Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T21:43:21.979Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Glacial–interglacial change in chlorite concentration from the Lingtai section in the Chinese Loess Plateau over the past 1.2 Ma and its possible forcing mechanisms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2018

Tong He*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China
Lianwen Liu
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China
Yang Chen
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China
Xuefen Sheng
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China
Junfeng Ji*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China
Jun Chen
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China
*
*Corresponding authors at: Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China. E-mail addresses: [email protected]; [email protected].
*Corresponding authors at: Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210026, China. E-mail addresses: [email protected]; [email protected].

Abstract

High-precision concentrations of chlorite minerals from the Lingtai section in the Chinese Loess Plateau and the surrounding deserts are presented through a mineral liberation analyzer technique. Variations in chlorite concentration over the last 0.5 Ma display a typical pattern of glacial–interglacial changes, with its bulk content in loess units approximately twice that in paleosol units. This climate-driven chlorite change is more pronounced in the fine-size fraction (5–20 μm) of the loess deposits. Evidence from changes in hornblende and muscovite along the same profile suggests that the glacial–interglacial oscillations were likely controlled by changes in atmospheric circulation and shifts in the dust provenance instead of postdepositional weathering. A relatively high chlorite content in several deserts near Mt. Qilian compared with the other desert basins suggests that a transport pathway in the west–east direction, associated with southward shifts of the winter monsoons, may play an important role in modulating the chlorite records. In addition, enhanced saltation and transportation of dust materials is thought to be a main driver of the pronounced changes in the fine-size fraction. Finally, we discuss a possible forcing mechanism behind different long-term trends between the chlorite and its secondary weathering products we observed here.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

An, Z., Colman, S.M., Zhou, W., Li, X., Brown, E.T., Jull, A.J.T., Cai, Y., et al., 2012. Interplay between the Westerlies and Asian monsoon recorded in Lake Qinghai sediments since 32 ka. Scientific Reports 2, 619.Google Scholar
Balsam, W., Ji, J.F., Chen, J., 2004. Climatic interpretation of the Luochuan and Lingtai loess sections, China, based on changing iron oxide mineralogy and magnetic susceptibility. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 223, 335348.Google Scholar
Biscaye, P.E., Grousset, F.E., Revel, M., VanderGaast, S., Zielinski, G.A., Vaars, A., Kukla, G., 1997. Asian provenance of glacial dust (stage 2) in the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 Ice Core, Summit, Greenland. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 102, 2676526781.Google Scholar
Blank, M., Leinen, M., Prospero, J.M., 1985. Major Asian aeolian inputs indicated by the mineralogy of aerosols and sediments in the western North Pacific. Nature 314, 8486.Google Scholar
Bory, A.J.M., Biscaye, P.E., Svensson, A., Grousset, F.E., 2002. Seasonal variability in the origin of recent atmospheric mineral dust at NorthGRIP, Greenland. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 196, 123134.Google Scholar
Buchan, C., Pfänder, J., Kröner, A., Brewer, T.S., Tomurtogoo, O., Tomurhuu, D., Cunningham, D., Windley, B.F., 2002. Timing of accretion and collisional deformation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt: implications of granite geochronology in the Bayankhongor Ophiolite Zone. Chemical Geology 192, 2345.Google Scholar
Carnicelli, S., Mirabella, A., Cecchini, G., Sanesi, G., 1997. Weathering of chlorite to a low-charge expandable mineral in a Spodosol on the Apennine Mountains, Italy. Clays and Clay Minerals 45, 2841.Google Scholar
Chen, J., Chen, Y., Liu, L., Ji, J., Balsam, W., Sun, Y., Lu, H., 2006. Zr/Rb ratio in the Chinese loess sequences and its implication for changes in the East Asian winter monsoon strength. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70, 14711482.Google Scholar
Chen, J., Li, G., Yang, J., Rao, W., Lu, H., Balsam, W., Sun, Y., Ji, J., 2007. Nd and Sr isotopic characteristics of Chinese deserts: implications for the provenances of Asian dust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 71, 39043914.Google Scholar
Deer, D.A., Howie, R.A., Zussman, J., 1963. Rock-Forming Minerals. Longman, London.Google Scholar
Ding, Z., Liu, T., Rutter, N.W., Yu, Z., Guo, Z., Zhu, R., 1995. Ice-volume forcing of East Asian winter monsoon variations in the past 800,000 years. Quaternary Research 44, 149159.Google Scholar
Ding, Z.L., Derbyshire, E., Yang, S.L., Sun, J.M., Liu, T.S., 2005. Stepwise expansion of desert environment across northern China in the past 3.5 Ma and implications for monsoon evolution. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 237, 4555.Google Scholar
Ding, Z.L., Xiong, S.F., Sun, J.M., Yang, S.L., Gu, Z.Y., Liu, T.S., 1999. Pedostratigraphy and paleomagnetism of a ∼7.0 Ma eolian loess–red clay sequence at Lingtai, Loess Plateau, north-central China and the implications for paleomonsoon evolution. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 152, 4966.Google Scholar
Eden, D.N., Qizhong, W., Hunt, J.L., Whitton, J.S., 1994. Mineralogical and geochemical trends across the Loess Plateau, North China. Catena 21, 7390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrell, J.W., Prell, W.L., 1989. Climatic change and CaCO3 preservation: an 800,000 year bathymetric reconstruction from the central equatorial Pacific Ocean. Paleoceanography 4, 447466.Google Scholar
Ferrat, M., Weiss, D.J., Strekopytov, S., Dong, S., Chen, H., Najorka, J., Sun, Y., Gupta, S., Tada, R., Sinha, R., 2011. Improved provenance tracing of Asian dust sources using rare earth elements and selected trace elements for palaeomonsoon studies on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 75, 63746399.Google Scholar
Gong, D.-Y., Wang, S.-W., Zhu, J.-H., 2001. East Asian winter monsoon and Arctic oscillation. Geophysical Research Letters 28, 20732076.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hao, Q., Wang, L., Oldfield, F., Peng, S., Qin, L., Song, Y., Xu, B., Qiao, Y., Bloemendal, J., Guo, Z., 2012. Delayed build-up of Arctic ice sheets during 400,000-year minima in insolation variability. Nature 490, 393396.Google Scholar
He, T., Liu, L., Chen, Y., Sheng, X., Ji, J., 2016. Plagioclase sub-species in Chinese loess deposits: implications for dust source migration and past climate change. Quaternary Research 85, 1724.Google Scholar
He, T., Liu, L., Chen, Y., Sheng, X., Ji, J., 2017. A seven-million-year hornblende mineral record from the central Chinese Loess Plateau. Scientific Reports 7, 2382.Google Scholar
Jansen, J.H., Kuijpers, A., Troelstra, S.R., 1986. A mid-Brunhes climatic event: long-term changes in global atmosphere and ocean circulation. Science 232, 619622.Google Scholar
Jeong, G.Y., Achterberg, E.P., 2014. Chemistry and mineralogy of clay minerals in Asian and Saharan dusts and the implications for iron supply to the oceans. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 14, 1241512428.Google Scholar
Jeong, G.Y., Hillier, S., Kemp, R.A., 2011. Changes in mineralogy of loess-paleosol sections across the Chinese Loess Plateau. Quaternary Research 75, 245255.Google Scholar
Jeong, G.Y., Kim, J.Y., Seo, J., Kim, G.M., Jin, H.C., Chun, Y., 2014. Long-range transport of giant particles in Asian dust identified by physical, mineralogical, and meteorological analysis. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 14, 505521.Google Scholar
Ji, J.F., Chen, J., Lu, H.Y., 1999. Origin of illite in the loess from the Luochuan area, Loess Plateau, Central China. Clay Minerals 34, 525532.Google Scholar
Jickells, T.D., An, Z.S., Andersen, K.K., Baker, A.R., Bergametti, G., Brooks, N., Cao, J.J., et al., 2005. Global iron connections between desert dust, ocean biogeochemistry, and climate. Science 308, 6771.Google Scholar
Leinen, M., Prospero, J.M., Arnold, E., Blank, M., 1994. Mineralogy of aeolian dust reaching the North Pacific Ocean: 1. Sampling and analysis. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 99, 2101721023.Google Scholar
Li, G.J., Pettke, T., Chen, J., 2011. Increasing Nd isotopic ratio of Asian dust indicates progressive uplift of the north Tibetan Plateau since the middle Miocene. Geology 39, 199202.Google Scholar
Lisiecki, L.E., Raymo, M.E., 2005. A Pliocene-Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic δ18O records. Paleoceanography 20, PA1003.Google Scholar
Locke, W.W., 1979. Etching of hornblende grains in Arctic soils: an indicator of relative age and paleoclimate. Quaternary Research 11, 197212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maggi, V., 1997. Mineralogy of atmospheric microparticles deposited along the Greenland Ice Core Project ice core. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 102, 2672526734.Google Scholar
Martin, J.H., 1990. Glacial-interglacial CO2 change: the iron hypothesis. Paleoceanography 5, 113.Google Scholar
Michalski, J.R., Reynolds, S.J., Sharp, T.G., Christensen, P.R., 2004. Thermal infrared analysis of weathered granitic rock compositions in the Sacaton Mountains, Arizona: implications for petrologic classifications from thermal infrared remote-sensing data. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 109, E03007.Google Scholar
Murakami, T., 1996. Weathering of chlorite in a quartz-chlorite schist: I. Mineralogical and chemical changes. Clays and Clay Minerals 44, 244256.Google Scholar
Nie, J., Peng, W., 2014. Automated SEM–EDS heavy mineral analysis reveals no provenance shift between glacial loess and interglacial paleosol on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Aeolian Research 13, 7175.Google Scholar
Nie, J., Peng, W., Pfaff, K., Möller, A., Garzanti, E., Andò, S., Stevens, T., et al., 2013. Controlling factors on heavy mineral assemblages in Chinese loess and Red Clay. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 381–382, 110118.Google Scholar
Nie, J., Stevens, T., Rittner, M., Stockli, D., Garzanti, E., Limonta, M., Bird, A., et al., 2015. Loess Plateau storage of Northeastern Tibetan Plateau-derived Yellow River sediment. Nature Communications 6, 8511.Google Scholar
Peng, S., Ge, J., Li, C., Liu, Z., Qi, L., Tan, Y., Cheng, Y., Deng, C., Qiao, Y., 2015. Pronounced changes in atmospheric circulation and dust source area during the mid-Pleistocene as indicated by the Caotan loess-soil sequence in North China. Quaternary International 372, 97107.Google Scholar
Porter, S.C., An, Z.S., 1995. Correlation between climate events in the North Atlantic and China during the last glaciation. Nature 375, 305308.Google Scholar
Pye, K., 1987. Aeolian Dust and Dust Deposits. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Rittner, M., Vermeesch, P., Carter, A., Bird, A., Stevens, T., Garzanti, E., Andò, S., et al., 2016. The provenance of Taklamakan desert sand. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 437, 127137.Google Scholar
Stevens, T., Carter, A., Watson, T.P., Vermeesch, P., Andò, S., Bird, A.F., Lu, H., Garzanti, E., Cottam, M.A., Sevastjanova, I., 2013. Genetic linkage between the Yellow River, the Mu Us desert and the Chinese Loess Plateau. Quaternary Science Reviews 78, 355368.Google Scholar
Sun, J.M., Ding, Z.L., Liu, T.S., 1998. Desert distributions during the glacial maximum and climatic optimum: example of China. Episodes 21, 2831.Google Scholar
Sun, Y., Clemens, S.C., Morrill, C., Lin, X., Wang, X., An, Z., 2012. Influence of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation on the East Asian winter monsoon. Nature Geoscience 5, 4649.Google Scholar
Sutherland, D., 2007. Estimation of mineral grain size using automated mineralogy. Minerals Engineering 20, 452460.Google Scholar
Takahashi, Y., Higashi, M., Furukawa, T., Mitsunobu, S., 2011. Change of iron species and iron solubility in Asian dust during the long-range transport from western China to Japan. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 11, 1123711252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vandenberghe, J., Renssen, H., van Huissteden, K., Nugteren, G., Konert, M., Lu, H., Dodonov, A., Buylaert, J.-P., 2006. Penetration of Atlantic westerly winds into Central and East Asia. Quaternary Science Reviews 25, 23802389.Google Scholar
Wen, C., Graf, H.F., Ronghui, H., 2000. The interannual variability of East Asian winter monsoon and its relation to the summer monsoon. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences 17, 4860.Google Scholar
Yang, S., Ding, Z., 2008. Advance–retreat history of the East-Asian summer monsoon rainfall belt over northern China during the last two glacial–interglacial cycles. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 274, 499510.Google Scholar
Yang, S.L., Ding, Z.L., 2004. Comparison of particle size characteristics of the Tertiary “red clay” and Pleistocene loess in the Chinese Loess Plateau: implications for origin and sources of the “red clay.” Sedimentology 51, 7793.Google Scholar
Yang, T., Hyodo, M., Zhang, S., Maeda, M., Yang, Z., Wu, H., Li, H., 2013. New insights into magnetic enhancement mechanism in Chinese paleosols. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 369, 493500.Google Scholar
Yang, X., Rost, K.T., Lehmkuhl, F., Zhenda, Z., Dodson, J., 2004. The evolution of dry lands in northern China and in the Republic of Mongolia since the Last Glacial Maximum. Quaternary International 118–119, 6985.Google Scholar
Zhang, H., Lu, H., Xu, X., Liu, X., Yang, T., Stevens, T., Bird, A., et al., 2016. Quantitative estimation of the contribution of dust sources to Chinese loess using detrital zircon U-Pb age patterns. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 121, 20852099.Google Scholar
Zhao, L., Ji, J., Chen, J., Liu, L., Chen, Y., Balsam, W., 2005. Variations of illite/chlorite ratio in Chinese loess sections during the last glacial and interglacial cycle: implications for monsoon reconstruction. Geophysical Research Letters 32, L20718.Google Scholar
Zhou, W., Beck, J.W., Kong, X., An, Z., Qiang, X., Wu, Z., Xian, F., Ao, H., 2014. Timing of the Brunhes-Matuyama magnetic polarity reversal in Chinese loess using 10Be. Geology 42, 467.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

He et al. supplementary material

He et al. supplementary material 1

Download He et al. supplementary material(File)
File 62.5 KB
Supplementary material: File

He et al. supplementary material

He et al. supplementary material 2

Download He et al. supplementary material(File)
File 66 KB