A thin layer of yellow-brown-colored earth was generally found on Quaternary red clay in Jiujiang,Jiangxi Province. A typical profile was established. Both particle size distribution and REE (rare earthelements) chara...A thin layer of yellow-brown-colored earth was generally found on Quaternary red clay in Jiujiang,Jiangxi Province. A typical profile was established. Both particle size distribution and REE (rare earthelements) characteristics of the yellow-brown-colored earth of the profile fully suggested its aeolian origin andclose similarity to Naming Xiashu loess. The study also implied aeolian origin of the underlying Quaternaryred clap Compared with the red clay, the yellow- brown- colored earth was less weathered because of its lowercontent of free iron and higher mole ratios of SiO2/A12O3 and SiO2/(Fe2O3+A12O3 ) as well as its lessdeveloped chemical microtextures of quartz grains.In order to study the aged of the two deposits comparatively, the thermoluminescent dating method wasused. As a result, the bottom of the yellow-brown-colored esrth was dated to 6015 ka B. P. and the upperpart of the red clay 38854 ka B. P. It was suggested that the yellow- browm- colored earth was formed inthe Late Pleistocene and was probably the aeolian deposit of the Last Glacial, which corresponded with theMalan loess in the Loess Plateau of the northwestern part of China; while the underlying red clay was formedin the Middle Pleistocene.A "yellow cap" on Quaternary red clay in Jiujiang implied a great climatic and environmental varistionin the beginning of the Late Pleistocene in the southern pot of China, especially in the middle and lowerreaches of the Yangtze River. The eveal not only halted the rubification, once dominating the region, butalso produced a widespread covering of aeolian deposit, as only occurred in the cold and dry environment.展开更多
The particle size distribution, heavy mineral constituents and rare earth elements (REE) characteristics of the Quaternary red clay of southern Anhui Province were studied to explore the origin of the clay. The resul...The particle size distribution, heavy mineral constituents and rare earth elements (REE) characteristics of the Quaternary red clay of southern Anhui Province were studied to explore the origin of the clay. The results showed that the clay had some properties of areolian deposits, which could be compared with those of the loess in North China; and its chondrite normalized curves of REE were similar to those of the Xiashu loess, implying that they shared the same origin. It was concluded in combination with the results reported by other researchers that the Quaternary red clay of southern Anhui Province originated from aeolian deposits, and this could reveal the cycles of warm and cold climates in the area during the Quaternary period.展开更多
Increasing interest in recent years has focused on vermicular red clay(VRC) in southern China due to its controversial sedimentary environment and provenance. Grain size is a useful way to determine sedimentary enviro...Increasing interest in recent years has focused on vermicular red clay(VRC) in southern China due to its controversial sedimentary environment and provenance. Grain size is a useful way to determine sedimentary environment and provenance. Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis(LDA) is a common and widely used method for multivariate statistical analysis. Based on a proper training sample set, the LDA can be used to discuss the sediment provenance. In this study, grain size data for 77 Malan loess samples and 41 floodplain deposit samples were used as a training sample set to deduce a Fisher linear discriminant function. Then, 299 VRC samples from 6 Quaternary red clay profiles were analyzed using the discriminant function. Grain size parameters and microscopic images of quartz grains separated from the VRC were evaluated in detail to determine the VRC sedimentary environment in south China. The results show that VRC profiles can be classified into two regions: the Chiang-nan Hilly Region and Wuyi Mountains Region. The VRC samples in the Chiang-nan Hilly Region originated from eolian dust deposits. This VRC is characterized by a higher content of fine particles(<20 μm) and lower average transport kinetic energy than loess in a C-M plot. The quartz grain sizes and microscope images of this VRC suggest that it could be a polyphyletic mixture of far-sourced and nearsourced eolian deposits. The far-sourced eolian deposits share similar provenance with Xiashu loess and were transported by the East Asian winter monsoon. The near-sourced eolian deposits were dust emitted from the adjacent floodplain. In the Wuyi Mountains Region, the rugged topography weakened the dustfall and strengthened the reconstructive effect of hydrodynamic forces during the Quaternary glacial periods. The VRC in this region was reworked strongly by water and retained typical hydraulic characteristics no matter the source.展开更多
文摘A thin layer of yellow-brown-colored earth was generally found on Quaternary red clay in Jiujiang,Jiangxi Province. A typical profile was established. Both particle size distribution and REE (rare earthelements) characteristics of the yellow-brown-colored earth of the profile fully suggested its aeolian origin andclose similarity to Naming Xiashu loess. The study also implied aeolian origin of the underlying Quaternaryred clap Compared with the red clay, the yellow- brown- colored earth was less weathered because of its lowercontent of free iron and higher mole ratios of SiO2/A12O3 and SiO2/(Fe2O3+A12O3 ) as well as its lessdeveloped chemical microtextures of quartz grains.In order to study the aged of the two deposits comparatively, the thermoluminescent dating method wasused. As a result, the bottom of the yellow-brown-colored esrth was dated to 6015 ka B. P. and the upperpart of the red clay 38854 ka B. P. It was suggested that the yellow- browm- colored earth was formed inthe Late Pleistocene and was probably the aeolian deposit of the Last Glacial, which corresponded with theMalan loess in the Loess Plateau of the northwestern part of China; while the underlying red clay was formedin the Middle Pleistocene.A "yellow cap" on Quaternary red clay in Jiujiang implied a great climatic and environmental varistionin the beginning of the Late Pleistocene in the southern pot of China, especially in the middle and lowerreaches of the Yangtze River. The eveal not only halted the rubification, once dominating the region, butalso produced a widespread covering of aeolian deposit, as only occurred in the cold and dry environment.
文摘The particle size distribution, heavy mineral constituents and rare earth elements (REE) characteristics of the Quaternary red clay of southern Anhui Province were studied to explore the origin of the clay. The results showed that the clay had some properties of areolian deposits, which could be compared with those of the loess in North China; and its chondrite normalized curves of REE were similar to those of the Xiashu loess, implying that they shared the same origin. It was concluded in combination with the results reported by other researchers that the Quaternary red clay of southern Anhui Province originated from aeolian deposits, and this could reveal the cycles of warm and cold climates in the area during the Quaternary period.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41201008,41371032 and 41371206)
文摘Increasing interest in recent years has focused on vermicular red clay(VRC) in southern China due to its controversial sedimentary environment and provenance. Grain size is a useful way to determine sedimentary environment and provenance. Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis(LDA) is a common and widely used method for multivariate statistical analysis. Based on a proper training sample set, the LDA can be used to discuss the sediment provenance. In this study, grain size data for 77 Malan loess samples and 41 floodplain deposit samples were used as a training sample set to deduce a Fisher linear discriminant function. Then, 299 VRC samples from 6 Quaternary red clay profiles were analyzed using the discriminant function. Grain size parameters and microscopic images of quartz grains separated from the VRC were evaluated in detail to determine the VRC sedimentary environment in south China. The results show that VRC profiles can be classified into two regions: the Chiang-nan Hilly Region and Wuyi Mountains Region. The VRC samples in the Chiang-nan Hilly Region originated from eolian dust deposits. This VRC is characterized by a higher content of fine particles(<20 μm) and lower average transport kinetic energy than loess in a C-M plot. The quartz grain sizes and microscope images of this VRC suggest that it could be a polyphyletic mixture of far-sourced and nearsourced eolian deposits. The far-sourced eolian deposits share similar provenance with Xiashu loess and were transported by the East Asian winter monsoon. The near-sourced eolian deposits were dust emitted from the adjacent floodplain. In the Wuyi Mountains Region, the rugged topography weakened the dustfall and strengthened the reconstructive effect of hydrodynamic forces during the Quaternary glacial periods. The VRC in this region was reworked strongly by water and retained typical hydraulic characteristics no matter the source.
