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Journal of Desert Research ›› 2022, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (5): 133-145.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2022.00028

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Grain size characteristics of dune sands and spatial variation in the Tengger Desert

Aibaidoula Gulayisaimu1(), Feng Zhang1(), Feng Wu2, Shixin Wu3, Jianghua Zheng1, Tao Sun4   

  1. 1.College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences,Xinjiang University,Urumqi 830046,China
    2.Institute of Earth Environment,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Xi'an 710061,China
    3.Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Urumqi 830011,China
    4.Institute of Chinese Historical Geography,Fudan University,Shanghai 200433,China
  • Received:2022-01-17 Revised:2022-03-29 Online:2022-09-20 Published:2022-09-22
  • Contact: Feng Zhang

Abstract:

Sediment grain size parameters are of great significance for studying material sources and measuring the energy size. The grain size characteristics of 45 surface sand samples from the top of the dunes in the Tengger Desert were measured, and the Drift Potential of four weather stations in the past 30 years was calculated. The results show that: (1) Samples are mainly composed of fine (71%) and medium sands (20%), with main grain size of 2.38 Φ and sorting of 0.40 Φ. There are good linear relationships between grain size and sorting, grain size and skewness. (2) The very well and well-sorted samples are entirely distributed in the middle and southwest of the desert, the former tends to be nearly symmetrical and medium-kurtosis, and the probability cumulative curve is composed of two-distinctive populations, while the latter tends to be positive skewness, medium or leptokurtosis, and the probability cumulative curve is composed of three-distinctive populations. However, the sorting of desert edge is inconsistent, and the probability cumulative curve is composed of multi-different populations. (3) The direction of prevailing sand-driving wind in the study area is northwest wind. The northwest and northeast parts of the desert were characterized by intermediate wind energy environment, with the unimodal and complex wind direction. The southern and southeastern parts of the desert belong to low and intermediate wind energy environment respectively, both of which are bimodal wind direction. The main sources of dunes in this area should be local detritus act of the underlying fluvial and lacustrine sediments. The fluvial and lacustrine sediments at the edge of the desert provide sources for the dune sands in the central region, the dune sands in the southwestern part may have originated from alluvial-lacustrine deposits in the lower reaches of Shiyang River, and the wind sorting effect is long, while the dune sands at the edge of the desert should be derived from local detritus act of the alluvial and lacustrine sediments, and the wind sorting effect is insufficient. There is a certain relationship between the spatial distribution characteristics of grain size parameters and dune type and size.

Key words: Tengger Desert, sediments, grain size parameters, sand drift potential, spatial variation

CLC Number: