The ICDP Nam Co Drilling Project (NamCore), Tibet: a 510.2 m sedimentary record from the Third Pole
Abstract
The Nam Co Drilling Project (NamCore) is a multinational and interdisciplinary research initiative designed to understand long-term climatic variability and associated environmental change on the Tibetan Plateau. The project primarily targets the timing and magnitude of Indian/East Asian monsoon variability and its interplay with the Westerlies. Thereby, the glacial-interglacial history and dynamics at high altitude; the impact of geological and environmental changes on (micro-)biological processes; the evolution and resilience of Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the IODP and the ICDP. 100 M.-L. Adolph et al.: The ICDP Nam Co Drilling Project (NamCore), Tibet high-altitude ecosystems, including the deep biosphere; and geomagnetic variations during the Quaternary are of special interest.
For in-depth investigations regarding the outlined research purposes, the (mostly) calcareous sediments of Nam Co, one of the largest and deepest lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, were targeted within the framework of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) and cored in May-July 2024 (ICDP Expedition 5073). Altogether, 1415.45 m was drilled and 1175.99 m cored, with 950.77 m of sediment recovered (core recovery of 80.8 %) from seven holes at one site (5073_1) situated at a water depth of ∼ 93 m, reaching a maximum depth of 510.2 m below the lake floor. Initial results from core descriptions and preliminary core catcher analyses suggest that the sediments of Nam Co reflect the evolution of a dynamic high-altitude lake system over multiple glacial-interglacial cycles. Four major lithologies are observed in the drill cores (calcareous mud, non-calcareous mud, calcareous mud with ferric staining and sand) and grouped into five major lithological units based on their physicochemical characteristics obtained from core catcher material. Micropaleontological results from core catcher material reveal a general absence of diatoms, due to unsuitable growing and/or preservation conditions, while ostracods abundances, preservation, and species composition vary, which might be linked to environmental changes and/or changing preservation conditions. Shifts in n-alkane chain length might be attributable to lake-level variations and/or glacial-interglacial cycles.
Related
- Volcanic controls on smectite authigenesis and paleoclimate signals across the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) sedimentary record from the Norwegian-Greenland Sea
- Earth's Bad Decades: A Sedimentary Record of the Chicxulub Aftermath from the New Jersey Coastal Plain and Offshore
- Combining Thermochronology and Geochronology to Constrains Orogenic Processes in the Alps and Tibet
- Inherited lithospheric weakness enabled rapid stress transmission across Tibet
- The Sedimentary Archives of Ancient Purandarapura
BibTeX
@article{adolph2026icdp,
title = {{The ICDP Nam Co Drilling Project (NamCore), Tibet: a 510.2 m sedimentary record from the Third Pole}},
author = {Marie-Luise Adolph and Junbo Wang and Liping Zhu and Leon J Clarke and Andrew C G Henderson and Hendrik Vogel and Gerhard Daut and Peter Frenzel and Jianting Ju and Qiangqiang Kou and Dierk Michaelis and Olga Schmitz and Anja Schwarz and Volkhard Spiess and Arne Ulfers and Cidan Zhaxi and Daniel Ariztegui and Natasha Barbolini and Thorsten Bauersachs and Erwin Braun and Giulia Ceriotti and Brian Grivna and Marlene Hoehle and Rolf Kipfer and Wilhelmine Klamt and Cindy Kunkel and Aliisa Laakkonen and Minghui Li and Qingfeng Ma and Paul Moser Röggla and Kaja Müller and Anders Noren and Ryan O'Grady and Santiago Otero and Maïlys Picard and Anna Pint and Camille Thomas and Jerome van der Woerd and Mathias Vinnepand and Claudia Wrozyna and Christian Zeeden and Xinghuan Zhu and Torsten Haberzettl},
journal = {Scientific Drilling},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.5194/sd-35-99-2026},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05834809v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The ICDP Nam Co Drilling Project (NamCore), Tibet: a 510.2 m sedimentary record from the Third Pole
AU - Marie-Luise Adolph
AU - Junbo Wang
AU - Liping Zhu
AU - Leon J Clarke
AU - Andrew C G Henderson
AU - Hendrik Vogel
AU - Gerhard Daut
AU - Peter Frenzel
AU - Jianting Ju
AU - Qiangqiang Kou
AU - Dierk Michaelis
AU - Olga Schmitz
AU - Anja Schwarz
AU - Volkhard Spiess
AU - Arne Ulfers
AU - Cidan Zhaxi
AU - Daniel Ariztegui
AU - Natasha Barbolini
AU - Thorsten Bauersachs
AU - Erwin Braun
AU - Giulia Ceriotti
AU - Brian Grivna
AU - Marlene Hoehle
AU - Rolf Kipfer
AU - Wilhelmine Klamt
AU - Cindy Kunkel
AU - Aliisa Laakkonen
AU - Minghui Li
AU - Qingfeng Ma
AU - Paul Moser Röggla
AU - Kaja Müller
AU - Anders Noren
AU - Ryan O'Grady
AU - Santiago Otero
AU - Maïlys Picard
AU - Anna Pint
AU - Camille Thomas
AU - Jerome van der Woerd
AU - Mathias Vinnepand
AU - Claudia Wrozyna
AU - Christian Zeeden
AU - Xinghuan Zhu
AU - Torsten Haberzettl
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/05
JO - Scientific Drilling
DO - 10.5194/sd-35-99-2026
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05834809v1
AB - The Nam Co Drilling Project (NamCore) is a multinational and interdisciplinary research initiative designed to understand long-term climatic variability and associated environmental change on the Tibetan Plateau. The project primarily targets the timing and magnitude of Indian/East Asian monsoon variability and its interplay with the Westerlies. Thereby, the glacial-interglacial history and dynamics at high altitude; the impact of geological and environmental changes on (micro-)biological processes; the evolution and resilience of Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the IODP and the ICDP. 100 M.-L. Adolph et al.: The ICDP Nam Co Drilling Project (NamCore), Tibet high-altitude ecosystems, including the deep biosphere; and geomagnetic variations during the Quaternary are of special interest. For in-depth investigations regarding the outlined research purposes, the (mostly) calcareous sediments of Nam Co, one of the largest and deepest lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, were targeted within the framework of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) and cored in May-July 2024 (ICDP Expedition 5073). Altogether, 1415.45 m was drilled and 1175.99 m cored, with 950.77 m of sediment recovered (core recovery of 80.8 %) from seven holes at one site (5073_1) situated at a water depth of ∼ 93 m, reaching a maximum depth of 510.2 m below the lake floor. Initial results from core descriptions and preliminary core catcher analyses suggest that the sediments of Nam Co reflect the evolution of a dynamic high-altitude lake system over multiple glacial-interglacial cycles. Four major lithologies are observed in the drill cores (calcareous mud, non-calcareous mud, calcareous mud with ferric staining and sand) and grouped into five major lithological units based on their physicochemical characteristics obtained from core catcher material. Micropaleontological results from core catcher material reveal a general absence of diatoms, due to unsuitable growing and/or preservation conditions, while ostracods abundances, preservation, and species composition vary, which might be linked to environmental changes and/or changing preservation conditions. Shifts in n-alkane chain length might be attributable to lake-level variations and/or glacial-interglacial cycles.
SN - 1816-8957
ER -