The Golestan Province, in northern Iran, presents a rich record of aeolian deposits, including thick loess-palaeosol sequences and prominent sand dunes. While the loess chronology in this area is relatively well constrained, the formation time of the dunes remains largely overlooked, despite their potential to provide valuable information in terms of palaeoclimate conditions and Caspian Sea level changes. In this study, we provide the first reconstruction of dune evolution in Golestan Province, based on geomorphic and sedimentological investigations, high resolution granulometric and microfossil analyses, and luminescence dating. Luminescence analysis includes quartz post-infrared pulsed optically stimulated luminescence (Post-IR pulsed OSL) and K-feldspar post-IR infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) measurements. Luminescence ages indicate that the studied dunes accreted within a few thousand years ranging from 10.6 ± 1.6 ka to 8.4 ± 1.4 ka, during the Holocene. Based on the geomorphological evidence and geographical setting, the dunes observed in the Caspian lowland are of parabolic type, which would reflect arid to semi-arid palaeoenvironmental conditions with sparse vegetation and predominance of easterly winds at the time of dune formation. Grain size distribution analysis and sedimentological investigations indicate a clear influence of the Caspian coast environment on the dunes development, in addition to probable sediment input from nearby fluvial systems. The spatial and temporal distribution pattern of the studied dunes reflects a quick regression of the Caspian Sea during the Early Holocene, probably following the so-called Mangyshlak regression.

伊朗北部的Golestan省拥有丰富的风沙沉积记录，包括厚厚的黄土-古土壤序列和突出的沙丘。尽管该地区的黄土年代学受到相对较好的约束，但沙丘的形成时间仍被很大程度上忽略了，尽管它们具有提供有关古气候条件和里海海平面变化的有价值信息的潜力。在这项研究中，我们基于地貌和沉积学调查，高分辨率粒度分析和微化石分析以及发光测年，提供了Golestan省沙丘演化的首次重建。发光分析包括石英后红外脉冲光学激发发光（后红外脉冲OSL）和钾长石后红外红外激发发光（pIRIR）测量。发光年龄表明，在全新世期间，研究的沙丘在几千年内从10.6±1.6 ka到8.4±1.4 ka分泌。根据地貌学证据和地理环境，在里海低地上观察到的沙丘属于抛物线型，这将反映干旱至半干旱的古环境，植被稀疏，沙丘形成时以东风为主。粒度分布分析和沉积学调查表明，里海沿岸环境对沙丘发育有明显的影响，此外附近河流系统可能会输入沉积物。沙丘的时空分布格局反映了全新世早期里海的快速消退，可能是所谓的Mangyshlak消退。