Carbonate sedimentation in shallow saline lakes of Western Transbaikalia: The response to Holocene climate changes

Abstract

New research results are presented on the processes of carbonate sedimentation in shallow saline lakes of Western Transbaikalia by the example of the Holocene bottom sediments of Sul’fatnoe Lake (the Selenga Dauria). The techniques of X-ray diffractometry (XRD), IR spectroscopy, laser granulometry, and isotope and elemental analyses were used. By means of decomposition the XRD profiles using the Pearson VII function, the carbonate phases were identified and their quantitative ratios were determined. The evolution of the lake basin caused by climate changes in the Holocene was reconstructed by comparing the carbonate record to the concentrations determined for the ¹⁸O and ¹³C stable isotopes and to lithological, geochemical, and palynological data in the dated sedimentary section.