High resolution OSL dating of the late quaternary loess from Central Shandong Mountains in eastern China and the paleoclimatic implications

Abstract

The loess deposits widely distributed in the Central Shandong Mountains are significant terrestrial palaeoclimatic archives in the alluvial plain of eastern China. It is also sensitive records of East Asian monsoon changes for situating in a key region connected to the Eurasian plate and the Pacific Ocean. However, research into the climate changes in CSM loess is restricted by the lack of independent age control. High resolution samples of Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating results are presented from a new Heishan loess section over ~34 ka. Our results reveal the following: (1) The boundary age defined by the sedimentation rates model between the Pleistocene and the Holocene at Heishan loess section is 10.9±0.6 ka. (2) A marked hiatus in the record is identified between ~30 and ~17 ka, probably resulting from deflation; this has never been raised in previous CSM loess researches and indicates that the study area is the wind erosion area during this time. (3) The relatively rapid sedimentation rate spanning 10.9±0.6 to 8.5±0.4 ka may be related to the post-depositional disturbance induced by more monsoon precipitation in the CSM region.