A Study on Elemental Geochemical Characters of the Wuwei Loess Section in the South Vicinity of Tengger Desert

Key words: 
• loess /
• elemental geochemistry /
• source area of loess material

Abstract: The elemental geochmical analysis results on 18 samples taken from a 115m thick loess sectionwhich is located in Wuwei on the south vicinity of Tengger Desert, showed that the 8 common elementaloxides make up 88.99 % of the material with a very narrow variable range, from 87.26 to 90.46 per cent,indicating the Similarity of the loess material in the whole section.The average weathering indices ex-pressed by the ratios of Fe ₂ O 3 /FeO and Al ₂ O ₃ /SiO 2 are 1.46 and 0.19, ranging from 1.02 to 2.86 and0.17 to 0.22, respectively.The average content of REE is 185.42 μ g /g, ranging from 169.31 to199.82 ^μ g /g and the REE distribution pattern is of a relatively big slope and obvious anomal and of Eu,in the reference with the ratio of LREE/HREE, which is 8.23 averagely, ranging from 7.38 to 9.60 andshowing a relatively stong fractionation which indicates a considerable degree of weathering.At thesametime, the indices of Eu /Sm, Sm /Nd, Nd /La,δ Eu andδ Ce proved that the loess materials of differentages are transported from a common source area that is similar to the typical loess in Loess Plateau.