Tracking the Provenance of Aeolian Loess in Northeastern China by Uranium Isotopes

Abstract

Abstract The aeolian loess deposits in northeastern China have substantial potential for reconstructing the paleoclimate in the East Asian monsoon boundary zone. Identifying the source of the aeolian dust is crucial to interpret the paleo‐proxies recorded in the loess deposits in northeastern China; however, traditional geochemical tracers such as Nd and Sr isotopes cannot discriminate between the potential source areas, that is, the Otindag Sandy Land, Horqin Sandy Land, and Hulun Buir Sandy Land regions. In this study, the (234U/238U) activity ratio is used to constrain the provenance of the loess deposits in northeastern China. The (234U/238U) of the studied loess‐paleosol sequences (from 0.935 to 0.910) decreases with increasing depositional age (from 10 to ∼1,000 ka), which is consistent with predictions from uranium isotope comminution age model. A derived (234U/238U) of 0.935 ± 0.003 for the newly deposited loess (zero depositional age) is most similar to that of the Otindag Sandy Land positioned at a proximal upwind direction, suggesting that the Otindag Sandy Land is the most likely source of the aeolian dust that formed the loess deposits in northeastern China. A transportation time of 432 ± 65 ka was calculated for these deposits, indicating extensive mixing of the fine dust in the source regions, which could partially explain the relative homogeneity of loess deposits in northeastern China. The transportation time longer than several glacial‐interglacial cycles suggests that reconstructions of regional paleoclimate on orbital timescales should be viewed with caution because the potential influence of climatic changes could largely be buffered.

Keywords

• surface process
• aeolian loess
• uranium isotope
• paleoclimate
• Asian dust
• tectonic uplift