Asian dust transported one full circuit around the globe

Uno, Itsushi; Eguchi, Katsuhide; Yumimoto, Keiya; Takemura, Toshihiko; Shimizu, Atsushi; Uematsu, Mitsuo; Liu, Zhaoyan; Wang, Zifa; Hara, Yukari; Sugimoto, Naoki

doi:10.1038/ngeo583

Cited by 742 publications

(525 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…These deserts are one of the most important sources of dust for the global aerosol system (Fig. 1b), and thus they play a significant role in modulating global climate on various time scales (Uno et al, 2009). In addition, their formation and development during the Cenozoic provide the key to the improved understanding of changes in Asian monsoon circulation and the climatic implications of the uplift of the Himalayan-Tibetan plateau (Guo et al, 2002b).…”

Section: New Evidence For the Aridification Of Ne China During The Plmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term Pleistocene aridification and possible linkage to high-latitude forcing: New evidence from grain size and magnetic susceptibility proxies from loess-paleosol record in northeastern China

Zeng

et al. 2017

CATENA

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Loess deposits are regarded as good indicators of the inception and development of arid and semi-arid climate in central Asia and northern China during the late Cenozoic. In northeastern China extensive loess deposits are found surrounding the Horqin and Otindag sand fields, and they have great potential for reconstructing the long-term aridification history of the region. However, these loess deposits are currently poorly understood.Here, we present a high-resolution magnetic susceptibility (MS) and grain-size record spanning the last 1.0 Ma from a 36.6-m-thick loess-paleosol sequence at Niuyangzigou site (NYZG) in NE China. The grain-size record reveals a long-term drying trend in NE China since ca. 1.0 Ma, punctuated by two significant abrupt drying events at~0.65 Ma and~0.3 Ma. These results demonstrate a process of stepwise intensification of drying in NE China over the past 1 Ma, and lend support to the hypothesis that global ice volume/temperature changes were the major driver of the long-term aridification of Asian dust source areas. However, unlike the widely studied loess deposits on the central Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), the MS record in paleosol units S1, S2 and S4 from the NYZG site do not show evidence of enhanced monsoon precipitation resulting from decreased global ice volume and the prolonged episodes of interglaciation after the Mid-Pleistocene Transition evident in the ice volume record. We hypothesize that this may be due to differences in the climatic sensitivity of the MS of Chinese loess deposits on a regional scale, rather than to in regional differences in monsoon intensity.

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Section: New Evidence For the Aridification Of Ne China During The Plmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term Pleistocene aridification and possible linkage to high-latitude forcing: New evidence from grain size and magnetic susceptibility proxies from loess-paleosol record in northeastern China

Zeng

et al. 2017

CATENA

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“…Located far from any major source of moisture, and shadowed by Tibetan and central Asian mountain ranges, the Taklimakan is deprived of rainfall, with mean annual precipitation not exceeding 50 mm (1). Provenance studies suggest that mineral dust from the Taklimakan Desert contributes substantially to the global aerosol system, allowing it to play a significant role in modulating global climate on various time scales (2,3). The formation of the Taklimakan Desert therefore marked a major environmental event in central Asia during the Cenozoic, with far-reaching impacts.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Oligocene–early Miocene birth of the Taklimakan Desert

Zheng

Xing

Tada

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

180

196

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As the world’s second largest sand sea and one of the most important dust sources to the global aerosol system, the formation of the Taklimakan Desert marks a major environmental event in central Asia during the Cenozoic. Determining when and how the desert formed holds the key to better understanding the tectonic–climatic linkage in this critical region. However, the age of the Taklimakan remains controversial, with the dominant view being from ∼3.4 Ma to ∼7 Ma based on magnetostratigraphy of sedimentary sequences within and along the margins of the desert. In this study, we applied radioisotopic methods to precisely date a volcanic tuff preserved in the stratigraphy. We constrained the initial desertification to be late Oligocene to early Miocene, between ∼26.7 Ma and 22.6 Ma. We suggest that the Taklimakan Desert was formed as a response to a combination of widespread regional aridification and increased erosion in the surrounding mountain fronts, both of which are closely linked to the tectonic uplift of the Tibetan–Pamir Plateau and Tian Shan, which had reached a climatically sensitive threshold at this time.

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“…The stacker, a material handling tool, is commonly employed for bulk loading at mines and transportation hubs (Edgar, 1983;FAM, 2012). While the transported mineral is not a pollutant and does not necessarily represent an environmental pollution problem, fugitive mineral particulate matter resulting from loading and unloading may pose potential health hazards to exposed individuals nearby (Uno et al, 2009;Gautam et al, 2012). The extent of the potential harmful effects is dependent on the physical nature of the particles and on ambient conditions (Castranova et al, 1985;Brabin et al, 1994;Whicker et al, 2006;Bergstrom et al, 2011;Goix et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling particulate matter emissions during mineral loading process under weak wind simulation

Zhang

Chen

et al. 2013

Science of The Total Environment

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► There are limitations in applying the empirical models to predict PM emission factors for mineral loading under weak winds. ► We modeled particulate matter emission factor of mineral loading processes under weak winds. ► A new approach of logistical function was developed and tested. ► New model focused on the effect of wind velocity. ► The new model works well for simulating stacker mineral loading processes. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o The quantification of particulate matter emissions from mineral handling is an important problem for the quantification of global emissions on industrial sites. Mineral particulate matter emissions could adversely impact environmental quality in mining regions, transport regions, and even on a global scale. Mineral loading is an important process contributing to mineral particulate matter emissions, especially under weak wind conditions. Mathematical models are effective ways to evaluate particulate matter emissions during the mineral loading process. The currently used empirical models based on the form of a power function do not predict particulate matter emissions accurately under weak wind conditions. At low particulate matter emissions, the models overestimated, and at high particulate matter emissions, the models underestimated emission factors. We conducted wind tunnel experiments to evaluate the particulate matter emission factors for the mineral loading process. A new approach based on the mathematical form of a logistical function was developed and tested. It provided a realistic depiction of the particulate matter emissions during the mineral loading process, accounting for fractions of fine mineral particles, dropping height, and wind velocity.

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Asian dust transported one full circuit around the globe

Cited by 742 publications

References 26 publications

Long-term Pleistocene aridification and possible linkage to high-latitude forcing: New evidence from grain size and magnetic susceptibility proxies from loess-paleosol record in northeastern China

Long-term Pleistocene aridification and possible linkage to high-latitude forcing: New evidence from grain size and magnetic susceptibility proxies from loess-paleosol record in northeastern China

Late Oligocene–early Miocene birth of the Taklimakan Desert

Modeling particulate matter emissions during mineral loading process under weak wind simulation

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