Natural versus anthropogenic sources and seasonal variability of insoluble precipitation residues at Laohugou Glacier in northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

This study employs the grain size distributions and the concentrations and isotopic compositions of Sr, Nd, and Pb in the precipitation samples collected from the Laohugou Glacier (LHG) in northeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP) during August 2014–2015 to investigate seasonal variability in the insoluble precipitation particle sources. Fine dust particle (0.57–27 μm) depositions dominated in autumn and winter, whereas both fine and coarse dust particle (27–100 μm) depositions were found in spring and summer. Furthermore, the concentrations of Sr, Nd, and Pb also varied seasonally—the highest and lowest Sr and Nd concentrations were recorded in spring and autumn, respectively, whereas the highest and lowest Pb concentrations were recorded in winter and summer, respectively. The Sr and Nd isotopes revealed that the dust in the winter precipitation originated predominately from the Taklimakan Desert and that in spring originated from the Badain Jaran and Qaidam deserts. The precipitation residues in summer were derived from a complex mixture of dust sources from the Gobi and other large deserts in northwest China. Autumn residues were predominately sourced from local soil near the LHG as well as from the Qaidam Basin and the northern TP surface soil. The Taklimakan, long suspected as a major source of long-range transported dust, was an insignificant contributor to the precipitation over LHG during spring, summer, and autumn. Further, the Pb isotopic ratios indicated a primary impact of anthropogenic pollutants for most part of the year (except spring). Meteorological data and the MODIS AOD model are in good agreement with the results from the analyses of the Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopes for the LHG particle source, and further clarify the source regions. Thus, this study thus provides new evidence on the seasonal variability of the sources of the residual particles in remote glaciers in Central Asia.