Recent progress of 10Be tracer studies in Chinese loess

Abstract

Studies of cosmogenic 10Be in Chinese loess began about twenty-five years ago and since then a number of research groups worldwide have contributed to a firm understanding of the production, transport, deposition and storage of 10Be in loess. The essential characteristics that make 10Be a useful isotopic tracer in loess, include: (1) dominant atmospheric production directly linked to the intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field; (2) climate-dependent deposition; and (3) subsequent immobility, so that as 10Be accumulates in a loess profile its stratigraphic integrity is preserved. This fact, combined with very high deposition rates in loess on the Chinese Loess Plateau, makes 10Be an especially valuable continental archive of paleoclimate and paleomagnetism, complementing marine and ice-core records. Here we provide in particular the most recent progress of 10Be tracer studies in Chinese loess, including the determination of the correct age of the Brunhes–Matuyama polarity reversal at 780±3ka B.P., in accord with marine and ice records, and quantitative reconstruction of 130-ka paleoprecipitation using 10Be from Chinese loess profiles.