Evolution of Paleoenvironments in Tarim Basin

Paleoenvironmental changes during the Quaternary in Tarim Basin or Taklimakan Desert are reviewed according mainly to the results made by present authors. Pollen analyses for a borehole core, taken from the dried-up lake of Lop Nur, made clear that the vegetation of Tarim Basin in the early Pleistocene was the forest-steppe, suggesting comparatively wet condition. Since the middle Pleistocene, desert steppe or desert environments have been dominant. From the geomorphological data, vast amount of clastics were transported into the desert by floods, and eolian activities lead the formation of Draa from 18, 000 to 13, 000 years ago. Fluviation was activated 10, 000 to 9, 000, 6, 000 to 5, 000, and around 2, 000 years ago. Holocene environment is extremely arid, especially in the last 1, 500 years.