Where Does Loess Come From?
Loess deposits require 1) a large source area arid enough to create aeolian particles and 2) atmospheric circulation sufficiently energetic to carry the particles from originating places to points of deposition. For many years, the most commonly accepted explanation for the formation and distribution of loess was from subglacial grinding processes, followed by redistribution and deposition by the wind. Thus, the large expanses of loess in central Europe were considered to result from Quaternary glaciation (began about 2 million years ago). The new view suggested by Whalley, Marshall and Smith in 1982, among others, is that loessic silt may also originate as the product of processes in deserts, wherein fine silt (2-6 microns in diameter) may be produced in large quantities by the abrasion of quartz grains. (3) Experiments showed that indeed desert Aeolian processes can produce loess. The researchers who performed this work concluded that the Gobi desert produced the Chinese Loess Platea
