Geochemical compositions of soluble salts in aeolian sands from the Taklamakan and Badanjilin deserts in northern China, and their influencing factors and environmental implications |
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Authors: | Bingqi Zhu Xiaoping Yang Ziting Liu Patrick Rioual Chaozhu Li and Heigang Xiong |
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Institution: | (1) Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China;(2) Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China;(3) Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China;(4) Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Ministry of Education, Urumqi, 830046, China |
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Abstract: | Two large sandy seas in northern China, the Taklamakan and Badanjilin deserts, were investigated for geochemical variations
of soluble salts in aeolian sands. The aim was to explore factors influencing the composition and distribution of soluble
salts in aeolian sands and their environmental implications. The total concentrations of soluble salt in the aeolian sands
range between 0.14 and 1.32‰, with pH ranging between 8.4 and 9.6, indicating a primary degree of salt accumulation and alkaline
soil conditions in these regions. Sodium chloride and bicarbonate are the major salts. High inter-regional homogenization
and small local differences in the chemical compositions and distributional patterns of salt occur in the two deserts. The
spatial variations in salt content correlate with regional climatic parameters, such as precipitation and temperature. This
suggests that the regional air temperature and moisture conditions of climate have a significant influence on the soluble
salts in aeolian sands. The domination of sedimentation of soluble salts in aeolian sands deposited via atmospheric processes,
which is heavily associated with dry deposition, is discussed. Case studies from the two deserts suggest that variations in
salt content in sedimentary sequences, interlaid by aeolian and lacustrine sediments, should be interpreted with care if the
aim is to reveal palaeo-environmental changes. To a certain extent, the two deserts, as inferred from the carbon-bearing salts
and the alkalinity of the sandy soils, appear to have potential to provide a significant contribution to the global carbon
cycle. |
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