The Evolvement of Lop Nur

Since they menstruated its location, the international geography authority had discussed the movability of Lop Nur for about 100 years. The Lop Nur in the Gobi desert had not been drowsy. Since the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th century, the Russian, England, American, Japanese, German and Sweden expeditions entered Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tibet in China to engaged in researching and other actions. The Russian explorer Ni Mi Puerrewaersiji was one of pioneer explorers who entered Xinjiang and he was the man who resulted in the discussion on the movability of Lop Nur.

普尔热瓦尔斯基was an officer in Russian army and he had entered the northwest hinterland in China to explore for 5 times. He had arrived at Lop Nur area twice. From A.D. 1876 to A.D. 1877, he set off from Yining to Abutan for the first time, by way of Tian Mountains, Kuerle and Tarim River. From A.D.1876 to A.D. 1877, he set off from Qiaketu to Xining for the second time, by way of Kulun. Later, he wanted to go to Lhasa, by way of Xining, Caidam and Danggula Mountains. After he was obstructed, he set off from Aerjin Mountains along Ruoqiang and Kunlun Mountains back to Russia.

In 1888, he reviewed Xinjiang for the fifth time. On the oasis in the south of Lop Nur, he found a flock of horses near the river. Puerrewaersiji used the telescope to watch them. According to their characteristic of wide breast, long leg, sharp ear, bright eye and shining mane, he made sure that they were world-infrequent broncos. He used great effort and couldn’t catch them. So he had to use his gun to kill two broncos. The sample of the broncos were showed in Russia and caused the great influence. The bronco was named “Puerrewaersiji Horse”. So Lop Nur gained face in Western explorers.

In his report published later, Puerrewaersiji mentioned that the location of Lop Nur marked in Chinese map was wrong. And he declared that he found the new Lop Nur. He said, “Lop Nur is in the lower reaches of Tarim River and is in the south of the location of Lop Nur marked in the map.”

In this report, Puerrewaersiji wrote, “Lop Nur is a swamp with full of bulrush. It is an anomalistic elliptic lake from the southwest to the northeast. The depth of the lake is limited in 3-5 feet. The water is clear and it is a limnetic lake. The water in the east is salt. A wide and flat salina zone surrounds the bank of Kalabulang Lake and Lop Nur. It shows that the two lakes were an indiscerptible whole. The area was larger than the present.

The German geographer Lixihuofen didn’t agree on Puerrewaersiji’s viewpoint. He thought Lop Nur that Puerrewaersiji found was not the true one. The real one was a salt lake and its water was salt. Its location was in the north and the location marked in the map was true. He thought the so-called Lop Nur found by Puerrewaersiji might be the alleviation water area because of Tarim River changing its course. Lixihuofen was the chairman of Germany Berlin Geography Association and saw about Central Asia. The discussion between Lixihuofen and Puerrewaersiji caused the people’s attention on Xinjiang in Chian and Lop Nur.

The Sweden student Sven·A·Hedin was affected by his teacher Puerrewaersiji. From 1893, he had visited Xinjiang for many times. In 1893, Sven·A·Hedin organized another expedition on Lop Nur and this expedition was supported by Sweden King. They led 15 camels and 10 horses to set off from Yeshener, and went along Tarim River by water. They were disembarked in lower reaches of Tarim River. Along Kuruktag Mountains, they found the dry riverbed of Maurya River. On the two sides of Yadangbulakedegan riverbed, they found lots of shells, crockery relics and stone implements. It was proved that there was a dry riverway of Maurya River in the north of Lop Nur defined by Puerrewaersiji. Because of the accordant junction between Tarim River and Maurya River changing its course, the river water flew towards the south and it caused Lop Nur to move towards the south. In fact, the southern Lop Nur found by Puerrewaersiji was Kalakushun Lake. Sven·A·Hedin thought that Lop Nur moving towards the south will move towards the north, with the accordant junction between Tarim River and Maurya River returning to the old riverbed. So he called Lop Nur Moving Lake.

Huntington thought the current Lop Nur had been the Inland Sea. It had been large before 2000 years and occupied the ancient and modern lake basins. Because of hot weather, the lakes shrank. There was a survival small lake in a place marked in the map. With wettish weather and increased rainfall, it became the sea. Later, it shrank again. After dry to wet exchange, the current Lop Nur had formed.

Supported by England and Indian governments, Stein researched and measured the Lop Nur area. Stein thought Lop Nur was connected with Donglaisule River in the ancient time. The weather of Tarim Basin had little change in history and the hot in former time was the same to that of nowadays. As the end point of Tarim Basin, Lop Nur was not fixed. It changed with the river moving. But the circumgyrate of the river was not seasonal. Stein denied the theory that Lop Nur moving cycle was 1500 years, which was mentioned by Sven·A·Hedin .

Was Lop Nur always moving from the south to the north or from the north to the south? The answer was negative.

Chinese scholars had pointed out in 1950’s, “the lake water of Lop Nur was surrounded natural banks layer upon layer and controlled by inner rift valley movement. The water could not exchange between the plain and the Kalakushun Lake.” On the basis of autoptical experience in many times, the Lop Nur Integration Expedition of Chinese Academy of Sciences demonstrated that the Lop Nur was not a moving lake. They pointed out that Lop Nur was the lowest point in Tarim Basin and was the seeper center in the basin. The altitude of Lop Nur was over 10 meters lower than Kalakushun Lake. The lake water flew backwards to Kalakushun Lake. According to field research and driving a well for sampling to measure near the center of basin, the process of Lop Nur’s aggradation never diverged the basin. Because the sand of Tarim River and Maurya River was little, the aggradation of the Lop Nur basin was weak. So the lake bottom landform of Lop Nur couldn’t change obviously.

In addition, according to the file of C14 measure, the deposit substance had piled 1.5 meters in the Lop Nur Lake bottom since over 3000 years. The deposit substance had clear administrative levels and consisted of Xiangpushu and sedge etc. that were the pollen of the hydrophyte. It showed there was water in Lop Nur and the aggradation of the lake had lasted.

It showed the real situation of Lop Nur drying up from the first Earth Resource Satellite in 1972. Since 1970’s, Lop Nur had completely dried up because of manpower to head off the whole river of upper reaches of Maurya River and Tarim River. The satellite photo showed the contrasty lines constituted the helix line on the dry basin. The center of the circle was in the location of longitude 90 degrees 25 minutes east and latitude 40 degree 10 minutes north. This was a complete close billabong without the exit. It showed the lake water was within the helix line in history and it had some change of tide. The waster was never over the outer helix line (measured 780 meters contour line). If Lop Nur and Kalakushun Lake exchange to move each other, the south of helix line should have a gap. If so, the arrangement of concentric round had been formed.

In addition, the salt shell of the aggradation in the basin was hard. The hammer and axe couldn’t destroy it and it was hard to be eroded. That situation of lowering the lake bottom defined by Sven·A·Hedin couldn’t happen. The viewpoint of Sven·A·Hedin had many forejudge and was hard to be in accord in with the fact. So we could make sure that Lop Nur was not a moving lake.

Lop Nur was an enigma.

There were many enigmas round Lop Nur.

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