We analyzed the trace and rare earth element contents of the desert sands and loess deposits in the Junggar Basin. Combined with previously published data, and using principal component analysis, our results provide insights into the sand provenances of the Gurbantunggut Desert in eastern Central Asia (CA); the genetic links between deserts and loess deposits in CA; and the specific sources in CA for the aeolian dust in North Pacific Ocean sediments. The results demonstrate the spatial heterogeneity of the geochemistry of sand across the Gurbantunggut Desert. The desert sands in the northern and western parts of this desert are mainly derived from the Altai and Junggar mountains, respectively, as supported by the directions of sand fluxes. However, Beitashan Mountain makes a negligible contribution due to the lack of fluvial transport and westward sand fluxes. However, more sediment samples need to be collected to confirm the contribution of Tianshan Mountains. Our findings also indicate that the Gurbantunggut Desert did not contribute significantly to loess accumulation on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, in accordance with the weak genetic relationships between loess deposits and deserts in western CA. We attribute this to the limited ability of the CA deserts to produce and supply dust-sized particles. Additionally, using the Metropolis-Hastings sampling approach, we find that the Gurbantunggut Desert is not the source region in CA for the fine dust particles in North Pacific Ocean sediments. Overall, our results contribute to a deeper understanding of the aeolian systems in CA and their impacts on the dust cycle at a hemispheric scale.

中文翻译：

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重新评估古尔班通古特沙漠沙子的起源及其作为风尘贡献者的作用


对准噶尔盆地沙漠砂和黄土沉积物中的微量和稀土元素含量进行了分析。结合之前发布的数据，并使用主成分分析，我们的结果提供了对中亚东部（CA）古尔班通古特沙漠沙源的深入了解；加利福尼亚沙漠和黄土沉积物之间的遗传联系；以及北太平洋沉积物中风尘在加利福尼亚州的具体来源。结果证明了古尔班通古特沙漠沙子地球化学的空间异质性。从沙流方向来看，该沙漠北部和西部的沙漠沙子主要分别来自阿尔泰山和准噶尔山。然而，由于缺乏河流输送和西移沙流，北塔山的贡献可以忽略不计。然而，还需要采集更多的沉积物样本来证实天山的贡献。我们的研究结果还表明，古尔班通古特沙漠对天山北坡黄土的堆积没有显着贡献，这与加州西部​​黄土沉积物和沙漠之间的弱成因关系相一致。我们将此归因于加州沙漠生产和供应灰尘大小颗粒的能力有限。此外，使用大都会-黑斯廷斯采样方法，我们发现古尔班通古特沙漠不是北太平洋沉积物中细尘颗粒的加利福尼亚州源区。总的来说，我们的结果有助于更深入地了解加利福尼亚州的风系统及其对半球尺度灰尘循环的影响。