeled chronology of tree-ring formation using this CTmin was consistent with actual tree-ring data. This extremely low CTmin permits Smith fir growing at treeline to complete annual xylem production and maturation and provides both support and a mechanism for treeline formation.

scholarly journals A 12-year high-resolution climatology of atmospheric water transport over the Tibetan Plateau

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Curio ◽  
F. Maussion ◽  
D. Scherer
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Water Transport ◽  
Summer Monsoon ◽  
East Asian ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Atmospheric Water ◽  
Data Set ◽  
High Asia

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) plays a key role in the water cycle of high Asia and its downstream regions. The respective influence of the Indian and East Asian summer monsoon on TP precipitation and regional water resources, together with the detection of moisture transport pathways and source regions are the subject of recent research. In this study, we present a 12-year high-resolution climatology of the atmospheric water transport (AWT) over and towards the TP using a new data set, the High Asia Refined analysis (HAR), which better represents the complex topography of the TP and surrounding high mountain ranges than coarse-resolution data sets. We focus on spatiotemporal patterns, vertical distribution and transport through the TP boundaries. The results show that the mid-latitude westerlies have a higher share in summertime AWT over the TP than assumed so far. Water vapour (WV) transport constitutes the main part, whereby transport of water as cloud particles (CP) also plays a role in winter in the Karakoram and western Himalayan regions. High mountain valleys in the Himalayas facilitate AWT from the south, whereas the high mountain regions inhibit AWT to a large extent and limit the influence of the Indian summer monsoon. No transport from the East Asian monsoon to the TP could be detected. Our results show that 36.8 ± 6.3% of the atmospheric moisture needed for precipitation comes from outside the TP, while the remaining 63.2% is provided by local moisture recycling.

scholarly journals Sub-recent Ostracoda from Qilian Mountains, NW China

2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Mischke ◽  
Ulrike Herzschuh ◽  
Harald Kürschner ◽  
Fahu Chen ◽  
Fei Meng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Nw China ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Climatic History ◽  
The Qilian Mountains ◽  
First Time

Abstract. To our knowledge, the Qilian Mountains in NW China have been investigated with respect to Recent or sub-Recent ostracods for the first time. The Qilian Mountains (95–103°E/37–40°N) extend along the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau reaching a maximum altitude of 5826 m above sea-level (m asl).In September 2001, surface mud from the bottom of various water bodies including brooks, rivers and small shallow meadow and oxbow pools were sampled at an altitude ranging from 2900 m to 3570 m asl. In addition, surface mud samples and short cores were obtained from the small (c. 1 km2) and shallow (<0.4 m) freshwater Lake Luanhaizi situated at about 3200 m asl.Ostracod valves were usually abundant in all of the 32 samples and comprised the taxa listed in Table 1, some of which are illustrated in Plate 1.The recorded taxa are mainly distributed in the holarctic realm but Fabaeformiscandona danielopoli and Ilyocypris echinata appear to be restricted to the cold mountainous regions in China (Huang, 1985; Wang &amp; Zhu, 1991; Sun et al., 1995; Yin &amp; Martens, 1997).Following the first survey, a 14 m long core was drilled in Lake Luanhaizi in January 2002 which is currently under multidisciplinary investigation to reconstruct the Holocene vegetation and climatic history of the Qilian Mountains.

Lithospheric buckling dominates the Cenozoic subsidence of the Qaidam Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hu Xiaoyi ◽  
Wu Lei
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Qaidam Basin ◽  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Tectonic Subsidence ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Basin Formation ◽  
Orogenic Belts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

&lt;p&gt;Flexural basins are the common geological feature in convergent settings, and usually regarded as the result of flexural subsidence of the margins of under-thrusting cratons in response to the gravitational load of over-riding orogens. This process usually causes the fastest tectonic subsidence and thickest orogenic-related deposits in the basin margins adjacent to the orogens, such as India Foreland Basin in front of the Himalaya. The Qaidam Basin, which is the largest sedimentary basin within the Tibetan Plateau interior, was once interpreted to belong to this type and form by flexural subsidence on its south and north margins in response to loading of the Qiman Tagh and the South Qilian Shan orogenic belts, respectively. However, the latest studies present sedimentary and structural features that contrast to a typical foreland basin. These features include (1) depocenters being located along the central axis, rather than the margins, with thickest sediments up to 15 km, and (2) development of many high-angle reverse faults, rather than thin-skinned thrusts, to generate upper-crustal shortening as low as 10-15% (20 &amp;#8211; 30 km), indicating that the widths of the orogenic belts juxtaposed atop the basin margins are limited. These features cannot be explained by the flexural subsidence of basin margins and/or sediment load. Herein, we investigate the impact of lithospheric buckling, which has been ignored in most studies of basin formation in compressional settings, on the tectonic subsidence of the Qaidam Basin through numerical simulation based on finite elastic plate model. We first use the flexural backstripping method to calculate the tectonic subsidence of the Cenozoic basement across the Qaidam Basin. And then, we simulate the tectonic subsidence caused by (1) gravitational load of orogenic belts alone, and (2) combined gravitational load and lithosphere buckling. The result shows that the simulated tectonic subsidence curve fits well with the real one only when considering the effect of lithospheric buckling that accounts for &gt;90% tectonic subsidence. Our finding indicates for the first time that lithospheric buckling is also an important mechanism for the subsidence of intramountain basins like the Qaidam Basin, and should not be ignored when studying lithospheric-scale deformation across large orogenic belts.&lt;/p&gt;

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