The geochemical characteristics of aeolian and surface materials in potential source areas of dust are frequently employed in environmental reconstructions as proxies of past climate and as source tracers of aeolian s...The geochemical characteristics of aeolian and surface materials in potential source areas of dust are frequently employed in environmental reconstructions as proxies of past climate and as source tracers of aeolian sediments deposited in downwind areas. However, varia- tions in the geochemical characteristics of these aeolian deposits that result from near-surface winds are currently poorly understood. In this study, we collected surface samples from the Ala Shah Plateau （a major potential dust source area in Central Asia） to determine the influence of aeolian processes on the geochemical characteristics of aeolian transported materials. Correlation analyses show that compared with surface materials, the elements in transported materials （e.g., Cu, As, Pb, Mn, Zn, Al, Ca, Fe, Ga, K, Mg, P, Rb, Co, Cr, Na, Nb, Si, and Zr） were subjected to significant sorting by aeolian processes, and the sorting also varied among different particle size fractions and elements. Variations in wind velocity were significantly correlated with the contents of Cr, Ga, Sr, Ca, Y, Nd, Zr, Nb, Ba, and Al, and with the Zr/Al, Zr/Rb, K/Ca, Sr/Ca, Rb/Sr, and Ca/Al ratios. Given the great variation in the geochemical characteristics of materials transported under different aeolian processes relative to those of the source materials, these results indicate that considerable uncertainty may be introduced to analyses by using surface materials to trace the potential source areas of aeolian deposits that accumulate in downwind areas.展开更多
Samples from the Horqin sandy land were exposed to a series of wind velocities,and sink particles were collected at the end of the diffusion section of a wind tunnel.Grain sizes of collected samples show great variati...Samples from the Horqin sandy land were exposed to a series of wind velocities,and sink particles were collected at the end of the diffusion section of a wind tunnel.Grain sizes of collected samples show great variation because of the granularity difference of the surface samples.The original samples show lower average content of SiO_(2) and higher average content of Al _(2)O_(3),Fe_(2)O_(3),MgO,CaO,Na_(2)O,and K_(2)O than collected samples.Compared with other dust source areas in China,the Horqin sandy land had higher content of Zr,Ba,SiO_(2),Al_(2)O_(3) and K_(2)O.Compared with the average upper continental crust(UCC)composition,surface samples were rich in the content of Y,Zr,Nb,Ba,La,Nd.Geochemistry characteristics of fine grain components of the Horqin sandy land differ from those from other dust source regions,because fine-grained particles in the Horqin sandy land were mostly derived from various local deposits formed in its unique depositional environments influenced by several tectonic activities.展开更多
Identifying the provenance of aeolian sediments in the Hunshandake Sandy Land is of great importance for understanding the formation of the dune fields in the mid-latitudes and for deciphering information about desert...Identifying the provenance of aeolian sediments in the Hunshandake Sandy Land is of great importance for understanding the formation of the dune fields in the mid-latitudes and for deciphering information about desert＇s responses to global change. By determining the major and trace elements concentrations of aeolian sands in three grain size fractions from the central and western parts of the Hunshandake Sandy Land, we systematically study the provenance and the depositional history of aeolian sands in this desert environment. Our results show that aeolian sands from the Hunshandake Sandy Land are enriched in SiO2 and are depleted in many other elements compared to those of the Upper Continent Crust （UCC）. Variations of the immobile elements ratios like Zr/Hf, La/Yb, Th/Nb, La/Nb, LaN/YbN, GdN/YbN are relatively large in the coarse and medium fractions but minor in the fine fractions. Eu anomalies are quite different in the coarse fractions, but mostly positive in the medium fractions and all negative in the fine fractions. Decreasing tendency of Zr concentrations from the west to the east in the Hunshandake Sandy Land is evident in the coarse sands but rather weak in the fine grain size fractions. Our geochemical data indicate that the sources for the coarse and medium fractions of aeolian sands are diverse, influenced by local geology and geomorphology, while the fine sand fractions are more homogenous due to intensive mixture mainly by aeolian processes. Various ratios of immobile elements suggest that these sands should be sourced primarily from the surrounding mountains by fluvial/alluvial processes rather than from any remote territories. Aeolian sands with Ce negative anomalies are widely distributed in the Hunshandake Sandy Land, indicating that aquatic environments have occurred extensively prior to the occurrence of the dune field.展开更多
Wind erosion,or the transportation and deposition of sand into desert dunes and aeolian loess,is one of the most important aeolian activities.The progression of aeolian landforms expands arid and barren landscapes,lea...Wind erosion,or the transportation and deposition of sand into desert dunes and aeolian loess,is one of the most important aeolian activities.The progression of aeolian landforms expands arid and barren landscapes,leading to the degradation of adjacent areas.The Gonghe Basin,as a typical plateau with abundant sand sources,is highly sensitive to changes in the local climate conditions.In order to quantify the spatial-temporal variations in the aeolian landforms in the Gonghe Basin,we conducted field surveys and also analyzed twelve remote sensing(Landsat5 TM and Landsat8 OLI)images that sample the Gonghe Basin from 1989 to 2019.In the Gonghe Basin,we identified aeolian landforms such as climbing dunes on the windward slopes of the foothills,checkerboard dunes in the southeastern part of the basin,flat dunes,parabolic dunes and crescent dunes on the east and west sides of Longyangxia Reservoir,shrubby sandbanks on the valley slope in Shazhuyu,Tanggemu,and Indel,and sandy thickets at the bottom of the valley near the Dalian Sea,the Longyangxia Reservoir,and the tributaries of the Yellow River.From 1989 to 2005,the area of the aeolian regions expanded by 816.7 km2,with an annual conversion rate of 0.05%.From 2015 to 2019,the area of the aeolian regions shrunk by 2411.9 km2,with an annual conversion rate of−0.15%.The number and size of the fixed and semi-fixed dunes(e.g.the shrubby sandbanks on the valley slope and the sandy thickets at the bottom of the valley)were more stable than those of the mobile dunes(e.g.the checkerboard dunes,the flat dunes,the crescent dunes,the parabolic dunes,and the climbing dunes).The fixed and semi-fixed dunes were arranged in an irregular ring shape,and the location of the center of gravity of this ring did not change significantly from 1989 to 2019;in this time,the mobile dunes migrated to the northwest.展开更多
Aeolian sand landforms in the Yarlung Zangbo River(YZR) valley are a special type of aeolian landform that has attracted the attention of many scholars. However, the spatial distribution as well as the formation mecha...Aeolian sand landforms in the Yarlung Zangbo River(YZR) valley are a special type of aeolian landform that has attracted the attention of many scholars. However, the spatial distribution as well as the formation mechanism of aeolian sand has rarely been reported with integrated studies. In this paper, for remote sensing interpretation, scanning electron microscopy(SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and particle size distribution(PSD) methods were used to analyze the spatial distribution and the deposition characteristics of aeolian sand. Combined with wind data and topography, the main driving factors and the formation mechanism of aeolian sand landforms were also examined. In the middle reaches of the YZR valley, there is a total of 2324.43 km^2 of aeolian sand, especially on the north bank of the wide valleys. In different wide valleys, the aeolian sand landforms exhibit a decreasing trend from the upstream to the downstream regions in both the area and expansion rate of aeolian sand. The cyclonic vortexes generated by the westerly winds and glacial winds are the main driving factors for transporting alluvial sand to the riverbank areas to form aeolian dunes. There are three main types of sand dunes in the river valley: climbing dunes, lee dunes and circumfluent dunes. Climbing dunes and lee dunes are mostly located west of the Jiacha Gorge, and the circumfluent dunes are mostly located east of the Jiacha Gorge.展开更多
The rapid desertification of grasslands in Inner Mongolia of China poses a significant ecological threaten to northern China. The combined effects of anthropogenic disturbances （e.g., overgrazing） and biophysical pr...The rapid desertification of grasslands in Inner Mongolia of China poses a significant ecological threaten to northern China. The combined effects of anthropogenic disturbances （e.g., overgrazing） and biophysical processes （e.g., soil erosion） have led to vegetation degradation and the consequent acceleration of regional desertification. Thus, mitigating the accelerated wind erosion, a cause and effect of grassland desertification, is critical for the sustainable management of grasslands. Here, a combination of mobile wind tunnel experiments and wind erosion model was used to explore the effects of different levels of vegetation coverage, soil moisture and wind speed on wind erosion at different positions of a slope inside an enclosed desert steppe in the Xilamuren grassland of Inner Mongolia. The results indicated a significant spatial difference in wind erosion intensities depending on the vegetation coverage, with a strong decreasing trend from the top to the base of the slope. Increasing vegetation coverage resulted in a rapid decrease in wind erosion as explained by a power function correlation. Vegetation coverage was found to be a dominant control on wind erosion by increasing the surface roughness and by lowering the threshold wind velocity for erosion. The critical vegetation coverage required for effectively controlling wind erosion was found to be higher than 60%. Further, the wind erosion rates were negatively correlated with surface soil moisture and the mass flux in aeolian sand transport increased with increasing wind speed. We developed a mathematical model of wind erosion based on the results of an orthogonal array design. The results from the model simulation indicated that the standardized regression coefficients of the main effects of the three factors （vegetation coverage, soil moisture and wind speed） on the mass flux in aeolian sand transport were in the following order： wind speed〉vegetation coverage〉soil moisture. These three factors had different levels of interactive effects on the mass flux in aeolian sand transport. Our results will improve the understanding of the interactive effects of wind speed, vegetation coverage and soil moisture in controlling wind erosion in desert steppes, and will be helpful for the design of desertification control programs in future.展开更多
基金This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China （No. 2016YFA0601900）, grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant Nos. 41225001 and 41401005）, and the Foundation of the Director of the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Special thanks are given to anonymous referees and the journal editor for constructive criticism of an earlier version of this manuscript.
文摘The geochemical characteristics of aeolian and surface materials in potential source areas of dust are frequently employed in environmental reconstructions as proxies of past climate and as source tracers of aeolian sediments deposited in downwind areas. However, varia- tions in the geochemical characteristics of these aeolian deposits that result from near-surface winds are currently poorly understood. In this study, we collected surface samples from the Ala Shah Plateau （a major potential dust source area in Central Asia） to determine the influence of aeolian processes on the geochemical characteristics of aeolian transported materials. Correlation analyses show that compared with surface materials, the elements in transported materials （e.g., Cu, As, Pb, Mn, Zn, Al, Ca, Fe, Ga, K, Mg, P, Rb, Co, Cr, Na, Nb, Si, and Zr） were subjected to significant sorting by aeolian processes, and the sorting also varied among different particle size fractions and elements. Variations in wind velocity were significantly correlated with the contents of Cr, Ga, Sr, Ca, Y, Nd, Zr, Nb, Ba, and Al, and with the Zr/Al, Zr/Rb, K/Ca, Sr/Ca, Rb/Sr, and Ca/Al ratios. Given the great variation in the geochemical characteristics of materials transported under different aeolian processes relative to those of the source materials, these results indicate that considerable uncertainty may be introduced to analyses by using surface materials to trace the potential source areas of aeolian deposits that accumulate in downwind areas.
基金This research was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2020YFA0608404)a grant from the National Nature Science Foundation of China(41101006)and the Project of the Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification,Chinese Academy of Sciences(KLDD-2019-008).
文摘Samples from the Horqin sandy land were exposed to a series of wind velocities,and sink particles were collected at the end of the diffusion section of a wind tunnel.Grain sizes of collected samples show great variation because of the granularity difference of the surface samples.The original samples show lower average content of SiO_(2) and higher average content of Al _(2)O_(3),Fe_(2)O_(3),MgO,CaO,Na_(2)O,and K_(2)O than collected samples.Compared with other dust source areas in China,the Horqin sandy land had higher content of Zr,Ba,SiO_(2),Al_(2)O_(3) and K_(2)O.Compared with the average upper continental crust(UCC)composition,surface samples were rich in the content of Y,Zr,Nb,Ba,La,Nd.Geochemistry characteristics of fine grain components of the Horqin sandy land differ from those from other dust source regions,because fine-grained particles in the Horqin sandy land were mostly derived from various local deposits formed in its unique depositional environments influenced by several tectonic activities.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos.: 40930105, 41172325)the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Strategic Priority Research Program (grant no. XDA05120502)
文摘Identifying the provenance of aeolian sediments in the Hunshandake Sandy Land is of great importance for understanding the formation of the dune fields in the mid-latitudes and for deciphering information about desert＇s responses to global change. By determining the major and trace elements concentrations of aeolian sands in three grain size fractions from the central and western parts of the Hunshandake Sandy Land, we systematically study the provenance and the depositional history of aeolian sands in this desert environment. Our results show that aeolian sands from the Hunshandake Sandy Land are enriched in SiO2 and are depleted in many other elements compared to those of the Upper Continent Crust （UCC）. Variations of the immobile elements ratios like Zr/Hf, La/Yb, Th/Nb, La/Nb, LaN/YbN, GdN/YbN are relatively large in the coarse and medium fractions but minor in the fine fractions. Eu anomalies are quite different in the coarse fractions, but mostly positive in the medium fractions and all negative in the fine fractions. Decreasing tendency of Zr concentrations from the west to the east in the Hunshandake Sandy Land is evident in the coarse sands but rather weak in the fine grain size fractions. Our geochemical data indicate that the sources for the coarse and medium fractions of aeolian sands are diverse, influenced by local geology and geomorphology, while the fine sand fractions are more homogenous due to intensive mixture mainly by aeolian processes. Various ratios of immobile elements suggest that these sands should be sourced primarily from the surrounding mountains by fluvial/alluvial processes rather than from any remote territories. Aeolian sands with Ce negative anomalies are widely distributed in the Hunshandake Sandy Land, indicating that aquatic environments have occurred extensively prior to the occurrence of the dune field.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Project No.41807448).
文摘Wind erosion,or the transportation and deposition of sand into desert dunes and aeolian loess,is one of the most important aeolian activities.The progression of aeolian landforms expands arid and barren landscapes,leading to the degradation of adjacent areas.The Gonghe Basin,as a typical plateau with abundant sand sources,is highly sensitive to changes in the local climate conditions.In order to quantify the spatial-temporal variations in the aeolian landforms in the Gonghe Basin,we conducted field surveys and also analyzed twelve remote sensing(Landsat5 TM and Landsat8 OLI)images that sample the Gonghe Basin from 1989 to 2019.In the Gonghe Basin,we identified aeolian landforms such as climbing dunes on the windward slopes of the foothills,checkerboard dunes in the southeastern part of the basin,flat dunes,parabolic dunes and crescent dunes on the east and west sides of Longyangxia Reservoir,shrubby sandbanks on the valley slope in Shazhuyu,Tanggemu,and Indel,and sandy thickets at the bottom of the valley near the Dalian Sea,the Longyangxia Reservoir,and the tributaries of the Yellow River.From 1989 to 2005,the area of the aeolian regions expanded by 816.7 km2,with an annual conversion rate of 0.05%.From 2015 to 2019,the area of the aeolian regions shrunk by 2411.9 km2,with an annual conversion rate of−0.15%.The number and size of the fixed and semi-fixed dunes(e.g.the shrubby sandbanks on the valley slope and the sandy thickets at the bottom of the valley)were more stable than those of the mobile dunes(e.g.the checkerboard dunes,the flat dunes,the crescent dunes,the parabolic dunes,and the climbing dunes).The fixed and semi-fixed dunes were arranged in an irregular ring shape,and the location of the center of gravity of this ring did not change significantly from 1989 to 2019;in this time,the mobile dunes migrated to the northwest.
基金financially supported by the Foundation of China Geological Survey (DD20160297)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41877235)the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFC1501000)
文摘Aeolian sand landforms in the Yarlung Zangbo River(YZR) valley are a special type of aeolian landform that has attracted the attention of many scholars. However, the spatial distribution as well as the formation mechanism of aeolian sand has rarely been reported with integrated studies. In this paper, for remote sensing interpretation, scanning electron microscopy(SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and particle size distribution(PSD) methods were used to analyze the spatial distribution and the deposition characteristics of aeolian sand. Combined with wind data and topography, the main driving factors and the formation mechanism of aeolian sand landforms were also examined. In the middle reaches of the YZR valley, there is a total of 2324.43 km^2 of aeolian sand, especially on the north bank of the wide valleys. In different wide valleys, the aeolian sand landforms exhibit a decreasing trend from the upstream to the downstream regions in both the area and expansion rate of aeolian sand. The cyclonic vortexes generated by the westerly winds and glacial winds are the main driving factors for transporting alluvial sand to the riverbank areas to form aeolian dunes. There are three main types of sand dunes in the river valley: climbing dunes, lee dunes and circumfluent dunes. Climbing dunes and lee dunes are mostly located west of the Jiacha Gorge, and the circumfluent dunes are mostly located east of the Jiacha Gorge.
基金supported by the National Natural Science of Foundation of China(51769019)the Excellent Youth Foundation of Inner Mongolia Agricultural University(2014XYQ-8)
文摘The rapid desertification of grasslands in Inner Mongolia of China poses a significant ecological threaten to northern China. The combined effects of anthropogenic disturbances （e.g., overgrazing） and biophysical processes （e.g., soil erosion） have led to vegetation degradation and the consequent acceleration of regional desertification. Thus, mitigating the accelerated wind erosion, a cause and effect of grassland desertification, is critical for the sustainable management of grasslands. Here, a combination of mobile wind tunnel experiments and wind erosion model was used to explore the effects of different levels of vegetation coverage, soil moisture and wind speed on wind erosion at different positions of a slope inside an enclosed desert steppe in the Xilamuren grassland of Inner Mongolia. The results indicated a significant spatial difference in wind erosion intensities depending on the vegetation coverage, with a strong decreasing trend from the top to the base of the slope. Increasing vegetation coverage resulted in a rapid decrease in wind erosion as explained by a power function correlation. Vegetation coverage was found to be a dominant control on wind erosion by increasing the surface roughness and by lowering the threshold wind velocity for erosion. The critical vegetation coverage required for effectively controlling wind erosion was found to be higher than 60%. Further, the wind erosion rates were negatively correlated with surface soil moisture and the mass flux in aeolian sand transport increased with increasing wind speed. We developed a mathematical model of wind erosion based on the results of an orthogonal array design. The results from the model simulation indicated that the standardized regression coefficients of the main effects of the three factors （vegetation coverage, soil moisture and wind speed） on the mass flux in aeolian sand transport were in the following order： wind speed〉vegetation coverage〉soil moisture. These three factors had different levels of interactive effects on the mass flux in aeolian sand transport. Our results will improve the understanding of the interactive effects of wind speed, vegetation coverage and soil moisture in controlling wind erosion in desert steppes, and will be helpful for the design of desertification control programs in future.
