Aeolian dust dynamics in the Fergana Valley, Central Asia, since ~30 ka inferred from loess deposits

Loess &#8211; a homogeneous, predominantly silt-sized aeolian sediment &#8211; has long been recognised as a valuable terrestrial record of past environmental conditions. Loess deposits drape some 10% of the Earth&#8217;s land surface, accumulating almost continuously in some regions. Most aeolian dust is thought not to travel far, often deriving from fine-grained material transported by rivers from glaciated regions. The provenance of loess sediment is inferred from the trajectories of atmospheric circulation systems and how these may have changed in intensity and influence over a region through time. The most frequently used techniques for correlating aeolian dust deposits with likely source areas, including bulk geochemistry, age distributions of detrital zircons, and Sr-Nd isotope ratios in clays, remain limited in the information they may provide about loess provenance. Since loess is dominated by silicate minerals &#8211; namely, quartz and feldspars &#8211; it is advantageous to explore their potential as indicators of source changes within loess-paleosol sequences (LPS). Increasingly, researchers have been exploring variations in the luminescence characteristics of sedimentary quartz and feldspar as possible provenance tools. Of a range of approaches so far applied, luminescence sensitivity is the quickest to measure and provides a means to rapidly assess potential changes in sediment source down LPS.Luminescence sensitivity &#8211; the signal intensity per absorbed radiation dose &#8211; arises from the efficiency of charge traffic between traps and luminescence centres within a crystalline framework. In a sedimentary context, sensitivity is the product of interplay between source lithology and the history of the mineral in question. Consequently, shifts in sediment provenance may be observed through variations in luminescence sensitivity down LPS. Despite the presence of thick loess deposits across Europe, however, this approach has yet to be tested on this continent.Here we undertake an empirical investigation of the luminescence sensitivity characteristics of quartz and feldspar from different grain-size fractions at the Schwalbenberg LPS in the German Rhine valley. The Schwalbenberg LPS has recently been shown to respond to variability in Atlantic-driven climate oscillations in fine detail; it follows, therefore, that changes in source will likely be recorded in its sediments. We test the potential of luminescence sensitivity as an indicator of changes in sediment source through time, comparing samples from a 30 m core (REM3) spanning the last full glacial cycle, with samples of oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 3-2 age exposed within a c. 6 m profile on the southern margins of the deposit. The temporal overlap of the two localities during OIS3 enables comparison of luminescence characteristics with respect to possible provenance during that timeframe; we find an inverse relationship between quartz and feldspar sensitivity, as well as variability in sensitivity between different quartz grain sizes. There is some indication that feldspar sensitivity increases during periods of soil formation down the core. These observations may suggest source variability over millennial timescales.

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Environmental dynamics since the last glacial in arid Central Asia: evidence from grain size distribution and magnetic properties of loess from the Ili Valley, western China

10.5194/cp-2017-50 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yue Li ◽

Yougui Song ◽

Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons ◽

Hong Chang ◽

Rustam Orozbaev ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Grain Size ◽

Central Asia ◽

Polar Front ◽

Western China ◽

Weather Data ◽

Near Surface ◽

Dust Transport ◽

Loess Deposition ◽

Loess Deposits ◽

End Members

Abstract. The extensive loess deposits of the Eurasian mid-latitudes provide important terrestrial records of Quaternary climatic change. As yet, however, loess records in Central Asia are poorly understood. Here we investigate the grain size and magnetic characteristics of loess from the Nilka (NLK) section in the Ili Basin of eastern Central Asia. Magnetic parameters indicate very weak pedogenesis compared with loess from other regions in Eurasia. The higher χlf values occur in primary loess, rather than in weak paleosols, and the variations in magnetic susceptibility (MS) value correlate closely with the proportions of the sand fraction. We attribute this result to high wind strength at the time of loess deposition. To explore the dust transport patterns further, we identified three grain size end members (EM1, mode size 47.5 µm; EM2, 33.6 µm; EM3, 18.9 µm) which represent distinct aerodynamic environments. EM1 and EM2 represent the grain-size fractions transported from proximal sources in short-term, near-surface suspension during dust outbreaks. EM3 appears to represent the continuous background dust fraction under non-dust storm processes. Of the three end members, EM1 is most likely the most sensitive recorder of wind strength. A lack of correlation between EM1 proportions and GISP δ18O values at the millennial scale, combined with modern weather data, suggests that Arctic polar front predominates in the Ili Basin and the Kyrgyz Tian Shan piedmont during cold phases, which leads to the dust transport and accumulation of loess deposits, while the shift of mid-latitude westerlies towards the south and north controls the patterns of precipitation/moisture variations in this region. Comparison of EM1 proportions with Northern Hemisphere summer insolation clearly illustrate local insolation-based control on wind dynamics in the region, and humdity can also influence grain size of loess over MIS3 in particular. Although, the polar front dominated wind dynamics for loess deposition in the region, the Central Asian high mountains obstructed its migration further south. Our results may also support the significance of the mid-latitude westerlies in transmitting North Atlantic climate signals to East Asia.

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