We are involved in the DFG-funded research project “Urban impacts on the Mongolian Plateau” (FOR 5438) and together with colleagues from Archaeology, Archaeozoology, Soil Sciences, Geophysics and Remote Sensing we study the development of urban structures within a nomadic society and their impact on the surrounding area during Mongolian times. For environmental reconstructions terrestrial lakes can provide valuable information. The terminal Ögii Lake covers an area of about 25 km2 and is fed by the Orkhon River (Orkhonselenge et al. 2022). The sediments deposited in a lake of this size can serve as a palaeoecological archive on a regional scale.
The drilling campaign was carried out with a floating drilling platform constructed by Austrian company UWITEC and operated by the team of our working group. During ten days of fieldwork, we managed to drill three different boreholes at ca. 15 meters water depth, reaching a maximum sediment depth of nine meters. We expect the sediment record to cover the entire Holocene and probably also part of the Late Glacial. This would allow for a detailed palynological analysis and the reconstruction of (Pre-)Holocene vegetation history in the Orkhon Valley.
Text: Finn Oejen
