Geochemistry of inorganic bulk sediment and end-members measurements of eolian dust in the East Asian Monsoon and aridification of Asia

We reconstruct the provenance of aluminosilicate sediment deposited in Ulleung Basin, Japan Sea, over the last 12 Ma at Site U1430 drilled during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 346. Using multivariate partitioning techniques (Q-mode factor analysis, multiple linear regressions) applied to the major, trace and rare earth element composition of the bulk sediment, we identify and quantify four aluminosilicate components (Taklimakan, Gobi, Chinese Loess and Korean Peninsula), and model their mass accumulation rates. Each of these end-members, or materials from these regions, were present in the top-performing models in all tests. Material from the Taklimakan Desert (50–60 % of aluminosilicate contribution) is the most abundant end-member through time, while Chinese Loess and Gobi Desert components increase in contribution and flux in the Plio-Pleistocene. A Korean Peninsula component is lowest in abundance when present, and its occurrence reflects the opening of the Tsushima Strait at c. 3 Ma. Variation in dust source regions appears to track step-wise Asian aridification influenced by Cenozoic global cooling and periods of uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. During early stages of the evolution of the East Asian Monsoon, the Taklimakan Desert was the major source of dust to the Pacific. Continued uplift of the Tibetan Plateau may have influenced the increase in aeolian supply from the Gobi Desert and Chinese Loess Plateau into the Pleistocene. Consistent with existing records from the Pacific Ocean, these observations of aeolian fluxes provide more detail and specificity regarding the evolution of different Asian source regions through the latest Cenozoic.