Hydrochemistry of the lakes in the southern Badain Jaran Desert and its paleosalinity reconstruction

The reconstruction of paleohydrology,especially paleosalinity,is an important component of paleoenvironmental research.Researches on the modern characteristics of lake water chemistry and the relationship between lake salinity and hydrochemistry are the basis of paleoenvironment reconstruction.The modern hydrochemical characteristics and the relationship between ion composition and salinity of modern lakes are the basis of paleosalinity reconstruction.In this study,hydrochemical analysis of 21 lakes in the Badain Jaran Desert(BJD)was carried out.The relationships between the Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios and total dissolved solids(TDS)were analyzed.The results show that Na^(+),K^(+),Cl-and SO_(4)^(2-)have high positive correlations with TDS,and Mg^(2+),Sr^(2+),CO_(3)_(2-)and HCO_(3)^(-)have lower correlations with TDS.The Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios do not increase linearly with TDS.Hydrochemical analysis indicates that the studied lakes are in the carbonate precipitation stage and that evaporation is the main factor controlling lake evolution in the BJD.The relationships between the Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios and TDS are mainly influenced by lake evolution stage and the hydrochemical types of the lakes.On the basis of comprehensive previous studies,the factors affecting lake evolution,the Mg and Sr partition coefficients and other hydrochemical parameters that change with lake evolution all affect the relationship between chemical composition and salinity.To reconstruct paleosalinity more accurately,more detailed research on the modern hydrochemical characteristics of lakes and the relationship between the element ratios of carbonates and water salinity should be carried out.

Grain size characteristics and genesis of the Muxing loess in the Muling- Xingkai Plain,Northeast China

Thick loess is deposited on the platform in the piedmont zone of Muling-Xingkai Plain(Muxing Plain),but the genesis of the Muxing loess is still unclear.The aims of this study are to analyze the grain size characteristics of Muxing loess collected from the cores of a typical borehole(ZK1)in the piedmont zone of Muxing Plain,and to verify its genesis.The Muxing loess is mainly composed of the particles with diameter less than 50μm,with an average content of 92.48%.The coarse silt particles with diameter of 10-50μm are the basic composition of aeolian sediments,and their average content is 44.34% for the Muxing loess,which is the mode class among the particles with different diameters.The grain size parameters and frequency curves are similar to those of the typical aeolian sediments.The distribution characteristic of the Muxing loess in the C-M scatter diagram is consistent with that of the Xi Feng loess.In addition,the discriminant analysis shows the Muxing loess mostly consists of aeolian sediments.Therefore,it can be concluded that the Muxing loess mainly resulted from aeolian deposition based on the grain size characteristics.Muxing Plain is dominated by the monsoon climate,and the wind-blown dusts are gradually deposited after being transported over long distances.