Grain-size composition and depositional environment of surface sediments in the Kubuqi Desert, China

Grain-size composition and depositional environment of surface sediments in the Kubuqi Desert, China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Grain-size composition and depositional environment of surface sediments in the Kubuqi Desert, China Cheng XI, Hejun ZUO, Min YAN, Yu YAN This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4756345/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Sediments are the material basis for the development of eolian landscapes, and dune sediments contain key information about dune formation and development. The surface sediments of parabolic dunes, crescent dunes and chains, reticulate dune chains, compound dunes, ridge–honeycomb dunes, shrub-coppice dunes, and inter-dune lowlands in the Kubuqi Desert were studied. The grain-size parameters of dune sediments were measured, and their geographical patterns assessed. In the Kubuqi Desert, parabolic dunes contain the coarsest sediment and shrub-coppice dunes the finest. The average grain size of the overall surface sediment is 2.14–2.73 φ, with poor sorting, which is in the middle of the grain-size range compared with other deserts globally. The depositional environment of the Kubuqi Desert is dominated by eolian and flood deposition; the Yellow River, inland rivers, and seasonal alluvial-flood channels alter the dynamic conditions of the desert depositional environment. The major proximal material sources of surface sediments in the Kubuqi Desert are fluvial sediments remaining after Yellow River channel oscillation, fluvial alluvium and sediments in the Yellow River valley, remnant-slope deposits weathered from mountain bedrock, and stream-phase alluvial deposits in dry denuded uplands. The crescent dunes and chains and the compound dunes have a common sediment source. Kubuqi Desert Particle-size parameter Sedimentary environment Sediment source Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4756345","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":338225447,"identity":"7e87efe7-ffc3-4fc3-9a68-2963b6236d5a","order_by":0,"name":"Cheng XI","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Inner Mongolia Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Cheng","middleName":"","lastName":"XI","suffix":""},{"id":338225448,"identity":"e8947203-1537-47d7-9085-47fc20b7a08d","order_by":1,"name":"Hejun ZUO","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAo0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACNgaJCgk5fhK1nLEwlmwgSQtjW0XiBqK1yM9IPvbAcp4E4wYG5oePbhCjhXFGWrqB5DYJZnMGNmPjHGK0MEvkmEkAtbBZNvCwSROlhQ2sZY4Ej8EBYrXwgLU0SEgQr0WC51mahMQxCQPJZmL9It+efExaoqauvp+9+eFjorSAALMEmCRWOQgwfiBF9SgYBaNgFIw8AABjMSVg8NkADgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Inner Mongolia Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hejun","middleName":"","lastName":"ZUO","suffix":""},{"id":338225449,"identity":"94014bee-4b2b-4e56-9ede-0c59630dc838","order_by":2,"name":"Min YAN","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Inner Mongolia Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Min","middleName":"","lastName":"YAN","suffix":""},{"id":338225450,"identity":"fa30b2a3-adcb-4b50-b69a-3bb6e808fb23","order_by":3,"name":"Yu YAN","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Inner Mongolia Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yu","middleName":"","lastName":"YAN","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-07-17 12:45:43","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4756345/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4756345/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":79558246,"identity":"b01a8f62-351d-4c45-b607-4f8fb696b672","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-03-31 08:02:06","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1605945,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4756345/v1_covered_d0783abe-fe89-4871-af5b-d192f0bbe9f3.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Grain-size composition and depositional environment of surface sediments in the Kubuqi Desert, China","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Kubuqi Desert, Particle-size parameter, Sedimentary environment, Sediment source","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4756345/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4756345/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSediments are the material basis for the development of eolian landscapes, and dune sediments contain key information about dune formation and development. 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