Abstract
Eighteen samples of soil from six areas in three desert regions of China were subjected to X-PIXE and X-ray diffraction analysis. The samples were composed mainly of quartz, feldspar group minerals and calcite. The quartz content differed remarkably depending on the sampling area. Fourteen elements were detected and determined in almost all samples. The concentration ratio Mn/Fe ranged from 0.018 to 0.027 and was almost the same as those values reported previously for airborne mineral dusts and desert soils. Other ratios such as Al/Fe, Si/Fe, K/Fe and Ca/Fe also were in the ranges of the previously reported values for the dusts and soils. Of these ratios, Si/Fe and Ca/Fe showed clear differences among the source regions of soil samples, and it is suggested that these differences can be useful to identify the source region of soil specimens.
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