Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T04:33:10.437Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Plagioclase sub-species in Chinese loess deposits: Implications for dust source migration and past climate change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Tong He ,
Lianwen Liu ,
Yang Chen ,
Xuefen Sheng  and
Junfeng Ji
Tong He*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China
Lianwen Liu
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China
Yang Chen
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China
Xuefen Sheng
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China
Junfeng Ji
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China
*
⁎Corresponding author. E-mail address:[email protected] (T. He).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Plagioclase mineral sub-species in the Lingtai Section in central Chinese Loess Plateau are examined using Mineral Liberation Analyzer techniques, showing that loess and paleosol samples exhibit similar patterns in terms of plagioclase feldspar sub-species content. This suggests that both loess and paleosol units have preserved their primary Ca-bearing plagioclase compositions of loess source regions. Weighted average CaO (%) in Ca-bearing plagioclase lies within a narrow range and is equivalent to the average plagioclase composition for upper continental crust. This fact supports the hypothesis that Chinese loess deposits are the result of a thorough mixing of dust sources. The sum of Ca-bearing plagioclase content exhibits a general increasing trend superimposed by glacial–interglacial oscillations. In combination with observed plagioclase data in the deserts, the variations of Ca-bearing plagioclase minerals might be used as a proxy for dust source migration and climate changes in the loess source regions. Furthermore, linear relationship between lithogenic magnetic susceptibility (MS) component input and contents of Ca-bearing plagioclase in loess units revises a MS proxy for reconstructing paleo-monsoon precipitation history. The revised MS and plagioclase sub-species records help in understanding the mechanism of glaciation across northern Tibetan Plateau.

Keywords

Late PleistoceneChinese loess depositsLoess source migrationPlagioclase sub-speciesRevised magnetic susceptibility proxyAdvance of mountain glaciers
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 85 , Issue 1 , January 2016 , pp. 17 - 24
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, B.L., Hajek, B.F.(1989). Mineral occurrence in soil environments.Dixon, J.B., Weed, S.B. Minerals in Soil Environments. Soil Science Society of America Book Series, Madison.199–278.Google Scholar
An, Z., Liu, T., Lu, Y., Porter, S.C., Kukla, G., Wu, X., Hua, Y.(1990). The long-term paleomonsoon variation recorded by the loess–paleosol sequence in Central China. Quaternary International 7–8, 91–95.Google Scholar
An, Z.S., Kutzbach, J.E., Prell, W.L., Porter, S.C.(2001). Evolution of Asian monsoons and phased uplift of the Himalaya–Tibetan plateau since Late Miocene times. Nature 411, 62–66.Google Scholar
Balsam, W., Ji, J., Chen, J.(2004). Climatic interpretation of the Luochuan and Lingtai loess sections, China, based on changing iron oxide mineralogy and magnetic susceptibility. Earth and Planet Science Letters 223, 335–348.Google Scholar
Balsam, W.L., Ellwood, B.B., Ji, J., Williams, E.R., Long, X., Hassani, A.E.(2011). Magnetic susceptibility as a proxy for rainfall: worldwide data from tropical and temperate climate. Quaternary Science Reviews 2732–2744, Google Scholar
Bloemendal, J., Liu, X.M., Rolph, T.C.(1995). Correlation of the magnetic susceptibility stratigraphy of Chinese loess and the marine oxygen isotope record: chronological and palaeoclimatic implications. Earth and Planet Science Letters 131, 371–380.Google Scholar
Chamley, H. (1989). Clay Sedimentology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.Google Scholar
Che, X., Li, G.(2013). Binary sources of loess on the Chinese Loess Plateau revealed by U–Pb ages of zircon. Quaternary Research 80, 545–551.Google Scholar
Chen, J., Ji, J.F., Qiu, G., Lu, H.Y.(1998). Geochemical studies on the intensity of chemical weathering in Luochuanloess–paleosol sequence, China. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences 41, 235–241.Google Scholar
Chen, J., An, Z., Liu, L., Ji, J., Yang, J., Chen, Y.(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 China 44, 403–413.Google Scholar
Chen, J., Chen, Y., Liu, L., Ji, J., Balsam, W., Sun, Y., Lu, H.(2006). Zr/Rb ratio in the Chinese loess sequences and its implication for changes in the East Asian winter monsoon strength. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70, 1471–1482.Google Scholar
Chen, J., Li, G., Yang, J., Rao, W., Lu, H., Balsam, W., Sun, Y., Ji, J.(2007). Nd and Sr isotopic characteristics of Chinese deserts: implications for the provenances of Asian dust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 71, 3904–3914.Google Scholar
Deer, D.A., Howie, R.A., Zussman, J.(1963). Rock-forming Minerals, London.Google Scholar
Deng, C., Vidic, N.J., Verosub, K.L., Singer, M.J., Liu, Q., Shaw, J., Zhu, R.(2005). Mineral magnetic variation of the Jiaodao Chinese loess/paleosol sequence and its bearing on long-term climatic variability. Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth 110, B03103Google Scholar
Ding, Z.L., Xiong, S.F., Sun, J.M., Yang, S.L., Gu, Z.Y., Liu, T.S.(1999). Pedostratigraphy and paleomagnetism of a ∼ 7.0 Ma eolianloess–red clay sequence at Lingtai, Loess Plateau, north-central China and the implications for paleomonsoon evolution. PalaeogeographyPalaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 152, 49–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ding, Z.L., Derbyshire, E., Yang, S.L., Sun, J.M., Liu, T.S.(2005). Stepwise expansion of desert environment across northern China in the past 3.5 Ma and implications for monsoon evolution. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 237, 45–55.Google Scholar
Dortch, J.M., Owen, L.A., Caffee, M.W.(2013). Timing and climatic drivers for glaciation across semi-arid western Himalayan–Tibetan orogen. Quat. Sci. Rev. 78, 188–208.Google Scholar
Fandrich, R., Gu, Y., Burrows, D., Moeller, K.(2007). Modern SEM-based mineral liberation analysis. International Journal of Mineral Processing 84, 310–320.Google Scholar
Ferrat, M., Weiss, D.J., Strekopytov, S., Dong, S., Chen, H., Najorka, J., Sun, Y., Gupta, S., Tada, R., Sinha, R.(2011). Improved provenance tracing of Asian dust sources using rare earth elements and selected trace elements for palaeomonsoon studies on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 75, 6374–6399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallet, S., Jahn, B., Torii, M.(1996). Geochemical characterization of the Luochuanloess–paleosol sequence, China, and paleoclimatic implications. Chemical Geology 133, 67–88.Google Scholar
Gallet, S., Jahn, B., Van VlietLanoë, B., Dia, A., Rossello, E.(1998). Loess geochemistry and its implications for particle origin and composition of the upper continental crust. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 156, 157–172.Google Scholar
Gillespie, A., Molnar, P.(1995). Asynchronous maximum advances of mountain and continental glaciers. Reviews of Geophysics 33, 311–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gylesjö, S., Arnold, E.(" and Arnold, 2006). Clay mineralogy of a red clay–loess sequence from Lingtai, the Chinese Loess Plateau. Global and Planetary Change 51, 181–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, J., Fyfe, W.S., Longstaffe, F.J.(1998). Climatic implications of the S5paleosol complex on the Southernmost Chinese Loess Plateau. Quaternary Research 50, 21–33.Google Scholar
Hao, Q., Wang, L., Oldfield, F., Peng, S., Qin, L., Song, Y., Xu, B., Qiao, Y., Bloemendal, J., Guo, Z.(2012). Delayed build-up of Arctic ice sheets during 400,000-year minima in insolation variability. Nature 490, 393–396.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hunt, C.P., Singer, M.J., Kletetschka, G., TenPas, J., Verosub, K.L.(1995). Effect of citrate–bicarbonate–dithionite treatment on fine-grained magnetite and maghemite. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 130, 87–94.Google Scholar
Jeong, G.Y., Hillier, S., Kemp, R.A.(2008). Quantitative bulk and single-particle mineralogy of a thick Chinese loess–paleosol section: implications for loess provenance and weathering. Quaternary Science Reviews 27, 1271–1287.Google Scholar
Ji, J., Chen, J., Lu, H.(1999). Origin of illite in the loess from the Luochuan area, Loess Plateau, Central China. Clay Minerals 34, (525-525(521))Google Scholar
Ji, J., Chen, J., Balsam, W., Lu, H., Sun, Y., Xu, H.(2004). High resolution hematite/goethite records from Chinese loess sequences for the last glacial–interglacial cycle: rapid climatic response of the East Asian Monsoon to the tropical Pacific. Geophysical Research Letters 31, 347–348.Google Scholar
Lisiecki, L.E., Raymo, M.E.(2005). A Pliocene–Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic δ18O records. Paleoceanography 20, PA1003Google Scholar
Liu, T.S., Ding, M.L., Derbyshire, E. Gravel deposits on the margins of the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau, and their environmental significance. PalaeogeographyPalaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 120, 159–170.Google Scholar
(1996). Maher, B.A.(2011). The magnetic properties of Quaternary aeolian dusts and sediments, and their palaeoclimatic significance. Aeolian Research 3, 87–144.Google Scholar
Maher, B.A., Thompson, R.(1995). Paleorainfall reconstructions from pedogenic magnetic susceptibility variations in the Chinese loess and paleosols. Quaternary Research 44, 383–391.Google Scholar
Maher, B.A., Prospero, J.M., Mackie, D., Gaiero, D., Hesse, P.P., Balkanski, Y.(2010). Global connections between aeolian dust, climate and ocean biogeochemistry at the present day and at the last glacial maximum. Earth Science Reviews 99, 61–97.Google Scholar
Murari, M.K., Owen, L.A., Dortch, J.M., Caffee, M.W., Dietsch, C., Fuchs, M., Haneberg, W.C., Sharma, M.C., Townsend-Small, A.(2014). Timing and climatic drivers for glaciation across monsoon-influenced regions of the Himalayan–Tibetan orogen. Quaternary Science Reviews 88, 159–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nesbitt, H.W., Young, G.M.(1984). Prediction of some weathering trends of plutonic and volcanic rocks based on thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48, 1523–1534.Google Scholar
Nie, J., Peng, W.(2014). Automated SEM–EDS heavy mineral analysis reveals no provenance shift between glacial loess and interglacial paleosol on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Aeolian Research 13, 71–75.Google Scholar
Nie, J., Stevens, T., Rittner, M., Stockli, D., Garzanti, E., Limonta, M., Bird, A., Ando, S., Vermeesch, P., Saylor, J., Lu, H., Breecker, D., Hu, X., Liu, S., Resentini, A., Vezzoli, G., Peng, W., Carter, A., Ji, S., Pan, B.(2015). Loess Plateau storage of Northeastern Tibetan Plateau-derived Yellow River sediment. Nature Communications 6, CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ou, X., Lai, Z., Zhou, S., Zeng, L.(2014). Timing of glacier fluctuations and trigger mechanisms in eastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau during the late Quaternary. Quaternary Research 81, 464–475.Google Scholar
Owen, L.A., Dortch, J.M.(2014). Nature and timing of Quaternary glaciation in the Himalayan–Tibetan orogen. Quaternary Science Reviews 88, 14–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petit, J.R., Jouzel, J., Raynaud, D., Barkov, N.I., Barnola, J.M., Basile, I., Bender, M., Chappellaz, J., Davis, M., Delaygue, G., Delmotte, M., Kotlyakov, V.M., Legrand, M., Lipenkov, V.Y., Lorius, C., Pepin, L., Ritz, C., Saltzman, E., Stievenard, M.(1999). Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica. Nature 399, 429–436.Google Scholar
Pittman, E.D. (1963). Use of zoned plagioclase as an indicator of provenance. Journal of Sedimentary Research 33, 380–386.Google Scholar
Pittman, E.D. (1970). Plagioclase feldspar as an indicator of provenance in sedimentary rocks. Journal of Sedimentary Research 40, 591–598.Google Scholar
Pye, K. (1989). Processes of fine particle formation, dust source regions, and climatic changes.Leinen, M., Sarnthein, M. Paleoclimatology and Paleometeorology: Modern and Past Patterns of Global Atmospheric Transport. Springer, Netherlands.3–30.Google Scholar
Rudnick, R.L., Gao, S.(2004). Composition of the Continental Crust.Google Scholar
Rutter, N., Ding, Z., Evans, M.E., Liu, T.(1991). Baoji-type pedostratigraphic section, Loess Plateau, north-central China. Quaternary Science Reviews 10, 1–22.Google Scholar
Stevens, T., Carter, A., Watson, T.P., Vermeesch, P., Andò, S., Bird, A.F., Lu, H., Garzanti, E., Cottam, M.A., Sevastjanova, I.(2013). Genetic linkage between the Yellow River, the Mu Us desert and the Chinese Loess Plateau. Quaternary Science Reviews 78, 355–368.Google Scholar
Sun, J. (2002). Provenance of loess material and formation of loess deposits on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 203, 845–859.Google Scholar
Sun, Y., Tada, R., Chen, J., Liu, Q., Toyoda, S., Tani, A., Ji, J., Isozaki, Y.(2008). Tracing the provenance of fine-grained dust deposited on the central Chinese Loess Plateau. Geophysical Research Letters 35, L01804Google Scholar
Taylor, S.R., McLennan, S.M., McCulloch, M.T.(1983). Geochemistry of loess, continental crustal composition and crustal model ages. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 47, 1897–1905.Google Scholar
Trevena, A.S., Nash, W.P.(1979). Chemistry and provenance of detrital plagioclase. Geology 7, 475–478.Google Scholar
Trevena, A.S., Nash, W.P.(1981). An electron microprobe study of detrital feldspar. Journal of Sedimentary Research 51, 137–150.Google Scholar
Wu, Y., Cui, Z., Liu, G., Ge, D., Yin, J., Xu, Q., Pang, Q.(2001). Quaternary geomorphological evolution of the Kunlun Pass area and uplift of the Qinghai–Xizang (Tibet) Plateau. Geomorphology 36, 203–216.Google Scholar
Xiao, G., Zong, K., Li, G., Hu, Z., Dupont-Nivet, G., Peng, S., Zhang, K.(2012). Spatial and glacial–interglacial variations in provenance of the Chinese Loess Plateau. Geophysical Research Letters 39, L20715Google Scholar
Xie, Q., Chen, T., Xu, H., Chen, J., Ji, J., Lu, H., Wang, X.(2009). Quantification of the contribution of pedogenic magnetic minerals to magnetic susceptibility of loess and paleosols on Chinese Loess Plateau: paleoclimatic implications. Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth 114, B09101Google Scholar
Xiong, S., Ding, Z., Zhu, Y., Zhou, R., Lu, H.(2010). A ∼6Ma chemical weathering history, the grain size dependence of chemical weathering intensity, and its implications for provenance change of the Chinese loess–red clay deposit. Quaternary Science Reviews 29, 1911–1922.Google Scholar
Yang, X., Rost, K.T., Lehmkuhl, F., Zhenda, Z., Dodson, J.(2004). The evolution of dry lands in northern China and in the Republic of Mongolia since the Last Glacial Maximum. Quaternary International 118–119, 69–85.Google Scholar
Yang, S., Ding, F., Ding, Z.(2006). Pleistocene chemical weathering history of Asian arid and semi-arid regions recorded in loess deposits of China and Tajikistan. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70, 1695–1709.Google Scholar
Yang, T., Hyodo, M., Zhang, S., Maeda, M., Yang, Z., Wu, H., Li, H.(2013). New insights into magnetic enhancement mechanism in Chinese paleosols. PalaeogeographyPalaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 369, 493–500.Google Scholar
Zhao, J., Liu, S., He, Y., Song, Y.(2009). Quaternary glacial chronology of the Ateaoyinake River Valley, Tianshan Mountains, China. Geomorphology 103, 276–284.Google Scholar
Zhou, L.P., Oldfield, F., Wintle, A.G., Robinson, S.G., Wang, J.T.(1990). Partly pedogenic origin of magnetic variations in Chinese loess. Nature 346, 737–739.Google Scholar
Zhou, S.Z., Yi, C.L., Shi, Y.F., Ye, Y.G.(2001). Study on the ice age MIS 12 in Western China. Journal of Geomechanics 7, 321–327.(in Chinese with English Abstract)Google Scholar
Zhou, S., Li, J., Zhang, S.(2002). Quaternary glaciation of the Bailang River Valley, Qilian Shan. Quaternary International 97–98, 103–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, S., Wang, X., Wang, J., Xu, L.(2006). A preliminary study on timing of the oldest Pleistocene glaciation in Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. Quaternary International 154–155, 44–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, S., Li, J., Zhao, J., Wang, J., Zheng, J.(2011). Quaternary glaciations: extent and chronology in China.Philip, D.H. Jürgen Ehlers, P.L.G. Elsevier, Developments in Quaternary Sciences.981–1002.Google Scholar
Zhu, B., Yang, X.(2009). Chemical weathering of detrital sediments in the Taklamakan Desert, Northwestern China. Geographical Research 47, 57–70.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

He et al. supplementary material

Supplementary Material

Download He et al. supplementary material(File)
File 2 MB