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The efficiency of elemental geochemistry and weathering indices as tracers in aeolian sediment provenance fingerprinting

Nosrati, Kazem; Moradian, Hanieh; Dolatkordestani, Mojtaba; Mol, Lisa; Collins, Adrian L.

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Authors

Kazem Nosrati

Hanieh Moradian

Mojtaba Dolatkordestani

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Lisa Mol Lisa.Mol@uwe.ac.uk
Professor of Geomorphology and Heritage in Conflict

Adrian L. Collins



Abstract

Confirmation of cost-effective and reliable tracers for aeolian sediment (sand dune) source fingerprinting warrants further research. Accordingly, the main objective of the work reported in this paper was to investigate the efficiency of weathering indices in aeolian sediment fingerprinting using a case study of a fragile arid region in Qom Province, Iran. Eight geochemical elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Na, Mg, Si, Ti) and 17 associated weathering indices were measured in 34 aeolian source samples and 10 sand dune target sediment samples in three absolute particulate size fractions. For each fraction, three final composite fingerprints (i.e., geochemical elements only, weathering indices only and a combination of the two) for discerning and ascribing the aeolian sediment sources were selected. The Modified MixSIR Bayesian un-mixing model was used to apportion aeolian source contributions using the final composite fingerprints. Regardless of the composite fingerprint used, all results across the different size fractions suggested that the south-eastern alluvial fan is the dominant (average contribution 50.6%, SD 19.0%) source of the sand dune samples, with the western alluvial fan being the second most important (average contribution 38.4%, SD 20.4%) source. Comparisons of the posterior distributions for the predicted source proportions generated using the nine composite fingerprints (three kinds of composite fingerprints*three particle size fractions) showed that the composite fingerprints combining the geochemical elements and weathering indices generated the most powerful source material discrimination. Our results demonstrate the use of weathering indices alongside more conventional elemental geochemistry tracers for investigations into sand dune sediment provenance.

Citation

Nosrati, K., Moradian, H., Dolatkordestani, M., Mol, L., & Collins, A. L. (2022). The efficiency of elemental geochemistry and weathering indices as tracers in aeolian sediment provenance fingerprinting. CATENA, 210, Article 105932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105932

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 2, 2021
Online Publication Date Dec 10, 2021
Publication Date 2022-03
Deposit Date Dec 6, 2021
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal CATENA
Print ISSN 0341-8162
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 210
Article Number 105932
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105932
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/8213024

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