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Environmental conditions during the Eocene in the northern Qaidam Basin, China: major and trace elements and clay minerals

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Abstract

The Qaidam Basin is located in the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau, which is a natural place to study climate change. Here, new data on Eocene sediments in the Qaidam Basin are reported. The Qaidam Basin is divided into the early Eocene Lulehe Formation and late Eocene **aganchaigou Formation. Based on the petrological characteristics and element geochemistry of core samples, the results show that the clay mineral assemblage of the Lulehe Formation consists of smectite, chlorite, and illite, while the clay mineral assemblage of the **aganchaigou Formation consists of an illite/smectite mixed layer, chlorite, and illite. The palaeosalinity calculated using the B content and Sr/Ba and Rb/Sr ratios indicates that the Lulehe Formation was formed in a freshwater environment, and the **aganchaigou Formation was formed in alternating brackish water and freshwater environments. The chemical weathering index, La/Th ratio, and Eu anomaly index indicate that the overall chemical weathering in the **tai area was weak, the provenance was relatively stable, and the influence of diagenesis on the clay minerals and the trace element contents was negligible. From the Lulehe Formation to the **aganchaigou Formation, the palaeoclimate gradually changed from warm and humid to cold with humid–dry seasonal changes, which is consistent with the global decrease in temperature in the Eocene. Moreover, because of the uplift of the Altun Mountains and global cooling, the rainfall decreased, resulting in the **aganchaigou Formation being formed in a higher-salinity environment. These studies provide some guidance for sedimentary evolution and palaeoclimate change.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 42230815, 42241202).

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This research was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant no [42230815].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Northwest University, **’an, 710069, China

    Yun Jiang, Jianqiang Wang, Chiyang Liu & Dongdong Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University, **’an, 710069, China

    Yun Jiang, Jianqiang Wang, Chiyang Liu & Dongdong Zhang

  3. China National Gold Group Co Ltd, Bei**g, 100011, China

    Haoyuan Jiang

  4. Northwest Institute of Eco-Environmental Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Ming Shao

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Jiang, Y., Wang, J., Liu, C. et al. Environmental conditions during the Eocene in the northern Qaidam Basin, China: major and trace elements and clay minerals. Environ Earth Sci 82, 433 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-11103-x

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