Abstract
Abstract Be isotope profiles in a 17.4 m, 0–500 ka, loess–paleosol sequence at Rangitatau East (Wanganui, New Zealand) provide the first Southern Hemisphere comparison for data from the Chinese Loess Plateau and, in addition, offer new insights into the provenance and diagenetic history of the loess. The average 10 Be concentration in the sequence, 1.6×10 9 atoms g −1 , is about twice that of Chinese loess, probably due to higher rainfall (and hence higher 10 Be depositional flux) in the detrital source area. Both 10 Be and 9 Be appear to be relatively immobile on a 500 kyr time scale. Most of the 10 Be is associated with material transported to the depositional site, with only a small proportion added later via wet precipitation. 10 Be concentrations in the loess are similar to those in dunesands at the base of the sequence, indicating a local provenance of recycled marine sediments and soils transported by rivers onto the exposed seabed during glacial periods. A negative correlation between 10 Be/ 9 Be and δ 18 O suggests that these periods were relatively arid compared with the present, if somewhat wetter than the source area for Chinese loess.
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