Holocene Climate Evolution of the Ugii Nuur Basin, Mongolia

In order to evaluate the Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Ugii Nuur basin, central Mongolia, investigations on chemical and mineralogical properties of lacustrine sediments were carried out on a 630 cm sediment core from lake Ugii Nuur. The interpretation of the record is based on a principal component analysis (PCA) of the elemental composition of the samples. The results show that lacustrine deposition started at 10.6 kyr BP. Low lake level conditions were identified during the Early Holocene (10.6–7.9 kyr BP). The Mid Holocene (7.9–4.2 kyr BP) was characterized by generally higher lake levels and thus higher moisture supply, but it experienced strong climatic fluctuations. Arid conditions prevailed from 4.2–2.8 kyr BP and were followed by a stable, more humid phase until today.