Magnetic proxy climate results from the Duanjiapo loess section, southernmost extremity of the Chinese loess plateau

Abstract

We report mineral magnetic results from a 7.5 m loess sequence (150 samples) from the southernmost extremity of the Chinese loess plateau (which includes the last two glacial cycles). In this area the loess sediments experienced particularly intense weathering processes. The magnetic assemblage is dominated by a mixture of pseudo-single domain (PSD) and multidomain (MD) magnetite with associated superparamagnetic (SP) grains of either magnetite or maghemite in the paleosols and weathered loess horizons. All the rock magnetic parameters fluctuate in parallel with marine sediment δ18O data over the last 150Kyr, thus reflecting changing global paleoclimatic conditions. This relationship is also supported by the evidence of Milankovitch cycles in the magnetic susceptibility record. Paleorainfall estimates, when compared with other studies from the Chinese loess plateau, underline the (more) humid character of this region during the last ~130 kyr.