Grain size characteristics of different types of surface sediments around Qixing Lake in Kubuqi Desert

Abstract

Sediment grain size characterization is one of the main components of wind-sand geomorphology research. The distribution and form of grain size parameters of different types of sediments were calculated using six surface types of sediments around Qixing Lake in the Kubuqi Desert: Mobile dune(MD), Semi-fixed dune(SFD), Fixed dune(FD), Lakeshore terrace(LST), Wetland(WL) and Grassy flat wetland(GFW). The results showed that the surface sediments around Qixing Lake in Kubuqi Desert were mainly composed of medium sand and fine sand, and all of them were negatively skewed. The plant measures altered sediment transport and deposition patterns, and the trend of changes in medium sands was influenced by vegetation measures to the greatest extent, followed by pink sands. The state of movement of suspended material is the main factor leading to the negative bias of sediments, and the percentage of contribution of suspended components in lakeshore terraces, wetlands, and Grassy flat wetlands (total average 21.07%) is more than twice as much as that of mobile dunes, semifixed dunes, and fixed dunes (total average 9.47%), which suggests that mobile dunes, semifixed dunes, and fixed dunes are not the main contributing surface type of suspended material in the Qixing Lake area of the Kubuqi Desert.