The Lake Qartulad

[Candi Ruman]

LopNur or Lop Nor (from a Mongolian name meaning "Lop Lake", where "Lop" is a toponym of unknown origin[1]) is a now largely dried-up salt lake formerly located in the eastern fringe of the Tarim Basin in the southeastern portion of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, northwestern China, between the Taklamakan and Kumtag deserts. Administratively, the lake is in Lop Nur town (Chinese: 罗布泊镇; pinyin: Lubpō zhn), also known as Luozhong (罗中; Luzhōng) of Ruoqiang County, which in its turn is part of the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture.

The lake system, into which the Tarim River and Shule River drain from the west and east respectively, is the last remnant of the historical post-glacial Tarim Lake, which once covered more than 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) in the Tarim Basin but had progressively shrunk throughout the Holocene due to rain shadowing by the Tibetan Plateau. Lop Nur is hydrologically endorheic, it is landbound and has no outlet, and has relied largely on meltwater runoffs from the Tianshan, Kunlun and the western Qilian Mountains. The lake measured 3,100 km2 (1,200 sq mi) in 1928, but has dried up due to construction of reservoirs which dammed the flow of water feeding into the lake, and only small seasonal lakes and salt marshes may form. The dried-up Lop Nur Basin is covered with a salt crust ranging from 30 to 100 cm (12 to 39 in) in thickness.

An area to the northwest of Lop Nur has been used as a nuclear testing site.[2] Since the discovery of potash at the site in the mid-1990s, it is also the location of a large-scale mining operation.[3] There are some restricted areas under military management and cultural relics protection points in the region, which are not open to the public.[4]

In 1952 the terminal lake then shifted to Taitema Lake when the Tarim River and Konque River were separated through human intervention, and Lop Nur dried out again by 1964. In 1972, the Daxihaizi Reservoir was built at Tikanlik, water supply to the lake was cut off, and all the lakes for the most part then dried out, with only small seasonal lakes forming in local depressions in Taitema.[13] The loss of water to the lower Tarim River Valley also led to the deterioration and loss of poplar forests and tamarix shrubs that used to be extensively distributed along the lower Tarim River Valley forming the so-called "Green Corridor". In 2000, in an effort to prevent further deterioration of the ecosystem, water was diverted from Lake Bosten in an attempt to fill the Taitema Lake.[16] The Taitema Lake however had shifted 30 to 40 kilometres (19 to 25 mi) westwards during the past 40 years due in part to the spread of the desert.[17] Another cause of the destabilization of the desert has been the cutting of poplars and willows for firewood; in response, a restoration project to reclaim the poplar forests was initiated.[18][19]

Lop Nur, situated in the arid Xinjiang region of China's far west, serves as an extensive military base. This location was selected for nuclear testing due to its desolate and isolated nature, devoid of any permanent inhabitants, though the broader Xinjiang region is home to the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group that has historically faced widespread detentions and stringent security measures in Xinjiang conflict. The Uyghurs have persistently voiced concerns regarding the health risks posed by the towering mushroom clouds and the release of radioactive fallout.[21]

China established the Lop Nur Nuclear Test Base on 16 October 1959 with Soviet assistance in selection of the site, with its headquarters at Malan (马兰, Mǎln), about 125 kilometres (78 mi) northwest of Qinggir.[2] The first Chinese nuclear bomb test, codenamed "Project 596", occurred at Lop Nur on 16 October 1964. China detonated its first hydrogen bomb on 17 June 1967. Until 1996, 45 nuclear tests were conducted. These nuclear tests were conducted by dropping bombs from aircraft, mounted on towers, launching missiles, detonating weapons underground and in the atmosphere.[22]

In December 2023, a report emerged indicating that China was making preparations to resume nuclear tests in a remote desert. Satellite imagery provided evidence of these preparations, revealing the presence of a drilling rig that had created a deep vertical shaft. This shaft was believed to be designed to contain the destructive power of radiation resulting from large nuclear explosions.[21]

Further analysis of the satellite images since 2017 also uncovered the development of new infrastructure at the site. This included the construction of new roads, power lines, an electrical substation, and a support area with multiple buildings. What was once a modest site with only a few buildings had transformed into a modern and sophisticated complex, complete with security fences. One of the new structures was a bunker that was fortified with earthen berms and lightning arresters, indicating its suitability for handling high explosives. Tests on miniaturization of missiles and warheads can also be possibly carried out at this site. However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has dismissed the report and its "utterly irresponsible" claims. China has denied any nuclear testing plans on the site.[21]

Lop Nur is home to the wild Bactrian camel, which is a separate species from the Bactrian camel. The camels have continued to breed naturally despite the nuclear testing. China signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996 but did not ratify it.[27] Subsequently, the camels were classified as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List.[28] Since the cessation of nuclear testing at Lop Nur, human incursions into the area have caused a decline in the camel population.[28][29][30] Wild Bactrian camels have been classified as critically endangered since 2002[28] and approximately half of the 1400 remaining wild Bactrian camels live on the former Lop Nur test base, which has been designated the Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve.

Given the extreme dryness and resulting thin population, remains of some buildings survived for a significant period of time. When ancient graves, some a few thousand years old, were opened the bodies were often found to be mummified and grave goods well preserved. The earliest sites are associated with an ancient people of Indo European origin.

The Xiaohe Cemetery is located to the west of Lop Nur. This Bronze Age burial site is an oblong sand dune, from which more than thirty well preserved mummies have been excavated. The entire Xiaohe Cemetery contains about 330 tombs, about 160 of which have been violated by grave robbers.[33]

A local hunter guided the Swedish explorer and archeologist Folke Bergman to the site in 1934. An excavation project by the Xinjiang Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute began in October 2003. A total of 167 tombs have been dug up since the end of 2002 and excavations have revealed hundreds of smaller tombs built in layers, as well as other precious artifacts. In 2006, a valuable archeological finding was uncovered: a boat-shaped coffin wrapped in ox hide, containing the mummified body of a young woman.[34]

In 1979, some of the earliest of the Tarim mummies were discovered in burial sites at Qwrighul (Gumugou), which is located to the west of Lop Nur, on the Knchi (Kongque) river. Forty-two graves, most of which dated from 2100 to 1500 BC, were found. There were two types of tomb at the site, belonging to two different time periods. The first type of burial featured shaft pit graves, some of which had poles at either end to mark east and west. Bodies were found extended, usually facing east, and sometimes were wrapped in wool weavings and wearing felt hats. Artifacts found included basketry, wheat grains, cattle and sheep/goat horns, bird bone necklaces and bracelets, nephrite beads, and fragments of copper (or bronze), although no pottery was discovered.

The second type of burial, from a later period, also consisted of shaft pit graves, surrounded by seven concentric circles of poles. Six male graves were found, in which the bodies were extended on their backs, and facing towards the east. Few artifacts were found, except for some traces of copper, or bronze.[35]

Miran is located to the south-west of Lop Nur. Buddhist monasteries were excavated here, and murals and sculptures showed artistic influences from India and Central Asia, with some showing influences from as far as Rome.

The earliest people in recorded history known to have inhabited the area are the Finnic people. The word Neva is widespread in Finnic languages, having quite cognate meanings. In Finnish it means poor fen, in Karelian: watercourse and in Estonian (as nva): waterway.[2]

The valley is lined with glacial and post-glacial sediments and has changed little over 2,500 years.[5] The delta was formed at that time, technically a pseudodelta, as not from accumulation of river material but by scouring past sediments.[6]

In the Neva basin, rainfall greatly exceeds evaporation; the latter accounts for only 37.7 percent of the water consumption from the Neva and the remaining 62.3 percent is water runoff.[8] Since 1859, the largest volume of 116 cubic kilometres (28 cu mi) was observed in 1924 and the lowest in 1900 at 40.2 cubic kilometres (9.6 cu mi).[6] The average annual discharge is 78.9 cubic kilometres (18.9 cu mi) or 2,500 cubic metres per second (88,000 cu ft/s) on average.[1] Due to the uniform water flow from Lake Ladoga to the Neva over the whole year, there are almost no floods and corresponding water rise in the spring. The Neva freezes throughout from early December to early April. The ice thickness is 0.3 to 0.4 metres (1.0 to 1.3 ft) within Saint Petersburg and 0.5 to 0.6 metres (1.6 to 2.0 ft) in other areas. Ice congestion may form in winter in the upper reaches of the river, this sometimes causes upstream floods. Of the total ice volume of Lake Ladoga, 10.6 cubic kilometres (2.5 cu mi), less than 5 percent enters the Neva.[8] The average summer water temperature is 17 to 20 C (63 to 68 F), and the swimming season lasts only about 1.5 months. The water is fresh, with medium turbidity; the average salinity is 61.3 mg/L and the calcium bicarbonate content is 7 mg/L.[6]

3a8082e126