Relationship between tectonism and desertification inferred from provenance and lithofacies changes in the Cenozoic terrestrial sequence of the southwestern Tarim Basin

The modern-day Tarim Basin is covered almost entirely by the Taklimakan sand desert and is one of the most arid regions in the world. Unraveling the aridification history of the desert is important for understanding global climate changes during the Cenozoic, yet the timing and mechanisms driving its formation remain controversial. One of the leading hypotheses is that the uplift of the Pamir, located to the west of the Tarim Basin, blocked the intrusion of moist air and induced the aridification in the Tarim Basin. In this study, we explore the linkage between the uplift of the Pamir and the desertification in the Tarim Basin from the late Eocene to the middle Miocene in the Aertashi section, which is located at the southwestern edge of the Tarim Basin and offers the longest sedimentary record with a reliable age model. Provenance changes in fluvial deposits along the Aertashi section were examined using electron spin resonance (ESR) signal intensity and crystallinity index (CI) of quartz in the sand fraction of fluvial sandstones and clast counting based on the identification of clast types by thin section observation to identify timings of tectonic events in the Pamir, from which clastic materials were supplied to the Aertashi section by rivers. Our results suggest that major provenance changes in the drainage of the paleo-Yarkand river delivering clasts to the Aertashi section occurred at ca. 27, 20, and 15 Ma. These timings are mostly consistent with those observed in previous provenance studies in the Aertashi section and probably reflect tectonic events in the Pamir. On the other hand, according to the previous studies, the first occurrence of sand dune deposits indicates that the Tarim Basin was relatively arid after ca. 34 Ma. Hence, our result does not support the hypothesis that the initial aridification in the Tarim Basin was triggered by the uplift of the Pamir and the resultant blocking of moisture supply from the Paratethys Sea, although the subsequent intensification of tectonic events at ca. 27 Ma in the Pamir might have caused aridification indicated by the initiation of loess deposition.

Environmental Significance of Holocene Dust Accumulation in Archaeological Hilltop Ruins in the Southern Levant

<p>Pleistocene primary and secondary loess remains cover large parts of the landscape in the Negev in Israel and have been postulated in southern Jordan, but Holocene deposits are absent. We hypothesized that archaeological structures might represent effective dust traps which preserve Holocene dust, and investigated soils developed on archaeological hilltop ruins. These were compared them with local soils, paleosols, geological outcrops, and current dust. Statistically modeled grain size end-members were identified and demonstrate that the ruin soils in both regions consist of mixtures of local and remote sediment sources that differ from dust compositions deposited during current storms. This discrepancy is attributed to fixation processes connected with sediment-fixing agents such as vegetation, biocrusts, and/or clast pavements associated with vesicular layers (similar to desert pavements). It suggests that dust deposition depends not only on supply, but that sedimentation processes play a major role. Precipitation may have contributed to dust accretion, as a snowstorm in the Petra region delivered a significantly higher amount of sediment than rain or dry deposition. Snowfall dust had a unique particle size distribution relatively similar to the ruin soils. Wet deposition and snow might catalyze dust deposition and enhance fixation by fostering vegetation and crust formation, which suggests that more frequent snowfall during the Pleistocene may have been an important mechanism of primary loess deposition in the southern Levant.</p>

Character, Rates, and Environmental Significance of Holocene Dust Accumulation in Archaeological Hilltop Ruins in the Southern Levant

Loess accumulated in the Negev desert during the Pleistocene and primary and secondary loess remains cover large parts of the landscape. Holocene loess deposits are however absent. This could be due low accumulation rates, lack of preservation, and higher erosion rates in comparison to the Pleistocene. This study hypothesized that archaeological ruins preserve Holocene dust. We studied soils developed on archaeological hilltop ruins in the Negev and the Petra region and compared them with local soils, paleosols, geological outcrops, and current dust. Seven statistically modeled grain size end-members were identified and demonstrate that the ruin soils in both regions consist of mixtures of local and remote sediment sources that differ from dust compositions deposited during current storms. This discrepancy is attributed to fixation processes connected with sediment-fixing agents such as vegetation, biocrusts, and/or clast pavements associated with vesicular layers. Average dust accretion rates in the ruins are estimated to be ~0.14 mm/a, suggesting that ~30% of the current dust that can be trapped with dry marble dust collectors has been stored in the ruin soils. Deposition amounts and grain sizes do not significantly correlate with wind intensity. However, precipitation may have contributed to dust accretion. A snowstorm in the Petra region delivered a significantly higher amount of sediment than rain or dry deposition. Snowfall dust had a unique particle size distribution relatively similar to the ruin soils. Wet deposition and snow might catalyze dust deposition and enhance fixation by fostering vegetation and crust formation. More frequent snowfall during the Pleistocene may have been an important mechanism of primary loess deposition in the southern Levant.

Eemian estuarine record forced by glacio-isostasy (southern Iceland)—link with Greenland and deep sea records

Central southern Iceland is one of the main outlets of the Icelandic Ice Sheet where a MIS 5e sedimentary complex, the Rangá Formation, is extensively observed below the last deglaciation terminal moraines. Sedimentary facies demonstrate that the Rangá Formation is mostly tidal, up to 215 m (transgression I) and 168 m (transgression II) in altitude. The first highstand reworks a thick tephra from the Grimsvötn volcano, known in marine cores as 5e low/Bas-IV and positioned at ca. 127 Ka BP, the Eemian thermal optimum. This formation is related to a rapid deglaciation followed by two marine transgressions marked by the development of extended mud flats, which were separated by a complex regression phase, associated with loess deposition, ca. 9 Ka in duration. Palaeo jökulhlaups, basaltic flows, and tephra fallouts from the Hekla and Grimsvötn volcanoes affected the sedimentation. The Rangá Formation yields one of the first continuous and complete estuarine records of the Eemian interglacial in Iceland and probably for most of the northern terrestrial Atlantic. This estuarine infill records the distal signature of a complex glacial advance within the last interglacial, already well identified in northern and central Iceland. The glacial advance is attributed to the intra-Eemian cooling events (Greenland GS 26 or marine cold events M-C25-C26). It is followed by a warming and a glacial retreat corresponding to the Greenland GI 25 event. This formation allows, in connection with the timing of recognized volcanic periods, a better insight of the interconnections between sea-level, regional glacial extent, and Northern Hemisphere marine and ice core climatic records.