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We present a new set of clay mineral and grain-size data for the siliciclastic sediment fraction from International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Site U1456 located in the eastern Arabian Sea to reconstruct the variabilities in the continental erosion and weathering intensity in the western Himalaya, elucidate the sediment source-to-sink processes and discuss the potential controls underlying these changes since 3.7 Ma. The clay minerals mainly consist of smectite (0–90%, average 44%) and illite (3–90%, average 44%), with chlorite (1–26%, average 7%) and kaolinite (0–19%, average 5%) as minor components. The compositional variations in the clay minerals at IODP Site U1456 suggest four phases of sediment provenance: the Indus River (phase 1, 3.7–3.2 Ma), the Indus River and Deccan Traps (phase 2, 3.2–2.6 Ma), the Indus River (phase 3, 2.6–1.2 Ma) and the Indus River and Deccan Traps (phase 4, 1.2–0 Ma). These provenance changes since 3.7 Ma can be correlated with variations in the Indian summer monsoon intensity. The siliciclastic sediments in the eastern Arabian Sea were mainly derived from the Indus River when the Indian summer monsoon was generally weak. In contrast, when the Indian summer monsoon intensified, the siliciclastic sediment supply from the Deccan Traps increased. In particular, this study shows that the smectite/(illite+chlorite) ratio is a sensitive tool for reconstructing the history of the variation in the Indian summer monsoon intensity over the continents surrounding the Arabian Sea since 3.7 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the phased evolution and variation of the South Asian monsoon and resulting weathering intensity and physical erosion in the Himalaya–Karakoram Mountains since late Pliocene time (c. 3.4 Ma) using a comprehensive approach. Neodymium and strontium isotopic compositions and single-grain zircon U–Pb age spectra reveal the sources of the deposits in the east Arabian Sea, and show a combination of sources from the Himalaya and the Karakoram–Kohistan–Ladakh Mountains, with sediments from the Indian Peninsula such as the Deccan Traps or Craton. We interpret shifts in the sediment sources to have been forced by sea-level changes that correlate with South Asian monsoon rainfall variation since late Pliocene time. We collected 908 samples from the International Ocean Discovery Program Hole U1456A, which was drilled in the east Arabian Sea. Time series of hematite content and grain size of the sediments were examined downcore. We found South Asian monsoon precipitation and weathering intensity experienced three phases from late Pliocene time. Lower monsoon precipitation, with a lower variability and strong weathering intensity, occurred during 3.4–2.4 Ma; an increased and more variable South Asian monsoon rainfall, along with strengthened but fluctuating weathering intensity, occurred at 1.8–1.1 Ma; and a reduced rainfall with lower South Asian monsoon precipitation variability and moderate weathering intensity marked the period 1.1–0.1 Ma. Maximum entropy spectral analysis and wavelet transform show that there were orbital-dominated cycles of periods c. 100 and c. 41 ka in these proxy-based time series. We propose that the monsoon, sea level, global temperature and insolation together forced the weathering and erosion in SW Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 1108.6 m long core was recovered at Site U1457 located on the Indus Fan in the Laxmi Basin of the eastern Arabian Sea during IODP Expedition 355. Shipboard examinations defined five lithologic units (I to V) of the lower Paleocene to Holocene sedimentary sequence. In this study, δ13C values of sedimentary organic matter (SOM) confirm the differentiation of the lithologic units and further divide units III and IV into two subunits (1 and 2). Based on the underlying assumption that the SOM is decided primarily by a mixture of marine and terrestrial origins, δ13CSOM values at Site U1457 provide information on the terrestrial catchment conditions since late Miocene time. Low δ13CSOM values from late Miocene to late Pleistocene times are similar (c. −22.0 ‰) for the most part, reflecting a consistent contribution of terrestrial organic matter from the catchment areas characterized by dominant C3 land plants. Significantly lower δ13CSOM values (c. −24.0 ‰) in Unit III-2 (∼8 to ∼7 Ma) might be due to a greater input of C3 terrestrial organic matter. The increase in δ13CSOM values at ∼7 Ma and the appearance of high δ13CSOM values (c. −18.0 ‰) within Unit III-1 (∼7 to ∼2 Ma) indicate that C4 biomass overwhelmed the terrestrial catchment environment as a result of enhanced terrestrial aridity in the Himalayan foreland. The three-end-member simple mixing model, estimating the relative contributions of SOM from terrestrial C3 and C4 plants and marine phytoplankton, supports our interpretation of the distribution of C3 and C4 land plants in the terrestrial catchment environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the microscopic mineral characteristics of modern eolian dust particulates and the trace-element compositions of the siliciclastic fractions of these samples, collected from the Philippine Sea in 2014 and 2015, and conducted an air mass backwards trajectory analysis of dust particulates in the spring and winter of 2015, to better constrain the provenances and transport dynamics of dust delivered to this region. The microscopic minerals show obvious signatures of dust deposition and physical abrasion, indicating long-distance wind transport from the Asian deserts. The trace-element compositions (Zr–Th–Sc) display a binary mixture of eolian materials derived from the eastern Asian deserts and the central Asian deserts, which is similar to the result of the Sr–Nd isotopic compositions of modern sediment trap sediments collected on the Benham Rise in 2015. We demonstrate that modern dust sediments in the Philippine Sea primarily originate from the Ordos Desert (generally > 80%), while the contributions of the Taklimakan Desert and the Badain Jaran Desert are small. Eolian dust particulates raised from source regions are predominantly transported to the Philippine Sea by the East Asian winter monsoon, but not by the westerlies. In addition, our results indicate that increased precipitation in the source regions can result in relatively low dust fluxes in the Philippine Sea, and there is a period of 6–7 days for eolian dust originating from source areas to be delivered to the Philippine Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A sediment core from the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) was analyzed for grain size and organic geochemistry parameters (TOC and δ13Corg). The results showed that high mean grain-size value and increased sand content were correlated with the high TOC and negative δ13Corg. These results indicated high river runoff in the PRE area. Peak river discharge occurred during the periods 1900–1750, 1500–1600, 1400–1200, 1000–900 and 750–600calyrBP. The main changes recorded in grain-size distributions, TOC contents, and δ13Corg variations appear to be directly related to monsoon precipitation in the sediment source area. An increased East Asian summer monsoon rainfall (EASM) and/or an enhanced East Asian winter monsoon rainfall could result in the increasing of monsoon rainfall. Typhoon related rainfalls could act as positive influence on precipitation levels. The study of the correlations between the rainfall records and ENSO activities revealed a close relationship between the monsoon rainfall in the PRE and the tropical Pacific variations. The frequent occurrence of ENSO might result in the southern migration of the EASM rain belt and lead to more typhoon-derived rainfall in the PRD during the late Holocene. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]