Soil Voids Evolution in Aeolian Deposited Strata: Insights From Chinese Loess Plateau

Abstract Loess in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) is a representative of aeolian sediments worldwide. It contains high volumes of voids which results in unique soil properties, yet the voids evolution in CLP remains unexplored. Here we identify that loess strata in CLP have higher void ratios ( e ) compared to other typical aeolian, glacial, alluvial, and residual sediments on a global scale. In a given profile, void ratio decreases with continuous gravity stress ( σ v ) accumulation, satisfying a linear sedimentary compression line (SCL) in e ‐log 10 σ v space. For voids evolution in CLP, the variation of SCLs reveals that void ratios first increase and then decrease from northwest to southeast across the plateau. After eliminating the stress effect, we demonstrate strong correlations among void ratio, magnetic susceptibility, particle size distribution and bonding material content of loess, and identify the critical particle size distribution to achieve the highest void ratio. This research enriches aeolian sedimentation theory and brings potential for breakthroughs in accurate prediction of loess mechanical and hydraulic properties with physical indices. It also provides a soil voids basis for interdisciplinary understanding of soil ecological function and geological processes in CLP.