Geochemical weathering of aeolian sand and its palaeoclimatic implications in the Mu Us Desert, northern China, since the Late Holocene
LIU Bing1,2,3, JIN Heling1,2*, SUN Zhong2, ZHAO Shuang3
1 State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
2 Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China;
3 Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System (Ministry of Education), Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Geochemical weathering of aeolian sand and its palaeoclimatic implications in the Mu Us Desert, northern China, since the Late Holocene
LIU Bing1,2,3, JIN Heling1,2*, SUN Zhong2, ZHAO Shuang3
1 State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
2 Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China;
3 Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System (Ministry of Education), Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
摘要 In the semi-arid and arid regions of northern China, geochemical behavior of the aeolian deposit is closely related to climatic and environmental changes, which was used to reconstruct the past history of environmental evolution and possibly forcing mechanisms. However, the related result was still scarce due to the lack of detailed geochemical analysis results in the desert sediments. In the present study, we systematically analyzed the geochemical components and parameters of the paleo-aeolian sand dune and modern mobile sand deposits in the Mu Us Desert and discuss the climatic variation inferred from the paleo-aeolian sand dune during the past 4.2 ka BP. The results indicated that (1) geochemical composition of the sandy deposits were dominated by SiO2, Al2O3 and Na2O and the deposits probably originated from the widespread upper continental crust (UCC) and were formed by long-term weathering, transport and re-deposition; (2) these sandy deposits were subjected to weaker weathering or uneven weathering under cold and dry conditions, and had highly similar material sources and degrees of weathering and leaching in general; and (3) the direct OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) dating ages and geochemical parameters from the palaeosol-aeolian sand dune indicated that the regional climate change experienced several typically cold and warm intervals. These intervals are 4.2, 2.8 ka BP and Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period, which probably attributed to periodic variations of the Asian summer monsoonal strength and cold events of the northern Atlantic Ocean in low and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Our results suggest that the development of the sand dune in the Mu Us Desert provided a suitable archive for understanding the past local climatic change, which is linked to the global climatic change.
Abstract: In the semi-arid and arid regions of northern China, geochemical behavior of the aeolian deposit is closely related to climatic and environmental changes, which was used to reconstruct the past history of environmental evolution and possibly forcing mechanisms. However, the related result was still scarce due to the lack of detailed geochemical analysis results in the desert sediments. In the present study, we systematically analyzed the geochemical components and parameters of the paleo-aeolian sand dune and modern mobile sand deposits in the Mu Us Desert and discuss the climatic variation inferred from the paleo-aeolian sand dune during the past 4.2 ka BP. The results indicated that (1) geochemical composition of the sandy deposits were dominated by SiO2, Al2O3 and Na2O and the deposits probably originated from the widespread upper continental crust (UCC) and were formed by long-term weathering, transport and re-deposition; (2) these sandy deposits were subjected to weaker weathering or uneven weathering under cold and dry conditions, and had highly similar material sources and degrees of weathering and leaching in general; and (3) the direct OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) dating ages and geochemical parameters from the palaeosol-aeolian sand dune indicated that the regional climate change experienced several typically cold and warm intervals. These intervals are 4.2, 2.8 ka BP and Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period, which probably attributed to periodic variations of the Asian summer monsoonal strength and cold events of the northern Atlantic Ocean in low and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Our results suggest that the development of the sand dune in the Mu Us Desert provided a suitable archive for understanding the past local climatic change, which is linked to the global climatic change.
This research was funded by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZZD-EW-04-04), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41271215, 41501220), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2015M570861), the Excellent Youth Scholars of Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (51Y451211) and the State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University (2015-KF-13).
通讯作者:
JIN Heling
E-mail: jinhl@lzb.ac.cn
引用本文:
LIU Bing, JIN Heling, SUN Zhong, ZHAO Shuang. Geochemical weathering of aeolian sand and its palaeoclimatic implications in the Mu Us Desert, northern China, since the Late Holocene[J]. 干旱区科学, 2016, 8(5): 647-659.
LIU Bing, JIN Heling, SUN Zhong, ZHAO Shuang. Geochemical weathering of aeolian sand and its palaeoclimatic implications in the Mu Us Desert, northern China, since the Late Holocene. Journal of Arid Land, 2016, 8(5): 647-659.
Bond G, Showers W, Cheseby M, et al. 1997. A pervasive millennial-scale cycle in North Atlantic Holocene and glacial climates. Science, 278(5341): 1257–1266. Cai Y J, Tan L C, Cheng H, et al. 2010. The variation of summer monsoon precipitation in central China since the last deglaciation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 291(1–4): 21–31. Chen F H, Cheng B, Zhao Y, et al. 2006. Holocene environmental change inferred from a high-resolution pollen record, Lake Zhuyeze, arid China. The Holocene, 16(5): 675–684. Chen J, Ji J F, Qiu G, et al. 1998. Geochemical studies on the intensity of chemical weathering in Luochuan loess–paleosol sequence, China. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, 41(3): 235–241. Chen J, An Z S, Liu L W, et al. 2001. Variations in chemical compositions of the eolian dust in Chinese Loess Plateau over the past 2.5 Ma and chemical weathering in the Asian inland. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, 44(5): 403–413. Chen J H, Chen F H, Feng S, et al. 2015. Hydroclimatic changes in China and surroundings during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age: spatial patterns and possible mechanisms. Quaternary Science Reviews, 107: 98−111. Chen Y Y, Li X S, Han Z Y, et al. 2008. Chemical weathering intensity and element migration features of the Xiashu loess profile in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 18(3): 341–352. Fedo C M, Nesbitt H W, Young G M. 1995. Unraveling the effects of potassium metasomatism in sedimentary rocks and paleosols, with implications for paleoweathering conditions and provenance. Geology, 23(10): 921–924. Guo Z T, Ruddiman W F, Hao Q Z, et al. 2002. Onset of Asian desertification by 22 Myr ago inferred from loess deposits in China. Nature, 416(6877): 159–163. Hong Y T, Hong B, Lin Q H, et al. 2003. Correlation between Indian Ocean summer monsoon and north Atlantic climate during the Holocene. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 211(3–4): 371–380. Jia F F, Lu R J, Gao S Y, et al. 2015. Holocene aeolian activities in the southeastern Mu Us Desert, China. Aeolian Research, 19: 267–274. Jin H L, Su Z Z, Sun Z. 2003. Characters of chemical elements in strata of middle and late Holocene in Hunshandake Desert and the indicating climatic changes. Journal of Desert Research, 23(4): 366–371 (in Chinese). Jin H L, Su Z Z, Sun L Y, et al. 2004a. Holocene climatic change in Hunshandake Desert. Chinese Science Bulletin, 49(16): 1730–1735. Jin H L, Xiao H L, Sun L Y, et al. 2004b. Vicissitude of Sogo Nur and environmental-climatic change during last 1500 years. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, 47(Supp1.1): 61–70. Jin Z D, Shen J, Wang S M, et al. 2002. The medieval warm period in the Daihai Area. Journal of Lake Sciences, 14(3): 209–216. (in Chinese) Li B S, Wen X H, David Z, et al. 2008. Paleoclimate change recorded in the red earth and brown-yellow sediment of Late Quaternary for northeastern part of Guangdong Province, south to the Nanling Mountains, China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 53(24): 3866–3875. Li X S, Yang D Y, Lu H Y. 1999. Oxide-geochemistry features and paleoclimatic record of the aeolian-dust depositional sequence in southern Anhui Province. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology, 19(4): 75–82. (in Chinese) Liang M Y, Guo Z T, Kahmann A J, et al. 2009. Geochemical characteristics of the Miocene eolian deposits in China: Their provenance and climate implications. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 10(4), doi: 10.1029/2008GC002331. Liu B, Jin H L, Sun L Y, et al. 2014a. Holocene moisture change revealed by the Rb/Sr ratio of aeolian deposits in the southeastern Mu Us Desert, China. Aeolian Research, 13: 109–119. Liu B, Jin H L, Sun Z, et al. 2014b. Evidence of Holocene millennial-scale climatic change from Gonghe Basin peat deposit, northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Journal of Arid Environments, 106: 1–10. Liu B, Jin H L, Sun L Y, et al. 2015. Geochemical evidence for Holocene millennial-scale climatic and environmental changes in the south-eastern Mu Us Desert, northern China. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 104(7): 1889–1900. Liu J B, Chen F H, Chen J H, et al. 2011. Humid Medieval Warm Period recorded by magnetic characteristics of sediments from Gonghai Lake, Shanxi, North China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 56(23): 2464–2474. Lu H Y, Miao X D, Zhou Y L, et al. 2005. Late Quaternary aeolian activity in the Mu Us and Otindag dune fields (north China) and lagged response to insolation forcing. Geophysical Research Letters, 32(21), doi: 10.1029/2005GL024560. Ma J, Yue L P, Yang L R, et al. 2011. OSL dating of Holocene sequence and palaeoclimate change record in southeastearn margin of Mu Us desert, north China. Quaternary Sciences, 31(1): 120–129. (in Chinese) McLennan S M. 1993. Weathering and global denudation. The Journal of Geology, 101(2): 295–303. Nesbitt H W, Young G M. 1982. Early Proterozoic climates and plate motions inferred from major element chemistry of lutites. Nature, 299(5885): 715–717. Peng S Z, Guo Z T. 2001. Geochemical indicator of original eolian grain size and implications on winter monsoon evolution. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, 44(Supp1.1): 261−266. Qiao Y S, Zhao Z Z, Wang Y, et al. 2009. Variations of geochemical compositions and the paleoclimatic significance of a loess-soil sequence from Garzê County of western Sichuan Province, China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 54(24): 4697–4703. Sun J M, Li S H, Han P, et al. 2006. Holocene environment changes in the central Inner Mongolia, based on the single-aliquot-quartz optical dating and multi-proxy study of dune sands. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 233(1–2): 51–62. Taylor S R, McLennan S M. 1985. The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Scientific Publications. Wang Y J, Cheng H, Edwards R L, et al. 2005. The Holocene Asian monsoon: links to solar changes and north Atlantic climate. Science, 308(5723): 854–857.Wu J W, Lu R J, Zhao T N. 2004. Sandy lands during the medieval warm period in Eastern China. Science of Soil and Water Conservation, 2(1): 29–33. (in Chinese) Xie Y Y, Meng J, Guo L F, et al. 2013. Geochemical composition and weathering feature of surface sediment in the Dumen Sandy land, northeast China. Journal of Desert Research, 33(4): 1009–1018. (in Chinese) Xu Q H, Xiao J L, Li Y C, et al. 2010. Pollen-based quantitative reconstruction of Holocene climate changes in the Daihai Lake Area, Inner Mongolia, China. Journal of Climate, 23(11): 2856–2868.Xu Z W, Lu H Y, Zhao C F, et al. 2011. Composition, origin and weathering process of surface sediment in Kumtagh Desert, Northwest China. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 21(6): 1062–1076. Yao Z Q, Xiao G Q, Liang M Y. 2010. Global cooling controls on the chemical weathering as evidenced from the Plio-Pleistocene deposits of the North China Plain. Chinese Science Bulletin, 55(9): 787−790.
2016, Vol. 8 
