中新世以来中国北方风尘堆积的粘土矿物组成及其古环境意义

In northern China, the loess-soil sequence of the last 2.6 Ma, the Hipparion Red-Earth of eolian origin and recently reported Pliocene-Miocene loess-soil sequence provide a near continuous continental eolian record of climatic history for the past 22.0 Ma. This work aims to investigate the composition and structure of clay minerals contained in deposits, and to explore their implications for environmental evolutions over the last 22.0 Ma. Clay minerals, which were extracted from eolian samples collected at Xifeng (0-6.2 MaBP) and Qinan (6.2-22.0 MaBP) sections, were analyzed qualitatively and semi-quantitatively by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and chemical analysis. The main conclusions are as follows: Over the last 22.0 Ma, the clay mineral assemblage among Quaternary loess-soils, Hipparion Red-Earth, and Miocene loess-soils shows similar components, mainly consisting of illite (55-80%), kaolinite (7-20%), chlorite (4-13%), smectite (2-23%) as results calculated by comparing major peak areas. There are no obvious differences in both types and amounts of clay minerals between loess and interbedded soils, suggesting that overwhelming part of the clay minerals is derived from the source. According to the components of clay minerals, the whole sequence of eolian deposits in the Loess Plateau can be divided into ten clay mineral assemblage zones over the last 22.0 Ma, whose corresponding ages are: 22.0-21.0 MaBP, 21.0-18.0 MaBP, 18-16.2 MaBP, 16.2-13.0 MaBP, 13.0-10.0 MaBP, 10.0-5.5 MaBP, 5.5-4.4 MaBP, 4.4-2.8 MaBP, 2.8-1.0 MaBP, 1.0-0 MaBP, respectively. This may imply that dust supply changed at least nine times over the past 22.0 Ma. The loess illite has a better crystaliinity, higher value of the FWHM and IC, than the interbedd soils. Previous studies indicated that irregular mixed layer minerals could form under relatively warm and humid conditions (Han, 1982). According to the general distribution of clay minerals of zonal soil (Chamley, 1989), the clay mineral assemblage of eolian deposits in Xifeng and Qinan sections is typical of temperature-humid and warm-subarid environment. Therefore, our results indicate climatic environment in Loess Plateau did not change remarkably since 22.0 Ma, and fluctuated between temperature-humid and warm-subarid climate. 4. The illite generally presents poorer crystaliinity during the period of 22.0 to 2.8 MaBP than in the last 2.8 Ma BP, especially at the intervals of 3.5-4.5 Ma BP, 14.0-17.0 MaBP and 20.0-22.0 Ma BP, which indicates that the weathering intensity was stronger in Neogene than in Quaternary. 5. The relatively low ice volume and high global temperature may be responsible for the strange weathering intensity during the interval of the 3.5-4.5 Ma BP, 14.0-17.0 Ma BP and 20.0-22.0 Ma BP.