Provenance differentiation and earth surface process of the Mu Us sandy land constrained by detrital zircon U–Pb dating

Abstract Understanding the provenance and sediment surface processes of the Mu Us sandy land (MU) is critical for comprehending aeolian deposits and dust transportation in inland Asia and the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). In this study, we analyzed the detrital zircon U–Pb ages in the sediments of the MU, together with the previously collected data from sediments in the Hobq desert and CLP. Our findings demonstrate that there is spatial heterogeneity in the sediment characteristics of the MU and Hobq regions, with noticeable differences between northeastern and southwestern areas. In addition, the northeastern part of the CLP displays significant dissimilarities from other regions of the CLP. The NE MU, Eastern Hobq, and NE CLP inherit the main characteristics of basement rocks from the Western North China Craton, with prominent age ranges of 1600–2200 Ma and 2200–2800 Ma, indicating that this region is likely more controlled by in-situ weathering and recycling. In contrast, the SW MU, West-Middle Hobq and most parts of CLP show multiple sources, with a higher proportion of 200–350 Ma and 350–600 Ma, reflecting that the aeolian deposits in this area may be associated with more frequent earth surface processes such as sand-driving winds and fluvial transport. Although all three regions are situated within the square bend of the Yellow River and under the prevailing winds direction, sediments in the first two areas appear to have a more mixed contribution of both local and distal sources. In contrast, deposits in the CLP region were primarily sourced from the northeast Tibetan Plateau via the upper Yellow River. This indicates a variation in dust sources from north to south and suggests that the MU is part of the same sedimentary system as the CLP, rather than its direct source.