Loess in Kunlun Mountains and its implications on desert development and Tibetan Plateau uplift in west China

Loess on the northern slope of Kunlun Mountains is the synchronous deposition of the Taklimakan Desert. The paleomagnetism and climatic records of an over 80 m loess-paleosol sequence on the highest river terrace at the foot of Kunlun Mountains show that the loess formed at ≈ 880 ka B.P., suggesting a roughly synchronous occurrence of the present-like air circulation and extremely dry climate and the initial desert. The uplift of the Tibetan-Pamir Plateau and Tian-shan Mountains may initiate these events. The rise of the plateau and adjacent mountains caused the drying and desertification of China inland and Tarim Basin, which was dramatically enhanced at ≈ 500 ka B.P., leading the desert to expand to its present scale. Global change just overprints this drying trend. Local climate response to global change both in long-term evolution and glacial-interglacial cycles manifests that the stronger the westerlies, the more the precipitation. But the heat-moisture pattern seems still similar to that in the Asian monsoon region.     

Structures of subgrade/pavement and construction techniques for the Taklimakan Desert Highway

With lots of indoor and outdoor experiments, several key technical issues in construc-tion of the Desert Highway have been solved satisfactorily, on the basis of great achievements ofthe studies in respects of dry compaction on sand base, design parameters, structure combinationof subgrade and pavement, stabilization analysis of sand base strengthened with geotextile and acomplete set of construction techniques. It is the first time the achievements of the study weresuccessfully applied in the Taklimakan Desert where the natural condition is extremely harsh. Ithas been proved that it is economic and reasonable with reliable techniques and simple construc-tion methods. The Desert Highway constructed with the achievements is the first-grade highwayrunning through huge migratory desert for long distance in the world.     

Climate variability at the southern boundaries of the Namib (southwestern Africa) and Atacama (northern Chile) coastal deserts during the last 120,000 yr

In this study, we present grain-size distributions of the terrigenous fraction of two deep-sea sediment cores from the SE Atlantic (offshore Namibia) and from the SE Pacific (offshore northern Chile), which we ‘unmix’ into subpopulations and which are interpreted as coarse eolian dust, fine eolian dust, and fluvial mud. The downcore ratios of the proportions of eolian dust and fluvial mud subsequently represent paleocontinental aridity records of southwestern Africa and northern Chile for the last 120,000 yr. The two records show a relatively wet Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) compared to a relatively dry Holocene, but different orbital variability on longer time scales. Generally, the northern Chilean aridity record shows higher-frequency changes, which are closely related to precessional variation in solar insolation, compared to the southwestern African aridity record, which shows a remarkable resemblance to the global ice-volume record. We relate the changes in continental aridity in southwestern Africa and northern Chile to changes in the latitudinal position of the moisture-bearing Southern Westerlies, potentially driven by the sea-ice extent around Antarctica and overprinted by tropical forcing in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.     

Cosmogenic He exposure ages of Pleistocene debris flows and desert pavements in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

The Quaternary history of the Capitol Reef area, Utah, is closely linked to the basaltic-andesite boulder deposits that cover much of the landscape. Understanding the age and mode of emplacement of these deposits is crucial to deciphering the Quaternary evolution of this part of the Colorado Plateau. Using cosmogenic ³He exposure age dating, we obtained apparent exposure ages for several key deposits in the Capitol Reef area. Coarse boulder diamicts capping the Johnson Mesa and Carcass Creek Terraces are not associated with the Bull Lake glaciation as previously thought, but were deposited 180±15 to 205±17 ka (minimum age) and are the result of debris flow deposition. Desert pavements on the Johnson Mesa surface give exposure ranging from 97±8 to 159±14 ka and are 34–96 kyears younger than the boulder exposure ages. The offset between the boulder and pavement exposure ages appears to be related to a delay in pavement formation until the penultimate glacial/interglacial transition or periodic burial and exposure of pavement clasts since debris flow deposition. Incision rates for the Capitol Reef reach of the Fremont River calculated from the boulder exposure ages range from 0.40 to 0.43 m kyear⁻¹ (maximum rates) and are some of the highest on the Colorado Plateau.     

Evolution of soil properties on stabilized sands in the Tengger Desert, China

The spatial and temporal patterns of pedogenesis on stabilized dunes at Shapotou, northwestern China, were studied on the time sequences of 0, 18, 35 and 43 years. The spatial pattern of soil formation was estimated by measuring the thickness of accumulated sand fractions on the stabilized dune surface and by analyzing the characteristics and properties of soil. The results showed that the environment of soil formation and circulation of soil material were influenced in the processes of shifting-sand fixation, and the mean soil particle size changed from >0.2 to <0.08 mm in 0–20 cm soil depth with the succession from cultivated plants to natural vegetation. The capacity of available soil water increased fivefold. Deep infiltration of water in soil no longer occurred due to the increase in soil water capacity and the change of redistribution of soil water in profiles. Soil microorganisms evolved from simple to complex. Interaction of these processes obviously brought about accumulation of soil fertility, evolution of soil profiles and development of the profiles towards aripsamments. The difference of micro-topography is closely related to redistribution of material and energy in soil formation.     

Paleoshoreline geomorphology of Böön Tsagaan Nuur, Tsagaan Nuur and Orog Nuur: the Valley of Lakes, Mongolia

We conducted a preliminary study of paleoshoreline features associated with Böön Tsagaan Nuur, Tsagaan Nuur, and Orog Nuur, lakes located in the Gobi–Altai transition zone of the Valley of Lakes (Dolina Ozor) which stretches from central to western Mongolia. The paleoshoreline features were first identified on RADARSAT satellite SAR imagery. We investigated the features during the 1998 field season of the Joint Mongolian–Russian–American Archaeological Expedition to the Gobi–Altai region. We identified paleoshorelines of multiple elevations in the field, which are considered to be relict beach ridges and wave-cut terraces. Other paleolake landforms include spits and Gilbert-type deltas. These landforms are complex, large and well established, implying that the paleolakes were stable for extended periods. The reconstructed paleolakes cover extensive areas of the valley floor, implying that hydrological and climatic conditions were very different in the past. Paleolake expansions may have occurred under a variety of circumstances. One hypothesis is that the high lake stands occurred during the wetter period corresponding to the Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), during the warmest early Holocene and the late Holocene, or during all these periods. If low evaporation rates due to lower temperatures, glacier meltwater and possibly increased precipitation are important factors, then the expansions may have occurred during the terminal Late Glacial period after the Last Glacial Maximum. The greatly expanded lakes in the Gobi–Altai could have significantly affected the Quaternary human demography and migration in the region.     

榆林剖面的热释光测年及其对这一地区干旱事件的讨论

用热释光测年方法对陕西榆林地区蔡家沟和石峁剖面的风成砂－黄土－古土壤序列进行了系统的测年，结果表明末次冰期的风成沉积中夹有三层古风成砂，由此反映了末次冰期中有三次沙漠扩大的气候干旱时期。根据年代测定结果最末一次干旱事件出现在１２～＜２７ｋａＢ．Ｐ．之间，基本上与末次冰期极盛期相当，可以与深海氧同位素阶段２对应。第二次干旱期出现在４８ｋａＢ．Ｐ．左右，大致与氧同位素阶段３的中期相当。最早的干旱期出现在５５～＜７５ｋａＢ．Ｐ．之间，与阶段４对应。令人感兴趣的是虽然与阶段２、阶段４对应的干旱期在世界上其它地区同样有记录，但是大致相当于阶段３中期的这期干旱事件却以榆林剖面反映最好，表现为末次冰期的间冰段期间，毛乌素沙漠也曾经大规模扩大，这从一个侧面说明了中国的沙漠－黄土边界带对气候变化的敏感性。此外，热释光测年结果还表明了末次冰期的沉积由风成砂与黄土迭覆而成，而末次间冰期则由古土壤与黄土迭覆而成，因此，无论是冰期还是间冰期，气候条件都不是以持续的干冷或温暖为特点，而是叠加了更次一级的气候变化。毛乌素沙漠在第四纪时期并非持续存在，而是在气候的调节下经历了沙漠出现与固定的多次转变     

塔里木沙漠公路沿线的起沙风与输沙强度

塔里木沙漠公路绝大部分路段穿越流沙地段，风沙活动十分强烈，因此，机械防沙带的设置显得十分关键。由于起沙风的统计分析和输沙强度的定量计算是防沙工程设计中的最主要依据之一。该文在大量统计起沙风和野外实地观测的基础上，进行输沙强度的数值计算及分析后指出：由沙漠边缘向内部深入，起沙风更加东偏，输沙强度更大和更为集中。     

Dune mobility and vegetation cover in the Southwest Kalahari desert

As part of a wider project investigating the palaeoenvironmental significance of partially vegetated linear dunes in the southwest Kalahari, data collected in the latter part of 1992 concerning dune movement and vegetation cover suggest that sediment transport is occurring on some dune surfaces, and that the majority of surface activity occurs on the crests and upper slopes of the dunes. The data suggest that the limiting variables on surface sediment movement vary on different parts of a dune. On interdunes and lower dune slopes the primary limiting variable is available wind energy, while on dune crests and upper slopes it is vegetation cover. Ground cover by litter has much greater importance in protecting the surface sediment from erosion than rooted vegetation. From individual data points, no evidence is found to support a threshold vegetation cover below which sediment movement occurs. Rather, a gradient of activity is suggested whereby a reduction in vegetation cover increases the potential for sediment movement and surface change. However, dunes with differing amounts of mean vegetation cover display differing degrees of surface activity, and at this scale, a vegetation cover threshold in the region of 14 per cent may be recognized.     

A decade of surface change on a Namib linear dune

Survey data from return visits to a linear dune in the Namib Desert provide information about change in dune form over a decade. The data demonstrate that, although change on these large features is slow, there is none the less considerable movement over this time-scale. The dunes are therefore confirmed to be currently active and not Pleistocene relics.