Abstract

Ostracods of Middle Pleistocene age were recovered from an escarpment at the northeastern margin of the large Qarhan playa surface in the Qaidam Basin (NW China). The Middle Pleistocene age of the sampled Quan Ji section was determined by means of Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of seven sediment samples. Among the 31 ostracod taxa identified in total, only Eucypris gyirongensis, Leucocythere dorsotuberosa and Prionocypris gansenensis seem to be restricted to high-altitude sites in Central Asia whereas most taxa are known from a number of European and Siberian (Palaeoarctic) or even Holarctic sites. Laterally widespread sediments and the ostracods from the Quan Ji section suggest the formation of a large freshwater to oligohaline lake of at least several metres in depth in the Qaidam Basin, which is presently dry apart from a few shallow salt lakes.

Details

Title
Middle Pleistocene Ostracoda from a large freshwater lake in the presently dry Qaidam Basin (NW China)
Author
Mischke, Steffen 1 ; Herzschuh, Ulrike 2 ; Sun, Zhencheng 3 ; Qiao, Zizhen 4 ; Sun, Naida 3 ; Zander, Anja M 5 

 Interdisciplinary Centre for Ecosystem Dynamics in Central Asia, Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstr. 74-100, 12249 Berlin, Germany 
 Alfred-Wegener-Institut Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, Germany 
 University of Petroleum, Department of Earth Science, Changping, Beijing 102200, PR China 
 Headquarter of Petroleum Exploration and Development of Qinghai Province, CNPC, Dunhuang 736202, PR China 
 Department of Geography, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Deutschhausstr. 10, 35037 Marburg/Lahn, Germany 
Pages
57-64
Publication year
2006
Publication date
2006
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
ISSN
0262821X
e-ISSN
20414978
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2120225644
Copyright
© 2006. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.