Bird, A;
Millar, I;
Rodenburg, T;
Stevens, T;
Rittner, M;
Vermeesch, P;
Lu, H;
(2020)
A constant Chinese Loess Plateau dust source since the late Miocene.
Quaternary Science Reviews
, 227
, Article 106042. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106042.
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Abstract
The Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary marks a major change in global climate and East Asian monsoon dynamic. However, the role of the global atmospheric dust-cycle over this time is unclear; in particular the degree to which changes in the dust cycle influenced climate change, were driven by climate change, and how these processes interacted. Chinese loess records past dust-cycle history and the influences of aridification and monsoon circulation over the last 40 Ma. Previous work on the Chinese Loess Plateau argue over whether changes in dust source occur at the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary, or at 1.2 Ma, despite these intervals marking major shifts in monsoon dynamics. We present Sr, Nd and Hf isotope data from multiple sites and show that dust source largely remains unchanged across these boundaries. Shifts in geochemistry are due to changes in grain-size and weathering. While the transport pathway (river, deserts, direct aeolian) is unclear, these tracer isotopes show that dust was dominantly sourced from the Northern Tibetan Plateau, with some input from the local bedrock. This shows that a major established and constant dust source on the Tibetan Plateau has been active and unchanged since late Miocene, despite dramatically changing climate conditions. Changes in loess accumulation are a function of climate change in Tibetan Plateau source regions rather than effects from increased aridification over the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A constant Chinese Loess Plateau dust source since the late Miocene |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106042 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106042 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Quaternary, Neogene, Palaeoclimate, China, Loess, Radiogenic isotopes |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10086901 |
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