Influence of transport mechanism on playa sequences, late Pleistocene-Holocene period in Jazmurian Playa, southeast Iran

• Published in: Arabian journal of geosciences 2022, Vol.15 (7), Article 653
• Main Authors: Zandifar, Samira, Tavakoli, Vahid, Vaezi, Alireza, Naeimi, Maryam, Naderi Beni, Abdolmajid, Sharifi-Yazdi, Masoud, Routh, Joyanto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Allochthonous deposits; Aluminum; Analysis; Archives; Aridity; Carbonates; Climate; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth science; Earth Sciences; Electron microscopy; Grain size; Holocene; Inland waters; Lakes; Minerals; Organic materials; Original Paper; Oxidation; Playas; Pleistocene; Scanning electron microscopy; Sediment; Sediment transport; Sediments; Silicon; Surface properties; Transition zone; Valence; Zirconium
• ISSN: 1866-7511; 1866-7538
• DOI: 10.1007/s12517-022-09918-2

Inland basins such as lakes and playas are promising sedimentological archives for recording paleoenvironmental conditions. In this study, a 5-m long sediment core from Jazmurian Playa in southeast Iran was investigated to understand the transport mechanism and palaeohydrological conditions in this region from the late Pleistocene to Holocene. Grain size analysis, total organic materials, calcimetry, elemental analysis, 14 C-age dating, and scanning electron microscopy were used for this purpose. The core was divided into 8 zones (Jaz-A to H) based on macroscopic, sedimentological, and geochemical characteristics. Si and Al represented as fine-grained particles were considered as allochthonous inputs into the playa. Comparing carbonate content and size analysis of the grains, it was demonstrated that carbonate particles are terrigenous and have been transported to the basin. Total organic materials of the samples were used to infer the transporting and environmental energies as well as oxidation state of the depositional setting. The presence of Ti and Zr indicated dry conditions, whereas Rb indicated wet conditions. The alternation of wet and dry conditions in the region was evident from the different forms of sediment transport mechanisms and deposition. Windy, arid, and calm conditions were dominant from the base of the core to the 11.45 ky BP. This condition was inferred based on the low Rb and high Ti and Zr, grain surface characteristics (based on scanning electron microscopy imaging), and presence of evaporative minerals. The climate was relatively wet ca. 11.45 to 10.6 ky BP which was deduced from high Ca, Si, and total organic materials. From 10.6 to 3.5 ky BP, a transition zone from wet to dry climate was dominant in the basin. The sediments in the playa were transported mainly by the wind under dry conditions at the topmost interval of the studied core.