Arid Zone Research ›› 2025, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 613-621.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2025.04.04

• Weather and Climate • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Significance of surface soil magnetic susceptibility in the Tengger Desert

HUO Binyu(), GUO Benhong, LIU Chengying(), XU Hengming, JIANG Yuqiang   

  1. School of Earth Sciences, Lanzhou University, Key of Laboratory Mineral Resources in Western China (Gansu Province), Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
  • Received:2024-12-16 Revised:2025-03-03 Online:2025-04-15 Published:2025-04-10
  • Contact: LIU Chengying E-mail:220220903521@lzu.edu.cn;cyliu@lzu.edu.cn

Abstract:

The magnetic susceptibility of soils is crucial for paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic studies. However, debate persists regarding whether soil magnetic susceptibility can serve for paleoprecipitation reconstruction or reflects changes in prevenance in arid regions. To address this issue, new magnetic measurements were conducted on modern soil samples across the Tengger Desert, on the edge of the East Asian summer monsoon region. The weak correlation between the soil magnetic susceptibility, frequency-dependent susceptibility, and modern mean annual precipitation (R2=0.01 and 0.02) suggests that precipitation is not the primary factor driving variations in the surface soil magnetic susceptibility in the Tengger Desert. Conversely, distinct magnetic differences among arid regions indicate that soil magnetic susceptibility can differentiate between origin areas. These findings underscore the need for careful interpretation of soil magnetic susceptibility when conducting climate and environmental research in arid regions.

Key words: magnetic susceptibility, precipitation, provenance, Tengger Desert