Not only aeolian loess but also aeolian sand deposits have been widely utilized as key research objectives for reconstructing palaeoclimatic histories on Earth for a long time. In this presentation I would like to start by sharing my reflections of the exciting new results presented at the ICAR 2023 in Las Cruces in the session ‘Palaeoenvironments’. The talks of that session were focused mainly on study sites located in the USA, subantarctic islands, northern Africa, the Arabic Peninsula, the Europe and China, collectively providing a kind of global vision about current palaeoenvironmental research in drylands. And then I am going to talk about the likelihood and uncertainties in understanding ‘true’ accumulation rates in dated sections of aeolian sands. Aeolian sand sections are essential for understanding wind strength changes in drylands, but the deserts in western China have experienced probably a much more complex histories due to hydrological impacts from surrounding mountain ranges. Thus, a clear separation between aridity and wind strength remains often inconclusive in the areas of Chinese deserts and possibly in other parts of the world also. In addition, the fluvial and lacustrine sedimentary facies interbedded in the aeolian sections are more likely to be indications of the increase in wetness, providing vital evidence for testing reliabilities of palaeoclimatic simulation models which in turn help explain mechanisms of palaeoclimatic changes interpreted from geological evidence. In the current era of big data, studies based on classic theories and methods appears even more important than ever for a correct interpretation of palaeoclimates from the data deciphered from the potential landscape changes histories, as the cases studies in Chinese deserts indicate.
April 15 2024, at 3:00 PM Hangzhou/Beijing Time