Abstract
Lake Jilantai-Hetao, a megalake, was formed some time before 60–50 ka, along the Great North Bend of the Yellow River. The basin is now dry, with most of the area covered by aeolian sand. We are investigating this profound hydrologic change using a number of research approaches. Paleoshorelines of this megalake are best preserved in the Jilantai area in the southwestern portion of the megalake basin. We collected aquatic mollusk shells from littoral sediments at different altitudes around Jilantai and measured their strontium isotope compositions. 87Sr/86Sr ratios in shell carbonates are different between the high lake phase (~1,080–1,050 m altitude) and the low lake phase (~1,044–1,030 m altitude), with a small shift in average strontium ratios to more radiogenic values during the low lake phase. Based on regional hydrology and physical geography, we conclude that water from the Yellow River was the dominant water source supplying this megalake. 87Sr/86Sr ratios of modern water samples suggest the Yellow River was the dominant water source during the high lake phase, but that the relative contribution of Yellow River water to the megalake was reduced, and that the relative contributions of local precipitation and groundwater increased, during the low lake phase.
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Acknowledgments
We gratefully thank Associate Prof. Jin-Long Ma for his assistance in mollusk species identification, and Prof. W. M. Edmunds and Ms. Li Yang for their help in editing the manuscript. We appreciate two anonymous reviewers for their cogent comments and Prof. Mark Brenner for his insightful improvement to the final edition. This research was funded by a NSFC grant (40502016), a NSFC Innovative Research Team Project (40721061), and a NSFC key project (90502008). Measurement of strontium was supported by the Opening Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University.
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Fan, YX., Chen, FH., Wei, GX. et al. Potential water sources for Late Quaternary Megalake Jilantai-Hetao, China, inferred from mollusk shell 87Sr/86Sr ratios. J Paleolimnol 43, 577–587 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-009-9353-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-009-9353-4