Environmental reconstruction potentials of Loess-Paleosol-Sequences in Kashmir through high-resolution proxy data

Abstract

Loess Paleosol Sequences (LPS) are valuable archives of climatic and environmental change in terrestrial systems and contribute to local and global dust systems. Due to their widespread occurrence across continents, LPS are well suited to study the interface of climate subsystems, on different time scales. Yet, high-resolution investigations of LPS have been mainly performed in Europe, East Asia and North America. In contrast, other loess-covered areas are less intensively studied, and low sampling resolution often limits the assessment of the full potential of these paleo-environmental archives. This is particularly true for LPS in the Kashmir region, where competing monsoonal- and continental climate subsystems in Southern Asia interact. In this study, we test the potential of the Wanihama LPS in the northern fringe of the Kashmir Valley to reflect climatic- and paleo-environmental variability between- and within stratigraphic units. For this, we present the stratigraphic log of the section and contribute a high-resolution (2 cm interval) dataset comprising rock-magnetic parameters, grain size- and colorimetric data for the Wanihama LPS in Kashmir. Overall, our multi-proxy-study supports the stratigraphy to different degrees. Classic climate-driven magnetic enhancement in paleosols is evident, despite possible waterlogging effects through monsoonal influences. Our results highlight the potential of LPS in Kashmir and illustrate the need for reliably dated logs with proxy data in a high resolution, to i) validate the LPS in the context of paleo-environmental and climatic studies, and to ii) establish a correlative framework for LPS across Kashmir and beyond. Once high-resolution proxy data are available for long and continuous LPS in Kashmir, we will be able to gain a better understanding of interactions between climate sub-systems in the context of oscillating supra-regional climate systems in Southern Asia.