An 800 ky proxy record of climate from lake sediments of the Zoige Basin, eastern Tibetan Plateau

We present the results of magnetic susceptibility, geochemical and pollen a nalyses of a 120-m-long core of lacustrine and fluvial sediments from the Z oige Basin, eastern Tibetan Plateau. Palaeomagnetic dating indicates that t he sediment sequence spans the last ca. 800 ky. The magnetic susceptibility record appears to be related to global ice volume over this period and thi s relationship is used to produce a tentative revised chronology for the se diment sequence. The various climate proxies show a pattern of periodic var iations over the last 800 ky BP. The date of 500 ky BP is a significant bou ndary: prior to this date, the climate proxies show a pattern of more frequ ent variability; after 500 ky BP the variations are of lower frequency and higher amplitude. The results also indicate that marine oxygen isotope stag e 13 was an unusually intense interglacial in the eastern Tibetan Plateau a nd Chinese Loess Plateau areas. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights r eserved.