Paleoclimate and landscape evolution in an extreme continental interior

 

Interplay between fluvial, lacustrine and aeolian systems in the Basin of the Great Lakes, Western Mongolia

 

Geomorphological processes and the change of climatic conditions during the Quaternary control the landscape evolution in the internal drainage areas of western Mongolia. Especially the interplay of fluvial, lacustrine and aeolian processes create different landforms, such as alluvial fans, beach bars and dune fields. Their associated sediment archives and sediment transport pathways reflecting the late Quaternary landscape evolution. The project will analyze the geomorphological processes and sediment archives and will constrain the timing of different landforms and deposits by using terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides and optically stimulated luminescence dating techniques. The synthesis of results should provide comprehensive landscape model of sedimentary processes under variable climates in this region with extreme continental climatic conditions, and provide analogs for other similar regions.

 

Duration	04/2022 – 03/2025
Funding	DFG Sachbeihilfe
Project partners	Prof. Dr. Manfred Frechen and Dr. Sumiko Tsukamoto – Hannover, Germany Ochirbat Batkhishig – Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Prof. Lewis Owen and Assoc. Prof. Karl Wegmann – Raleigh, USA