Reconstruction of past environmental conditions predominated on Daranjir playa based on analysis of nebkhas sediment data

Research on ancient and recent global environmental change has mainly been based on natural records, such as those preserved in ice cores, loess deposits, tree rings, corals, stalagmites, and deep-sea and lake sediments (Li et al, 2014). These records have been used to reconstruct the Earth’s past climate, environment, and ecological history (Zhou, 2006). However, in the arid and semi-arid desert regions that are an important part of Earth’s system, the difficulty in finding highresolution natural records has made research on environmental changes in these regions lag behind research in other areas (Xia, 2005). Nebkhas are fixed aeolian landform which are formed around Shrubs and trees in dry and semiarid areas as a result of the aggregation of aeolian sediments (Cooke et al, 1993). The unique developmental and depositional characteristics of nebkhas make them ideal carriers of proxies that can be used to study late-Holocene regional aeolian activity, the alternation between dry and wet conditions, hydrological characteristics, the ecological environment, and their evolution in arid and semi-arid desert regions (Wang et al, 2004; Hesp and Mclachlan, 2000; Wolf et al, 2000 )

In the first step, according to satellite google earth images and field observations an area with a dimension of 400 * 400 meters was specified. In the next step, the existing Nebkhas near the specified area whose vegetation was at least covering between 85 to 95 percent of the deposits were numbered. Then, through MATLAB and Random order, four Nebkhas were randomly selected. In the following stage morphometric parameters such as the height, width, Length, and the height of the Shrubs was measured. Afterwards, using field instruments, the nebkha selected for intensive analysis was excavated from its crest to its base, and sediments were sampled at 5-cm intervals throughout the profile. Overall, 79 samples from 4 Nebkhas were taken and transferred to the geomorphology laboratory for the purpose of determining organic matter and geain size of the sediments. To determine the grain size of the sediments hydrometric and granulometric methods were employed. The geain size results were analyzed in GRADISTAT4.0 and RockWorks software with Folk (1954) method. The measurement of organic matter in this study was done according to loss on ignition (LOI) method when the samples were heated at 550 °C for 2 h (Qiang et al, 2013).

The results of analyzing the organic matter of the Nebkhas’ sediments show that despite the fact the content of the organic matter during the formation of Nebkhas showed a significant change, the content of the organic matter of lower layers’ Nebkhas was higher compared to other layers, indicating a drier environmental condition after the formation of Nebkhas. The findings of the geain size of sediments show that although the threshold speed of past winds had some fluctuations in the studied area, in the upper layers of all Nebkahs a significant aggregation of higher than 250 micron sediments was observed. The findings obtained from the fluctuations of the relative speed of wind threshold based on the diameter of sediment particles in the studied area demonstrated that the size of different particles in the layers of Nebkhas of the studied area show the fluctuation of wind energy when the Nebkhas were formed.

The results of organic matter showed that in the initial stages of the formation of Nebkhas, the studied area had a suitable condition regarding the amount of water for the growth  Shrubs which cover Nebkhas but in the course of time the aridity level of the area increased. Moreover, the findings of geain size of the sediments suggested that the aggregation particles which were larger than 250 microns in the upper layers of the nebkhas was the result of human activities such as abandoning farm lands and withering of palm trees. As a result, the threshold speed decrease of wind erosion and deflation of larger particles has occurred in the studied area. In sum, the findings showed that the studied Nebkhas are relatively exact proxies which can provide us with significant insights with regard to environmental changes in the area.