The provenance of Taklamakan desert sand

What is it about?

The Taklamakan desert is one of the largest active sand seas in the world, and a major source of atmospheric dust in East Asia. We compared sand from a large number of the tributary rivers coming off the surrounding mountain ranges (Kunlun, Pamirs, Tian Shan) to the interior of the Taklamakan to find out where most of the material comes from and how it moves throughout the desert by wind and water. We also characterised the Taklamakan sediments to to be able to compare it to dust deposits elsewhere, like the Chinese Loess Plateau.

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Why is it important?

The extensive dust deposits on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) are one of the longest climate archives known. The exact source of the dust however, is still being discussed. The Taklamakan is a major atmospheric dust source today. We aimed to determine whether it could have been a source for the CLP sediments, which would have implications for past wind circulation patterns. Additionally, the Taklamakan is a near-perfect laboratory to study the interaction of transport of sand by wind and by water in an arid environment, applicable to many other regions on Earth.