The Tarim Basin is the major source of aeolian dust in the northern hemisphere. Glacial activity in the mountains, transportation by rivers and homogenization by wind are believed to be responsible for dust production within the basin. However, the major source(s) and homogenization process(es) are not clear. Moreover, provenance studies on fine fractions have never been conducted. Here, we measured electron spin resonance (ESR) signal intensity and the crystallinity index of quartz in fine (< 16 μm) and coarse (> 64 μm) fractions of river sediments, dry lake sediments and mountain loess to examine the process(es) that produce aeolian dust. The result suggests that the coarse fraction of the river sediment was derived from the bedrock in the drainage area. The ESR signal intensity and crystallinity index of the fine fraction of river sediments from the Tian Shan Mountains and mountainous rivers in the westernmost Kunlun and Pamir mountains are also similar to the coarse fraction, suggesting the same sources. However, the ESR signal intensity and crystallinity index of the fine fraction of river sediments from the Kunlun Mountains are different from the coarse fraction and converge towards values close to the average for the fine fraction of river sediments and mountain loess. Convergence of the ESR and crystallinity index values for the fine fraction of river sediments from the Kunlun Mountains can be explained by contamination of the river sediments by aeolian dust. The convergent values resulted from the homogenization of fine detrital material by repeated recycling within the basin.

中文翻译：

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基于石英ESR信号强度和结晶度指数的塔里木盆地风成尘成因：盆地内细碎屑物质回收系统

塔里木盆地是北半球风成尘的主要来源。山区的冰川活动、河流的运输和风的均匀化被认为是流域内产生沙尘的原因。然而，主要来源和同质化过程尚不清楚。此外，从未进行过细馏分的来源研究。在这里，我们测量了河流沉积物、干湖沉积物和山地黄土的细（< 16 μm）和粗（> 64 μm）部分中石英的电子自旋共振（ESR）信号强度和结晶度指数，以检查过程（es）产生风尘。结果表明，河流沉积物中的粗粒部分来自流域内的基岩。来自天山山脉和最西端昆仑山和帕米尔山脉山区河流的细小部分的ESR信号强度和结晶度指数也与粗部分相似，表明来源相同。然而，昆仑山河流沉积物细粒部分的ESR信号强度和结晶度指数与粗粒部分不同，河流沉积物细粒部分和山地黄土的ESR信号强度和结晶指数趋于接近平均值。昆仑山河流沉积物细小部分的 ESR 和结晶度指数值的收敛可以用风沙对河流沉积物的污染来解释。收敛值是由于盆地内重复回收细碎屑材料的均质化造成的。