Variation in dustfall on the western Chinese Loess Plateau

Dustfall samples from the western Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) were collected from 2013 to 2016 at Jiuzhoutai for dustfall variation analysis. Results showed that the seasonal dustfall variations were non-significant in the region, indicating dustfall sources with inconsistent patterns largely contributed to the modern loess formation. The average rate of loess accumulation was approximately 0.34 mm/year, which is much higher compared to the other periods of the Holocene. In addition, the lack of regular patterns of dustfall contents in the coarse fraction (> 50 mu m in diameter) indicates a proximal source with crustal origins, which is a dominant source for the modern loess. From 2013 to 2016, the dustfall from crustal origins increased by approximately 19%, and among those collected dustfall, approximately 24% came from pollutants, indicating that anthropogenic activities such as industrial pollutants and vehicle emissions played an important role in modern loess accumulation.