Provenance of eolian sands in the Ulan Buh Desert, northwestern China, revealed by heavy mineral assemblages

Zhang, Cheng; Li, Zhuolun; Chen, Qiujie; Dong, Shipei; Yu, Xinhui; Yu, Qiangjing

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2020.104624

Cited by 31 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…The titanium K-edge XANES spectra of reference materials and specific emission source materials (Figure ) showed that the Ti species in Chinese loess (CJ-1 and GDD) and ATD were composed of rutile, anatase, ilmenite, and titanite. These results were consistent with previous studies showing that these Ti species are minor species of heavy minerals in Chinese loess. − The fraction of each species was similar among these mineral dust samples. Approximately half of Ti species in mineral dust were composed of rutile and anatase (33 to 56%), and the rest were ilmenite and titanite.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been applied to total suspended particulate (TSP) and PM 2.5 samples to determine the dominant mineralogy of aerosol particles. However, TiO 2 was rarely found, and no other titanium minerals have been detected. − This finding is reasonable because (i) heavy minerals are not the dominant components of loess as the emission source of mineral dust and (ii) Ti minerals are usually the minor components of heavy minerals. − We should apply speciation methods with high elemental specificity to a better understanding of Ti species in aerosol particles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First X-ray Spectroscopic Observations of Atmospheric Titanium Species: Size Dependence and the Emission Source

Takahashi

Takano

Matsuki

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) in mineral dust is considered as one of the driving forces of photocatalytic reaction at the aerosol surface in the atmosphere. As a precursor of mineral dust, soil contains ilmenite (FeTiO 3 ) and titanite (CaSiTiO 5 ), which have lower photochemical reactivities than TiO 2 . However, Ti species other than TiO 2 in aerosol particles are not well recognized due to the lack of observation in ambient samples. In this study, Ti species in size-fractionated aerosol samples collected in the Noto Peninsula, Japan, were determined by macroscopic and semi-microscopic X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. Regardless of aerosol particle size, Ti species were primarily composed of rutile, anatase, ilmenite, and titanite. Semi-microscopic Ti speciation showed that Ti-poor spots associated with mineral dust were composed of a mixture of rutile, anatase, ilmenite, and titanite, and Ti-rich spots were primarily composed of TiO 2 (rutile or anatase) derived from authigenic minerals or anthropogenic materials. Thus, the Ti species in aerosol particles, especially mineral dust, were not composed solely of TiO 2 polymorphs. Therefore, the photochemical reactivities of Ti in aerosol particles may be overestimated when laboratory experiments or model studies employ TiO 2 as the representative Ti species.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First X-ray Spectroscopic Observations of Atmospheric Titanium Species: Size Dependence and the Emission Source

Takahashi

Takano

Matsuki

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Among these three major sources, the contribution from the tributaries in the upstream basin is the largest (Ta et al, 2003;Ta et al, 2008;Liu, 2015). As discussed earlier, the UBD, which was blocked by the Helan Mountains, could not provide material for the southwest region of the Mu Us, and new evidence of heavy mineral assemblages in the UBD (Zhang et al, 2020) shows differences with what was found in the Mu Us (Figure 7). The tributaries between Lanzhou and Toudaoguai belong to the Qilian Orogenic Belt and the western Qinling Orogenic Belt according to the geotectonic units of China (Figure 1).…”

Section: Identification Of the Provenance Of The Ordos Desertsmentioning

confidence: 72%

Provenance of Aeolian Sediments in the Ordos Deserts and Its Implication for Weathering, Sedimentary Processes

Chen

Dong

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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Identifying the provenance of aeolian deposits in semi-arid zones of China is beneficial in understanding Earth’s surface processes and helping to alleviate ecological stress. In this paper, we use grain-size, geochemical elements, heavy-minerals, and quartz grain morphology data to investigate the potential source of aeolian sands from the Ordos Deserts (Mu Us Sandy Land and Hobq Desert). Sedimentological, geochemical and geomorphological results indicate that significant provenance differences exist among various parts of the Mu Us Sandy Land, i.e., aeolian sediments from the southwest region are obviously distinct from other areas in the Mu Us Sandy Land but show the same external provenance with the Hobq Desert referring to the sorting, mineralogical maturity, geochemical characteristics, heavy-minerals, and quartz grain morphology. Comparing the samples from the Ordos Deserts with felsic rocks from potential sources via a serious of geochemical methods, we conclude that: 1) Aeolian sands from other regions of the Mu Us are a mixture of binary provenance, i.e., one originated from local lacustrine sediments and underlying sandstones, and another from the Alxa Plateau (AP) carried by northwesterly Asian winter monsoon. 2) The fluvial deposits denuded from the Qilian Orogenic Belt in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NTP) and carried by the Yellow River are likely the initial material source for the southwest region of the Mu Us Sandy Land and the Hobq Desert. 3) The Yellow River plays a significant and critical role in sediment transport for sand seas in arid and semi-arid areas of northern China.

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“…Several samples were ground into thin-sections to allow confirmation of heavy mineral identification under a polarizing microscope. The number of grains analyzed was more than 600 for every heavy mineral sample, on which basis the percentage of each type of heavy mineral was determined [39][40][41][42]. Because the samples are of the same size fraction, these percentage values represent volume percentages.…”

Section: Sampling and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heavy Mineral Assemblage Variation in Late Cenozoic Sediments from the Middle Yangtze River Basin: Insights into Basin Sediment Provenance and Evolution of the Three Gorges Valley

et al. 2021

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The Three Gorges valley is one of the two key capture points of the evolution of the Yangtze River, yet the formation of this valley—from the pre-Miocene to the late Pleistocene—remains uncertain. The Jianghan Basin, a late Mesozoic–Cenozoic basin located just downstream of the Three Gorges valley, is a crucial area for understanding the formation of the valley. In this study, we used heavy mineral assemblages to trace the provenance of Pliocene–Pleistocene sediments obtained from the 300-m-depth Zhoulao drillcore in the Jianghan Basin. Results show that heavy mineral concentrations, compositions, and species display a clear change at a depth of 110 m in the studied core, consistent with the change in values of magnetic indexes and trace-element geochemical indicators. The heavy mineral assemblage deposited below a depth of 110 m (lower section of the core) comprises zircon, epidote, leucoxene, rutile, anatase, pyrite, and titanite, whereas that deposited above 110 m (upper section) consists of hornblende, pyroxene, garnet, hematite-limonite, and magnetite. In addition, the heavy mineral assemblage of the upper section is similar to that of the modern surface fluvial sediments of the Yangtze, which indicates that materials of the upper core section of the Jianghan Basin were sourced from the upper Yangtze River Basin, west of the Three Gorges. After incision of the Three Gorges valley, sediments from the upper Yangtze were transported to the Jianghan Basin and deposited. Combining the results of this study with the known paleomagnetic chronology of the Jianghan Basin, we propose that the Three Gorges valley was incised at ca. 1.1 Ma.

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Provenance of eolian sands in the Ulan Buh Desert, northwestern China, revealed by heavy mineral assemblages

Cited by 31 publications

References 60 publications

First X-ray Spectroscopic Observations of Atmospheric Titanium Species: Size Dependence and the Emission Source

First X-ray Spectroscopic Observations of Atmospheric Titanium Species: Size Dependence and the Emission Source

Provenance of Aeolian Sediments in the Ordos Deserts and Its Implication for Weathering, Sedimentary Processes

Heavy Mineral Assemblage Variation in Late Cenozoic Sediments from the Middle Yangtze River Basin: Insights into Basin Sediment Provenance and Evolution of the Three Gorges Valley

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