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The Tian Shan is a typical active intracontinental orogenic belt that is driven by the ongoing indentation of India into Eurasia. However, the geological features of Quaternary deformation, especially in the easternmost sector near Harlik Mountain, remain elusive. Field observations, topographic analysis, and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating were employed to comprehensively assess the deformation features and evaluate the deformation pattern for this region during the Quaternary period. The results disclose evidence of deformation in the northern and southern foreland basins of Harlik Mountain. In the Barkol Basin to the north, crustal shortening results in the formation of surface scarps and folds, indicating north-directed thrusting, with a shortening rate of ~0.15 mm/yr. In the Hami Basin, the north-directed thrust elevates the granites, which offset the alluvial fans, with a shortening rate of ~0.18 mm/yr. Together with the shortening along the boundary fault, the aggregated north–south shortening rate is approximately 0.69 mm/yr in the easternmost Tian Shan, corresponding with the differential motion rate between the north and south Harlik Mountain revealed by the GPS velocity. These findings imply that, distal to the collision zone, tectonic strain in the eastern Tian Shan is primarily accommodated through the reactivation of pre-existing strike–slip faults, with crustal shortening concentrated at the overlapping position of parallel northeast-trending left-lateral strike–slip faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dust plays an important role in climate, and while our current representation of dust production includes shifts in vegetation, soil moisture, and ice cover, it does not account for the role of landscape evolution. Here, we use the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled to an aerosol chemistry model to quantify the effects of arid landscape evolution on boundary layer conditions, dust production, and radiative properties in the Hami Basin, China, a dynamic stony desert in eastern Asia. Relative to today, altered surface roughness, sediment erodibility, and albedo combine to produce up to a ~44% increase in wind speeds (mean ≈ 15%), up to a ~59% increase in dust loading (mean ≈ 30%), and up to a ~4.4 W m−2 increase in downwelling radiation (mean ≈ 2.4 W m−2) over the Hami Basin. Our modeling results, along with geomorphological data for the western Gobi Desert, provide evidence that stony deserts acted as important Plio‐Pleistocene dust sources. Plain Language Summary: Dust from the breakdown of rocks and minerals plays an important role in Earth's atmosphere by absorbing or scattering incoming solar radiation, and by seeding clouds. Once deposited, iron‐rich dust can fertilize surface ocean waters and terrestrial soils for the growth of organisms, making dust important in the global carbon cycle. Because of its role in modifying Earth's climate, we must accurately understand ancient dust production. To test the hypothesis that past changes in dust production impacted climate, we altered the surface properties of the western Gobi Desert, a location that had a very different landscape thousands to millions of years ago, and simulated changes in wind and dust using a regional climate model. We found that this area would have experienced increased wind speeds by up to ~40%, increased dust loading by up to ~60%, and substantially altered incoming solar radiation in response to land surface evolution. Key Points: In arid regions, consideration of landscape evolution is necessary to accurately reconstruct dust production and regional climateWe use a regional climate model to quantify the effect of arid landscape evolution on dust production in the Hami Basin, ChinaRepresentative Plio‐Pleistocene surface conditions lead to enhanced winds and dust production in the Hami Basin relative to today [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]