Drill core Uranium and Neodymium isotopic constraints on the provenance of the Mu Us dune field, northern China

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that sediments derived from the northeastern Tibetan Plateau are potential sources for the western Mu Us dune field in northern China. However, this hypothesis conflicts with the (²³⁴U/²³⁸U) activity ratios and Nd isotopic values of the modern western Mu Us dune field. Here, we measured the (²³⁴U/²³⁸U) activity ratios and Nd isotopic values of two late Quaternary drill core samples from the western Mu Us dune field. The results align with the ranges observed in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau-derived upper Yellow River samples, confirming that these sediments are a likely source for the western Mu Us dune field during periods unaffected by human activity. This finding underscores the role of aeolian-fluvial interactions in shaping the dryland landscape of northern China. We suspect that the modern Mu Us dune field samples may have been affected by factors like human activities so inferences of sedimentary provenance based solely on modern samples should be cautious.