DUST FALL IN THE TAKLA MAKAN DESERT OF CHINA

The Takla Makan Desert is one of the supposed sources of eolian deposits in the eastern China and the North Pacific Ocean. Lack of direct measurements hinders the theoretical interpretation of material exchange between the atmosphere and land surface as well as the sediment budget of the region. From 1992 to 1994, four measuring sites were established in the vicinity of 84°E meridian along a 380 km observation traverse from the northern margin to the central desert. Data were collected on quantities of dust fall and sedimentary characteristics of airborne sediments, including grain-size distributions as well as chemical and mineral compositions. The quantities of annual dust fall were 10² to 10³ tons km^-2 yr^-1, increasing from the margin toward the central desert. Monthly concentrations of particles finer than 0.02 mm in diameter ranged from 0.06 to 1.25 mg m^-3 over the three-year observation period. The elemental ratio and the element enrichment factor ruled out the Takla Makan Desert as possible sources of the dust in Hawaii and Alaska. The mean geometric diameter of airborne sediments in the 4 to 8 m surface layer from the Luntai oasis was 0.038 mm and from the interior ranged 0.064 to 0.067 mm being moderately to poorly sorted. Weight percent of particles finer than 0.063 mm in diameter were from 83.5% to 47.7%, decreasing toward the central desert. Distributions of the airborne particles were unimodal with peak diameters of 0.06 to 0.07 mm in the central desert and 0.02 to 0.06 mm in the sites toward the edge of the desert. Key words: dust fall, sedimentary characteristics, Takla Makan Desert.]