Climate fluctuation on a kiloyear scale during the Late Last Glacial in Mu Us Desert,China: evidence from Rb and Sr contents and ratios

The MGS2 segment of the Milanggouwan stratigraphical section in China’s Salawusu River Valley records 5.5 sedimentary cycles consisting of dune sands alternating with fluviolacustrine facies or/and palaeosols. The high Rb and Sr contents and low Rb/Sr ratios in the fluviolacustrine facies indicate the presence of a warm and humid climate, and vice versa for a dry and cold climate. Rb and Sr appeared to have 5.5 element cycles that are consistent with the sedimentation changes, and each cycle lasts about 2 ka on average. This study suggests that the observed cycles mainly resulted from variations in the strength of the East Asian winter and summer monsoons, and the MGS2 segment experienced six cold-dry winter monsoons and five warm-humid summer monsoons during the OIS2. In addition, the millennial-scale monsoonal climate fluctuations revealed by the element cycles corresponded well with the Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles recorded in the Greenland ice cores and Heinrich events in the North Atlantic marine sediments. Therefore, the monsoonal climate fluctuations revealed by the Rb and Sr in the MGS2 segment were likely triggered by global climate change.