δ18O and δ13C records from a Cenozoic sedimentary sequence in the Lanzhou Basin, Northwestern China: Implications for palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological changes

• Cenozoic δ18O and δ13C records of pedogenic carbonate from northwestern China.
• Drying of the Lanzhou Basin began at ∼33 Ma due to the retreat of the Tethys Sea.
• Asian inland aridity was further enhanced at ∼22 and ∼3.5 Ma.
• C4 plants expanded within the Lanzhou Basin after ∼3.5 Ma.

In northwestern China, carbonate δ18O variation has been closely associated with evaporation and precipitation, whereas the variation of carbonate δ13C generally reflects patterns of palaeovegetation. Located within the transitional zone between the Chinese Loess Plateau and the Tibetan Plateau, the Lanzhou Basin has developed a continuous sequence of Cenozoic sediments which have been subjected to detailed sedimentological and high-resolution magnetostratigraphic analyses. In the present study, pedogenic carbonate O and C isotopic analyses were obtained throughout the entire Cenozoic sequence. The δ18O record exhibits a general positive trend with several abrupt changes. A dramatic positive shift in the δ18O record at ∼33 Ma indicates the initiation of the aridification process within the basin, which was likely associated with the late Eocene westward retreat of the Tethys Sea and global cooling. Two significant positive shifts in the δ18O record at ∼22 Ma and ∼3.5 Ma are synchronous with major increases in aeolian dust deposition on the Chinese Loess Plateau and in the North Pacific Ocean, suggesting the intensified aridity of the Asian interior, which is likely related to the stepwise uplift of the Tibetan Plateau via the blocking of water vapour pathways. The δ13C values exhibit a weak positive trend with a remarkable shift at ∼3.5 Ma. This trend is likely related to a decrease in vegetation density in response to the ongoing Cenozoic aridification, whereas the shift at ∼3.5 Ma may reflect the large-scale expansion of C4 plants.

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