Paleotemperature during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition in western Qaidam Basin: Evidence from fluid inclusions in halite from drill hole SG-1

doi:10.13745/j.esf.sf.2021.1.39

Abstract

Abstract: The Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT) is a global cold event and also recorded in the Qaidam Basin, but the paleotemperature data is rather lacking. Halite is generally formed in shallow water environment, and the homogenization temperature (T_h) of primary fluid inclusions in halite can directly reflect the brine temperature at halite crystallization and can be used to reconstruct paleotemperature of brine. This study selected primary halite samples from the 1.22-0.88 Ma section of drill hole SG-1 in the western Qaidam Basin and collected data on 390 fluid inclusions. The maximum and minimum homogenization temperatures were 50 ℃ and 6.8 ℃, respectively, with temperature fluctuations mostly (>90%) within 10 ℃; there is no obvious linear correlation between the size of fluid inclusions in halite and the homogenization temperature. This result indicates that fluid inclusions in halite from hole SG-1 have not been modified by the later hydrothermal solution and the T_h data can directly relate to paleotemperature at halite deposition. The reconstructed paleotemperature in this study may be the brine temperature in warm season as halite generally deposits in warm season, while the maximum value of T_h may be affected by hydrothermal solution and climate. During the MPT period, the homogenization temperature of palaeo-water (mean value, T_h,med) is similar to the average temperature in present-day July in the Qaidam Basin or the surface water temperature in the Mediterranean Sea during the same period, but it is much higher than the annual temperature in the Qaidam Basin or the global average temperature during MPT. The average homogenization temperature (T_h,avg) is higher than all the above temperatures. The coldest climate in the Qaidam Basin during MPT occurred at ~1.165-1.0 Ma.

Key words: halite, fluid inclusion, homogenization temperature, climate change

CLC Number:

P571
P578.32

NI Yanhua, LI Minghui, FANG Xiaomin, MENG Fanwei, YAN Maodu, LIU Yingxin. Paleotemperature during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition in western Qaidam Basin: Evidence from fluid inclusions in halite from drill hole SG-1[J]. Earth Science Frontiers, 2021, 28(6): 115-124.

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