Reinterpreting climate proxy records from late Quaternary Chinese loess: A detailed OSL investigation

Numerous authors have utilised physical properties of Chinese loess and red clay deposits to develop apparently detailed and continuous past climate records from the Miocene into the Holocene. Many of these studies have further suggested that the principal climatic agent responsible for the aeolian emplacement and diagenesis of Chinese loess, the East Asian Monsoon, has fluctuated rapidly on millennial to sub-millennial timescales, in concert with dramatic changes in the North Atlantic (Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles and Heinrich events) and the Western Pacific (El Niño Southern Oscillation). Much of this evidence is based on reconstructions and age models that are tied to assumptions concerning the nature of loess sedimentation and diagenesis, for example, the belief that loess sedimentation can be viewed as essentially continuous. Some authors have however, cast doubt on these assumptions and suggest that the application of radiometric techniques may be required to determine their validity. Recent studies utilising Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) methods have reinforced these doubts and here, OSL dates obtained at 10 cm intervals from three sites along a transect across the Chinese Loess Plateau have been used, in combination with climate proxy evidence, to test the existing assumptions that underpin many palaeoclimatic reconstructions from loess. In this way, the first time-continuous and independently dated late Quaternary climate reconstruction is developed from loess. The data indicate that sedimentation is episodic and that once emplaced, loess is prone to pedogenic disturbance, diagenetic modification and in some cases erosion. The relationships between proxies and sedimentation rates are also assessed and climatic interpretations based on different age models compared. The implications of these findings for reconstructions of climate from loess are explored and comparisons are made between the developed palaeoclimate records and evidence from ice and ocean cores. This exercise also highlights important information concerning the relative influence of forcing mechanisms behind East Asian Monsoon change over the late Quaternary.     

Glacial-interglacial changes in dust deposition on the Chinese Loess Plateau

The Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) contains an extensive record of aeolian deposition through multiple glacial–interglacial cycles. Independent chronologies based on pedostratigraphy, magnetic susceptibility, radiocarbon and luminescence dating were developed for 79 sites and used to estimate aeolian mass accumulation rates (MARs) for marine isotope stages 1–5. The regional median value of MAR for Stage 2 is 310 g/m²/yr compared to an estimate of 65 g/m²/yr for Stage 5. Estimated MARs from individual sites for Stage 2 are approximately 4.3 times greater than MARs for Stage 5 and 2.1 times greater than for Stage 1. MAR values at individual sites are consistently highest in the northwest and lowest in the southwest of the CLP during all marine isotope stages. MARs estimated on sections through loess terraces are consistently higher than MAR estimates at other sites, indicating that local recycling of loess material from exposed river valley deposits has been significant throughout the last 130 kyr. Although the spatial and temporal patterns in MAR are robust, there are uncertainties about the magnitude of these changes due to (a) lack of bulk density measurements and uncertainties in the chronologies for individual sites, (b) site and chronological biases in the sampling used to derive regional estimates, and (c) the unquantified nature of human impact on accumulation rates during the late Holocene. Nevertheless, the records from the CLP pose a number of challenges which could be addressed by numerical models of the palaeo-dust cycle.     

黄土高原黄土物源区的同位素证据

系统采集了黄土高原马兰黄土、河西走廊和青藏高原东北部黄土、河床沙和湖泥样品。用酸淋洗去除方解石后,黄土高原马兰黄土εNd(0)值从-9.2到-11.3,87Sr/86Sr比值从0.71784到0.71944,都落在同位素B区内,与青藏高原东北部、巴丹吉林沙漠和腾格里沙漠的值一致。黄土高原马兰黄土白云石的δ13C值从1.2‰到1.5‰,与青藏高原东北部和河西走廊黄土,巴丹吉林沙漠的白云石的值类似。这些表明青藏高原东北部、巴丹吉林沙漠和腾格里沙漠可能是黄土高原黄土的源区,从而排除了其他沙漠(古尔班通古特沙漠、塔克拉玛干沙漠、毛乌素沙漠、库布齐沙漠、浑善达克沙地、科尔沁沙地和呼伦贝尔沙地)作为黄土物源区的可能性。同位素研究结果和野外调查进一步揭示,黄土高原黄土、巴丹吉林沙漠和腾格里沙漠物质可能最终都是来源于青藏高原东北部。     

Combined tectonics and climate forcing for the widespread aeolian dust accumulation in the Chinese Loess Plateau since the early late Miocene

Currently mechanisms for the onset of the widespread aeolian dust accumulation in the Chinese Loess Plateau since 8–7 Ma remain elusive. In this study, we compile 11 records of climate (14–7 Ma) and tectonic activity of the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent areas (15–6 Ma). The results suggest that strong tectonic activity in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau has produced massive debris and dust, which was deposited in the piedmont basins and reworked by weathering and fluviolacustrine erosion. At the same time, global cooling and uplift of the Tibetan Plateau over the period of 14–7 Ma intensified the East Asian winter monsoon and westerly winds (westerlies) while weakening the Asian summer monsoon, which led to the spread of dry land vegetation and aridification in interior China. Sediments in the piedmont basins were then exposed in the aridity and transported by the westerlies to the Chinese Loess Plateau and the North Pacific. We suggest that tectonic activity in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and shifting global climate together triggered the widespread aeolian dust accumulation in the Chinese Loess Plateau and the North Pacific since 8–7 Ma.     

源区距离对黄土粒度多组分分布特征的影响

利用高分辨率激光粒度仪MS2000对陕西渭南、北京灵山、河南邙山等地大量黄土样品的粒度多组分分布特征进行了系统研究,总结了其多组分粒度分布及组分间差异特征并讨论了源区距离对黄土粒度多组分分布特征的影响。取得了以下认识：（1）黄土粉尘粒径以〈70μm的悬浮组分为主,其粒度由细、中、粗3个组分（中值粒径范围分别为〈1μm、1～10μm、10～70μm）构成,表现为多组分粒度特征。粗粒组分含量最高,峰形最明显。粗粒与中粒组分粒径与百分含量变化很大程度受控于源区距离变化。（2）不同地区黄土粉尘粒度差异明显,粗粒组分中值粒径随源区距离增加而减小,二者负相关;中粒组分百分含量随源区距离增加而增加,二者正相关。（3）粒度组分分离方法能够反映同一源区粒度的细微差异,显示其粒度组分分离的优越性。（4）理论推导了黄土粗粒组分的中值粒径与源区距离的关系并用实际拟合函数验证了其正确性。     

Microstructure characteristics and forming environment of late Quaternary Period loess in the Loess Plateau of China

Since the late Quaternary Period, the rapid rising of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau has greatly changed the East Asian climate and formed different regional monsoon climates. Various microstructures of the loess in northern China have formed under a variety of climatic conditions. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy spectrum analysis are used in this paper to study the relationship between the indexes of loess microstructures and the forming climates, and the indexes include the diameter of sand grains, Ca/Fe value and the characteristic shapes of the loess from SEM microstructures pictures. In terms of their respective climatic circumstances, the major microstructures of regional loess may be classified into nine categories according to their forms and particle sizes, such as loess formed in near-sand source, loess of granule sand dropping, and loess formed in hot and rainy places, i.e. with the loess SEM pictures, climates of about 15 ka b.p. in different places may be evaluated. In conclusion, the clear and distinguishable loess microstructures and their indexes in the Loess Plateau of China can also deduce the evolution of climate, such as warm or cold and wet or dry, and even sandstorm activities when the loess is deposited.     

河南邙山晚更新世黄土的环境记录

数十年来,黄土高原的古环境研究受到了高度重视并取得重大进展,但对其东南部的研究却相对较薄弱。     

A Late Quaternary Climate Record Based on Multi-Proxies Analysis from the Jiaochang Loess Section in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

We compared the stable carbon isotopic records from a loess transect of the Jiaochang in the eastern Tibetan Plateau, spanning the last ~21,000 years, with multiproxy data for pedogenesis, including magnetic susceptibility, clay fraction, Fed/Fet ratio, carbonate and total organic carbon content, in order to probe the mechanisms of δ13C values of organic matter and Late Quaternary climate variations in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Our results indicate that there is no simple relationship between δ13C of organic matter and summer monsoon variations. The change in δ13C values of organic matter (in accordance with the ratios of C3 to C4 plants) results from the interaction among temperature, aridity and atmospheric pCO2 level. Drier climate and lower atmospheric pCO2 level contribute to positive carbon isotopic excursion, while negative carbon isotopic excursion is the result of lower temperature and increased atmospheric pCO2 level. Additionally, our results imply that the Tibetan monsoon may play an important role in climate system in the eastern Tibet Plateau, which specifically reflects frequently changing climate in that area. The results provide new insights into the forcing mechanisms on both the δ13C values of organic matter and the local climate system.     

Optically stimulated luminescence dating as a tool for calculating sedimentation rates in Chinese loess: comparisons with grain-size records

Understanding loess sedimentation rates is crucial for constraining past atmospheric dust dynamics, regional climatic change and local depositional environments. However, the derivation of loess sedimentation rates is complicated by the lack of available methods for independent calculation; this limits interpretation of the environmental changes revealed by the loess record. In particular, while the Quaternary/Neogene Chinese loess and Red Clay sequences have the potential to provide detailed records of past sedimentation and climate change, there is great uncertainty concerning: (i) the influences on sediment grain‐size and accumulation; and (ii) their relationship through time and across the depositional region. This uncertainty has led to the widespread use of assumptions concerning the relationship between sedimentation rate and grain‐size in order to derive age models and climate reconstructions. To address this uncertainty, detailed independent age models, based on optically stimulated luminescence dating, undertaken at 10 to 40 cm intervals at five sections across the Loess Plateau in China, have been used to calculate sedimentation rates and make comparisons with grain‐size changes over the late Pleistocene and Holocene. The results demonstrate that sedimentation rates are site specific, extremely variable over millennial timescales and that this variation is often not reflected in grain‐size changes. In the central part of the Loess Plateau, the relationship between grain‐size and sedimentation rate appears most complex, suggesting an interplay between local conditions at source and sink and a changing emplacement mechanism. This observation further undermines the common use of loess sedimentation age models that rely on a derived relationship between grain‐size and sedimentation rate from a type section. The results also highlight the difficulty in assigning specific environmental causes to sedimentation rate changes and, to a lesser extent, grain‐size shifts.     

黄土高原西部上新统风成红粘土的微形态特征及其古环境意义

黄土高原中新统-上新统风成红粘土沉积序列是记录东亚季风演化和亚洲内陆干旱化历史的重要载体。红粘土沉积前可能存在相当程度的风化过程,准确区分物源区原生信号和沉积后次生成壤信号是红粘土古气候重建的基础。偏光显微镜下土壤微形态可直观反映沉积结构和成壤程度。本研究以黄土高原西部董湾剖面厚约73.7 m的中新统-上新统（7.1~3.52 Ma）红粘土及其中的钙积层为对象,在野外考察的基础上,对该剖面上部12 m厚度的红粘土进行详细的土壤微形态分析和扫描电镜观察,并与上覆第四纪黄土沉积对比。结果显示,大部分红粘土及碳酸钙淀积层中,光性定向粘土不显著,粘化程度低,次生碳酸盐及晶体沿根孔和裂隙分布,古土壤总体为中等或弱发育程度。部分红粘土层中存在粘粒胶膜或铁锰结核,指示土壤发育相对较强。碳酸钙的淋溶淀积形式和红粘土序列中普遍存在的铁锰胶膜,与红粘土的透水性差、裂隙发育、地形和地下水位波动等因素有关,与古气候之间的关系存在一定的不确定性。红粘土序列中水的参与度高于第四纪黄土,流水侵蚀和地下水位波动影响区域之间地层对比和红粘土理化性质,亟需综合多种研究手段更准确认识红粘土的古气候和古环境意义。

     

Sub-millennial scale variations in East Asian monsoon systems recorded by dust deposits from the north-western Chinese Loess Plateau

Previous work has demonstrated that magnetic properties and sediment particle size of Chinese loess deposits provide information on past behaviour of Chinese summer and winter monsoons, respectively (Heller and Evans, 1995; Derbyshire et al, 1997). It has been suggested that the East Asian winter monsoon system in particular is teleconnected on earth orbital and sub-orbital timescales to climatic states and events in high northern latitudes, especially northern hemisphere ice volume and Heinrich events, (Porter and An, 1995; Chen et al., 1997). However, the majority of this research has been performed around the central part of the Chinese Loess Plateau where the rate of dust accumulation is relatively low, thus limiting the potential resolution of palaeoclimatic records. Here we present a high resolution (5mm / ~20 yr interval) magnetic susceptibility record from an thick loess deposit located at Caoxian in the north-western part of the Loess Plateau. The record spans the “Lateglacial” (last glacial / interglacial transition) and when placed on a palaeomagnetic chronology shows a relationship with the GISP2 proxy air temperature record from Greenland (Grootes et al., 1993; Meese et al., 1994; Stuiver et al 1995). The results demonstrate that several Lateglacial climatic fluctuations previously reported in the North Atlantic region and in Europe are also recorded in China. In addition, the apparent absence of a signal corresponding to the Bølling Interstadial in China during the early deglaciation suggests that, at certain times, the apparent North Atlantic — Asian monsoon teleconnection may have collapsed. The demonstrated ability of the loess deposits to resolve sub-millennial scale climate variations points to their potential as a previously unexplored archive for very high-resolution studies of terrestrial climate.     

Calibration of modelled mixing patterns in loess grain-size distributions: an example from the north-eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China

Genetically meaningful decomposition (unmixing) of sediment grain-size distributions is accomplished with the end-member modelling algorithm. Unmixing of the loess grain-size distributions of a Late Quaternary loess–palaeosol succession from the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau indicates that the loess is a mixture of three end-members representing very fine sandy, coarse silty and medium silty loess. The unmixing approach potentially enables the unravelling of sediment fluxes from multiple dust sources, opening the way to significant advances in palaeoclimatic reconstructions from loess grain-size distribution data. However, as laser-diffraction size analysis is a volume-based technique, the proportional contributions of the modelled end-members might deviate (significantly) from weight proportions. Hence, calibration of the end-member volume proportions to weight proportions must be established before one can calculate the source-specific dust fluxes. This paper reports the findings of a sediment-mixing experiment which enables calibration of the modelled mixing patterns established for the Tibetan loess–palaeosol succession.     

A grain-size record from Beijing region in Northern China: Late Quaternary paleoclimate oscillation in response to global change

Numerous samples taken from one core at the Beijing plain were utilized to characterize the paleoclimatic configuration of the study area and its possible relation to global control since the last interglaciation. We presented here a detailed grain-size record for the full length of Late Pleistocene, along with the optical simulated luminescence (OSL) dating. Our findings revealed that Late Pleistocene of the study area started approximately at 110 ka B.P. represented by the thick sediments of 31 m in Changping depression. Four sedimentary cycles were outlined in the core during Late Pleistocene, corresponding to marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 to 2. Controlled by regional geology and global climatic setting, eight paleoclimatic periods were identified simultaneously in the study area on the time scale of 10⁴ year, with the warm and moist climate being found at 110 — 96, 92 — 76, 67 — 56, and 28 — 18 ka B.P.. The climatic instabilities on a millennial scale in Late Pleistocene were characterized largely by the occurrence of 6 strong Heinrich events shown by comparatively coarse groups. These variations correlate well with those documented in the GRIP Greenland and in the Northern Atlantic Ocean, though more complex features may exist on the long time scale.     

Impacts of grain size sorting and chemical weathering on the geochemistry of Jingyuan loess in the northwestern Chinese Loess Plateau

Major and trace elemental compositions of loess samples collected from the Jingyuan section in the northwestern Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) were analyzed to investigate the potential impacts of grain size sorting and chemical weathering on the loess geochemistry and to extract appropriate geochemical indices for better evaluating the East Asian monsoon variability. Based on variations of major and trace elements in different grain size fractions, seventeen elements were classified into three types: (1) Si and Na display higher contents with the increased particle sizes; (2) Al, Fe, Mg, K, Mn, Zn, Rb, Cr, V are mainly enriched in fine size fractions; (3) Ti, Ba, Zr, P, Ca and Sr show irregular variations among different size fractions. Comparison of Al-normalized elemental ratios with Zr/Rb and Rb/Sr ratios (two commonly employed indicators for grain size sorting and pedogenic weathering) indicates that Si/Al, Zr/Al, Ti/Al variations match well with Zr/Rb and grain size results, whilst Ca/Al, Sr/Al, P/Al ratios display similar variability as that of Rb/Sr ratio. Comparison of loess based proxies (e.g., elemental ratios, magnetic susceptibility, grain size) of Jingyuan section with speleothem and ice-core records confirms that elemental ratios of high-resolution loess sequences developed in the northwestern CLP can be employed to address fluctuations of the winter monsoon-induced grain size sorting and summer monsoon-related weathering and pedogenesis at glacial–interglacial and millennial timescales.     

黄土高原第四纪粉尘沉积速率的时空变化及其意义

本文系统地计算了黄土高原洛川、西峰、宝鸡、西安刘家坡、兰州九洲台、西宁大墩岭黄土剖面的粉尘沉积速率,发现粉尘沉积速率除随冰期、间冰期具有明显波动外,还呈现时间上由老向新的阶段性升高,空间上由西北向东南降低的总体趋势。第四纪以来,黄土高原粉尘沉积速率出现了几次异常增高的时期,它们与青藏高原隆起时段相吻合。距今约70万年,该区冬季风出现重大调整,冬季风风力明显的逐步增强,风向偏转到NW方向。粉尘沉积速率可作为我国冬季风强弱变化的较好指标。     

黄土高原黄土粒度的空间变化及其古环境意义

20世纪50~60年代,刘东生先生组织了黄河中游黄土区十条大断面（六纵四横）的野外考察和室内分析,从而证实了从西北到东南黄土粒度逐渐变细的现象,并划分出砂黄土、黄土和粘黄土带。从此,粒度成为黄土研究最基本、最重要的物理指标之一。时至今日,黄土粒度的古气候意义依然有待进一步明确。在前辈研究的基础上,我们对黄土高原57个S2以上剖面进行了详细调查和粒度分析,构建了典型冷暖时期粒度等值线。结果显示,无论是黄土还是古土壤,其粒度均从北向南变细,粒度等值线整体上呈现近东西向展布,表明粒度空间分异以南北向为主。地质记录综合对比显示,沉积区距物源区的距离变化对黄土粒度的影响是第一位的,冬季风风力变化的影响是第二位的。据此,我们构建了"黄土中值粒径-沉积区距源区最小距离"的模型。模型显示：距源区最小距离在400km以内为"快速分异区",粉尘沉积的粒度随搬运距离增加迅速变细,黄土高原黄土即在此区域;在400~2000km间为"缓慢分异区",粉尘粒度随搬运距离的增加缓缓变细,黄土高原新近纪红粘土即为典型代表;距源区2000km以上为粉尘沉积与搬运风力的"平衡区",粉尘粒度随搬运距离增加变化很小,深海粉尘沉积为典型代表。依据低空搬运的黄土"粒度-距离"模型推测的远距离（>2000km）搬运后的粉尘粒度为1~3μm,同高空搬运的北太平洋现代降尘和深海粉尘沉积粒度（2~4μm）非常吻合,表明该模型可能揭示了风力这样一种地质营力的内在动力学特征,这一点需要在今后研究中予以关注。     

青海湖地区晚第四纪黄土的物质来源

青海湖地区的晚第四纪黄土记录了湖区晚第四纪以来的环境和气候变化.迄今为止,对于青海湖地区晚第四纪黄土物质来源的研究较薄弱.以青海湖东岸的种羊场晚第四纪风成沉积剖面为主要研究对象,在青海湖区及其周边采集了黄土、风成砂、湖相沉积、河流沉积等样品,结合黄土高原西部临洮黄土样品,对它们的元素组成(＜75 μm的硅酸盐组分)进行了对比研究.初步结果表明:(1) K₂O/Al₂O₃(摩尔比)和Zr/Ti、Zr/Nb比值显示青海湖地区的风成沉积显著区别于本区的河流沉积和湖相沉积;(2) 青海湖地区的晚第四纪黄土与黄土高原西部临洮黄土的K₂O/Al₂O₃和Zr/Ti、Zr/Nb比值相一致;(3) 青海湖地区的晚第四纪黄土可能来自柴达木盆地.      

黄土高原晚上新世红粘土粒度的空间变化

对黄土高原由北到南 6个地点的晚上新世红粘土样品进行了常规粒度测量和化学提取的石英样的粒度测量。红粘土全样和石英样的平均粒径由偏北到南逐渐变细,粗颗粒含量也逐渐减少,表明红粘土可能是由偏北低空风而不是高空风搬运而来的。 3.6～ 2.6MaBP红粘土粒度与其上覆风成黄土粒度的空间变化具有可比性,但变化幅度较小.     

青藏高原与黄土高原毗邻地区晚更新世以来孢粉植物群及沉积环境

本文对青藏高原与黄土高原毗邻地区近20个剖面(点)的黄土沉积进行了孢粉分析表明,自晚更新世以来,研究区黄土剖面中古土壤层的孢粉种类、数量以及木本植物花粉成分均比黄土中多得多,反映了该时期研究区的气候条件比现今要温和湿润,植被较繁茂,以后逐渐旱化,但并不连续。此阶段研究区主要植物群的演替规律是:针叶林→森林草原→草原。