Heavy mineral characteristics of the loess deposits in the Eastern Songnen Plain: Implication for sediment provenance

Lots of loess sediments, mostly located at the Eastern Songnen Plain, have been deposited through the whole Quaternary period. In order to determine their sources, samples were collected from a number of representative areas, such as the dust loess, river sediment of the Songhua River and the Horqin sandy land. Heavy mineral assemblage analysis of these samples shows that the dust samples share a consistent character, which is similar to the Songhua River's sediments'. In contrast, there is a big difference between the dust samples and the Horqin'. Heavy minerals assemblage from Eastern Songnen Plain dust loess compatible with a dominant source in the nearby river sediments and the weathered granitoid of the Songhua River drainage basin, such as the Hinggan Mountains and Eastern mountains, with additional minor contributions from the Horqin sandy land or the distal dust source.