Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was conducted on the K-feldspar and quartz fractions of a Holocene loess-paleosol sequence in the Yili Basin, in the core area of arid central Asia (ACA). Age overestimation using the post-IR IR (pIR50IR170) signals from feldspar was observed for paleosols, because of poor bleaching prior to deposition. Therefore, a reliable age framework for the studied section was established using OSL dating of coarse-grained quartz, combined with a Bacon age model. A total of 18 OSL ages were obtained from a 2.5-m-loess/paleosol sequence with age range of 17.4–0.4 ka. Magnetic and grain-size proxies were used to reconstruct environmental changes during the studied interval, and the results indicate that paleosol development commenced at ~6 ka in the Yili Basin, which is consistent with previous studies in the Xinjiang region. Dust accumulation rates (DARs) and end-member analysis (EMA) of the grain-size frequency distributions were used to infer variations in the Westerlies during the Holocene, and the results suggest that the Westerlies were the main source of excess moisture in ACA during the studied interval.
AitkenMJ (1998) An Introduction to Optical Dating. London: Oxford University Press.
3.
AnCBLuYBZhaoJJet al. (2012) A high-resolution record of Holocene environmental and climatic changes from Lake Balikun (Xinjiang, China): Implications for central Asia. The Holocene22: 43–52.
4.
AnZSKutzbachJEPrellWLet al. (2001) Evolution of Asian monsoons and phased uplift of the Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau since Late Miocene times. Nature411(6833): 62–66.
5.
BishopJKBDavisREShermanJT (2002) Robotic observations of dust storm enhancement of carbon biomass in the north Pacific. Science298(5594): 817–821.
6.
BlaauwMChristenJA (2011) Flexible paleoclimate age-depth models using an autoregressive gamma process. Bayesian Analysis6(3): 457–474.
7.
BloemendalJLiuXMSunYBet al. (2008) An assessment of magnetic and geochemical indicators of weathering and pedogenesis at two contrasting sites on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology257(1): 152–168.
8.
ChenFHJiaJChenJHet al. (2016) A persistent Holocene wetting trend in arid central Asia, with wettest conditions in the late-Holocene, revealed by multi-proxy analyses of loess-paleosol sequences in Xinjiang, China. Quaternary Science Reviews146: 134–146.
9.
ChenFHYuZCYangMLet al. (2008) Holocene moisture evolution in arid central Asia and its out-of-phase relationship with Asian monsoon history. Quaternary Science Reviews27: 351–364.
10.
ChengHZhangPZSpotlCet al. (2012) The climatic cyclicity in semiarid-arid central Asia over the past 500,000 years. Geophysical Research Letters39: L01705.
11.
ChongyiELaiZPSunYJet al. (2012) A luminescence dating study of loess deposits from the Yili River basin in western China. Quaternary Geochronology10: 50–55.
12.
CunninghamACWallingaJ (2010) Selection of integration time intervals for quartz OSL decay curves. Quaternary Geochronology5(6): 657–666.
13.
DodonovAE (2007) Loess records: Central Asia. In: EliasSA (ed.) Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 1418–1429.
14.
DullerGAT (2003) Distinguishing quartz and feldspar in single grain luminescence measurements. Radiation Measurements37(2): 161–165.
15.
FrechenMDodonovAE (1998) Loess chronology of the Middle and Upper Pleistocene in Tadjikistan. Geologische Rundschau87(1): 2–20.
16.
FrechenMKehlMRolfCet al. (2009) Loess chronology of the Caspian Lowland in Northern Iran. Quaternary International198(1): 220–233.
17.
FuXLiSHLiB (2015) Optical dating of aeolian and fluvial sediments in north Tian Shan range, China: Luminescence characteristics and methodological aspects. Quaternary Geochronology30: 161–167.
18.
Godfrey-SmithDIHuntleyDJChenWH (1988) Optical dating studies of quartz and feldspar sediment extracts. Quaternary Science Reviews7(3): 373–380.
19.
GriffinDWKelloggCA (2004) Dust storms and their impact on ocean and human health: Dust in Earth’s atmosphere. Ecohealth1(3): 284–295.
20.
GuoZTRuddimanWFHaoQZet al. (2002) Onset of Asian desertification by 22 Myr ago inferred from loess deposits in China. Nature416(6877): 159–163.
21.
HaoQZWangLOldfieldFet al. (2012.) Delayed build-up of Arctic ice sheets during 400,000-year minima in insolation variability. Nature490(7420): 393–396.
22.
HeineckeLMischkeSAdlerKet al. (2016) Late Pleistocene to Holocene climate and limnological changes at Lake Karakul (Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan). Climate of the past Discussions. Available at: https://www.clim-past-discuss.net/cp-2016-34/.
23.
HuGMLiSH (2019) Simplified procedures for optical dating of young sediments using quartz. Quaternary Geochronology49: 31–38.
24.
HuangXZChenCZJiaWNet al. (2015) Vegetation and climate history reconstructed from an alpine lake in central Tienshan Mountains since 8.5 ka BP. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology432: 36–48.
25.
HuangXZChenFHFanYXet al. (2009) Dry late-glacial and early Holocene climate in arid central Asia indicated by lithological and palynological evidence from Bosten Lake, China. Quaternary International194: 19–27.
26.
HuntleyDJBarilMR (1997) The K content of the K-feldspars being measured in optical dating or in thermoluminescence dating. Ancient TL15: 11–13.
27.
HuntleyDJLamotheM (2001) Ubiquity of anomalous fading in K-feldspars and the measurement and correction for it in optical dating. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences38(7): 1093–1106.
JiaJXiaDSWangBet al. (2013) The investigation of magnetic susceptibility variation mechanism of Tien Mountains modern loess: Pedogenic or wind intensity model?Quaternary International296(439): 141–148.
30.
JiangQFJiJFShengJet al. (2013) Holocene vegetational and climatic variation in westerly dominated areas of Central Asia inferred from the Sayram Lake in northern Xinjiang, China. Science China-Earth Sciences56(3): 339–353.
31.
JickellsTDAnZSAndersenKKet al. (2005) Global iron connections between desert dust, ocean biogeochemistry, and climate. Science308(5718): 67–71.
32.
JinLYChenFHMorrillC (2012) Causes of early Holocene desertification in arid central Asia. Climate Dynamics38(7–8): 1577–1591.
33.
KangSGWangXLLuYCet al. (2015) A high-resolution quartz OSL chronology of the Talede loess over the past-30 ka and its implications for dust accumulation in the Ili Basin, Central Asia. Quaternary Geochronology30: 181–187.
34.
KarimiAFrechenMKhademiH (2011) Chronostratigraphy of loess deposits in northeast Iran. Quaternary International234: 124–132.
35.
KehlMSarvatiRAhmadiHet al. (2005) Loess paleosol-sequences along a climatic gradient in Northern Iran. Eiszeitalter und Gegenwart55: 149–173.
36.
LateefASA (1988) Distribution, provenance, age and paleoclimatic record of the loess in Central North Iran. In: EdenDNFurkertRJ (eds) Loess: Its Distribution, Geology and Soil. Rotterdam: Balkema, pp. 93–101.
37.
LauerTFrechenMVlaminckSet al. (2017a) Luminescence-chronology of the loess palaeosol sequence Toshan, Northern Iran – A highly resolved climate archive for the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Quaternary International429: 3–12.
38.
LauerTVlaminckSFrechenMet al. (2017b) The Agh Band loess-palaeosol sequence – A terrestrial archive for climatic shifts during the last and penultimate glacial-interglacial cycles in a semiarid region in northern Iran. Quaternary International429(30): 13–30.
39.
LeroySAGLópez-MerinoLTudrynAet al. (2014) Late Pleistocene and Holocene palaeoenvironments in and around the middle Caspian basin as reconstructed from a deep-sea core. Quaternary Science Reviews101(5): 91–110.
40.
LiCXSongYGWangLM (2012) Distribution, age and dust sources of loess in the Ili Basin. Earth and Environment40(3): 314–320.
41.
LiGQWenLJXiaDSet al. (2015a) Quartz OSL and K-feldspar pIRIR dating of a loess/paleosol sequence from arid central Asia, Tianshan Mountains, NW China. Quaternary Geochronology28: 40–53.
42.
LiSH (2001) Identification of well-bleached grains in the optical dating of quartz. Quaternary Science Reviews20: 1365–1370.
43.
LiXQZhaoKLDodsonJet al. (2011) Moisture dynamics in central Asia for the last 15 kyr: New evidence from Yili Valley, Xinjiang, NW China. Quaternary Science Review30(23–24): 3457–3466.
44.
LiYSongYGYanLBet al. (2015b) Timing and spatial distribution of loess in Xinjiang, NW China. PLoS ONE10(5): e0125492.
45.
LichtAVan CappelleMAbelsHAet al. (2014) Asian monsoons in a late Eocene greenhouse world. Nature513: 501–506.
46.
LiuQSDengCLTorrentJet al. (2007) Review of recent developments in mineral magnetism of the Chinese loess. Quaternary Science Reviews26(3–4): 368–385.
47.
LiuTS (1985) Loess and Environment. Beijing: Science Press (in Chinese).
48.
LiuZFWeiGJWangXSet al. (2016) Quantifying paleoprecipitation of the Luochuan and Sanmenxia loess on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology459: 121–130.
49.
LongHShenJTsukamotoSet al. (2014) Dry early Holocene revealed by sand dune accumulation chronology in Bayanbulak Basin (Xinjiang, NW China). The Holocene24: 614–626.
50.
LuHYAnZS (1997) Pretreatment methods in loess-palaeosol granulometry. Chinese Science Bulletin42: 237–240.
51.
LüTYSunJM (2011) Luminescence sensitivities of quartz grains from eolian deposits in northern china and their implications for provenance. Quaternary Research76(2): 181–189.
52.
MachalettBFrechenMHambachUet al. (2006) The loess sequence from Remisowka (northern boundary of the Tien Shan Mountains, Kazakhstan) Part I: Luminescence dating. Quaternary International152(3): 192–201.
53.
MejdahlV (1983) Feldspar inclusion dating of ceramics and burnt stones. Absolute Age15(18): 351–364.
54.
MurrayASWintleAG (2000) Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiation Measurements32(1): 57–73.
55.
MurrayASWintleAG (2003) The single aliquot regenerative dose protocol: Potential for improvements in reliability. Radiation Measurements37: 377–381.
56.
MurrayASThomsenKJMasudaNet al. (2012) Identifying well-bleached quartz using the different bleaching rates of quartz and feldspar luminescence signals. Radiation Measurements47(9): 688–695.
57.
PatersonGAHeslopD (2015) New methods for unmixing sediment grain size data. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems16(12): 4494–4506.
58.
PrescottJRHuttonJT (1994) Cosmic ray contribution to dose rates for luminescence and ESR dating. Radiation Measurements23: 497–500.
59.
PrinsMAVriendMNugterenGet al. (2007) Late Quaternary aeolian dust input variability on the Chinese Loess Plateau: Inferences from unmixing of loess grain-size records. Quaternary Science Reviews26(1–2): 230–242.
60.
Rees-JonesJ (1995) Optical dating of young sediments using fine-grain quartz. Ancient TL13(2): 9–13.
61.
RudayaNTarasovPDorofeyukNet al. (2009) Holocene environments and climate in the Mongolian Altai reconstructed from the Hoton-Nur pollen and diatom records: A step towards better understanding climate dynamics in Central Asia. Quaternary Science Reviews28: 540–554.
62.
ShaoYPWyrwollKHChappellAet al. (2011) Dust cycle: An emerging core theme in Earth system science. Aeolian Research2(4): 181–204.
63.
SongYGShiZT (2010) Distribution and compositions of loess sediments in Yili Basin, Central Asia. Scientia Geographica Sinica30(2): 267–272 (in Chinese).
64.
SongYGLaiZPLiYet al. (2015) Comparison between luminescence and radiocarbon dating of late Quaternary loess from the Ili Basin in Central Asia. Quaternary Geochronology30: 405–410.
65.
SunDHBloemendalJReaDKet al. (2004) Bimodal grain-size distribution of Chinese loess, and its palaeoclimatic implications. Catena55(3): 325–340.
66.
SunDHSuRXLiZJet al. (2011) The ultrafine component in Chinese loess and its variation over the past 7.6 Ma: Implications for the history of pedogenesis. Sedimentology58(4): 916–935.
67.
SunJM (2002) Source regions and formation of the loess sediments on the high mountain regions of Northwestern China. Quaternary Research58(3): 341–351.
68.
UnoIEguchiKYumimotoKet al. (2009) Asian dust transported one full circuit around the globe. Nature Geoscience2(8): 557–560.
69.
VandenbergheJ (2013) Grain size of fine-grained windblown sediment: A powerful proxy for process identification. Earth-Science Reviews121(6): 18–30.
70.
VinojVRaschPJWangHLet al. (2014) Short-term modulation of Indian summer monsoon rainfall by west Asian dust. Nature Geoscience7(4): 308–313.
71.
WangWFengZRanMet al. (2013) Holocene climate and vegetation changes inferred from pollen records of Lake Aibi, northern Xinjiang, China: A potential contribution to understanding of Holocene climate pattern in Eastcentral Asia. Quaternary International311: 54–62.
72.
WeltjeGJ (1997) End-member modeling of compositional data: Numerical-statistical algorithms for solving the explicit mixing problem. Mathematical Geology29(4): 503–549.
73.
YangSLFormanLSSongYGet al. (2014) Evaluating OSL-SAR protocols for dating quartz grains from the loess in Ili Basin, Central Asia. Quaternary Geochronology20: 78–88.
74.
Ye Wei (1999) Characteristics of physical environment and conditions of loess formation in Yili area, Xinjiang. Arid Land Geography22(3): 9–16.
75.
Ye Wei (2001) The Characteristics and Paleaoclimate of Loess Deposits in Westerly Area. Beijing: Ocean Press.
76.
YounJHSeongYBChoiJHet al. (2014) Loess deposits in the northern Kyrgyz Tien Shan: Implications for the paleoclimate reconstruction during the Late Quaternary. Catena117: 81–93.
77.
ZhangJFZhouLPYueSY (2003) Dating fluvial sediments by optically stimulated luminescence: Selection of equivalent doses for age calculation. Quaternary Science Reviews22(10–13): 1123–1129.
78.
ZhangJJLiSHSunJMet al. (2018) Fake age hiatus in a loess section revealed by OSL dating of calcrete nodules. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences155: 139–145.
79.
ZhangWXShiZTZhangHCet al. (2013) Geochemical characteristics and environmental significance of Talede loess–paleosol sequences of Ili Basin in Central Asia. Environmental Earth Sciences70(5): 2191–2202 (in Chinese with English abstract).
80.
ZhangXJJinLYHuangWet al. (2016) Forcing mechanisms of orbital-scale changes in winter rainfall over northwestern China during the Holocene. The Holocene26(4): 549–555.
81.
ZhaoHLiSH (2005) Internal dose rate to K-feldspar grains from radioactive elements other than potassium. Radiation Measurements40: 84–93.
82.
ZhaoHLiSHLiBet al. (2015) Holocene climate changes in westerly-dominated areas of central Asia: Evidence from optical dating of two loess sections in Tianshan Mountain, China. Quaternary Geochronology30: 188–193.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
