The Loess in the Qinling Mountains and Its Records of Palaeoenvironmental Changes

The Fengzhou loess section is very typical in the Qinling Mountains. The section, which is about 82 m thick and underlain by Neogene red clays, consists of 33 layers of loess and 33 layers of palaeosol. It covers the Brunhes normal polarity zone and Matuyama reversed polarity zone, and the B/ M boundary is located in the middle part of loess layer 8 (L8). The loess of the Matuyama reversed polarity zone records the Jaramillo, Olduvai and Reunion normal polarity subchrons. The boundary between the Matuyama reversed polarity zone and Gauss normal polarity zone (M / Ga) appears on the lithological boundary between loess and Neogene red clays. Loess accumulation in the Fengzhou section started before 2.48 Ma B.P. Based on the stratigraphical structure, the material composition and magnetic susceptibility curve of the Fengzhou loess section, the palaeoclimatic changes during the last 2.48 Ma in the Qinling Mountains are subdivided into 66 cold-dry and warm-humid stages, equivalent to 33 climatic cycles. The above climatic fluctuations agree very well with those of the oxygen isotopic records from deep-sea deposits.