Variation in aeolian environments recorded by the particle size distribution of lacustrine sediments in Ebinur Lake, northwest China

Particle size analysis of lacustrine core sediments and atmospheric natural dust were conducted in the drainage area of Ebinur Lake in arid northwest China. Using a combination of (137)Cs and (210)Pb dating, a continuous record of aeolian transportation to the lake sediments and related factors over about the past 150 years was analyzed. Factor analysis revealed the particle-size distributions of riverine and aeolian sediments composed of the terrigenous materials of the lake deposits. Compared with the grain-size distributions of natural dust samples, the results showed that the coarser particle size fraction of lake sediments was mainly derived from the sediments that had experienced aeolian transport to the drainage surface, and the finer sediments came from hydraulic inputs. Then, the method of variations in particle-size standard deviation was used to extract the grain size intervals with the highest variability along a sedimentary sequence. The coarser grain-size populations dominated the variation patterns of the sedimentary sequence. During the last 150 years, strong intensity aeolian transportation occurred during three periods, 1915–1935, 1965–1975 and since the beginning of the 2000s. The climate was dry around 1910s–1930s in this region associated with the appropriate dynamic condition, which provided the enhanced source materials and wind power for the aeolian dust transport. Since 1950s, the climate controlled the foundation of aeolian dust transport, and the aeolian dust transport won’t be increased under the humid climate.