Regional variations in magnetic properties of surface sediments in the Qaidam Basin and their paleoenvironmental implications

The Qaidam Basin is the largest intermontane basin on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. At present, systematic rock magnetic studies of surface sediments in this basin are scarce because of the vast area and poor accessibility. In this paper, multi-parameter rock magnetic investigations of surface sediments from a wide area in the Qaidam Basin have been conducted. We find that pseudo-single domain and multidomain ferrimagnetic minerals (i.e. magnetite and maghemite) dominate the magnetic properties of surface sediments in the basin. Surface sediments from the western part of the basin exhibit the lowest magnetic concentration values χ, χARM and SIRM. In contrast, samples from the upwind sides of the basin and the eastern margin of the basin show the highest magnetic concentration values. The spatial distribution of magnetic parameters in the Qaidam Basin suggest that wind environments and the supply of clastic sediments possibly provide the main control on the regional variations of magnetic parameters. Our results also provide new insights into the mechanisms of magnetic variations of late Pliocene lacustrine sediments in the western Qaidam Basin.