The loess record in southern Tajikistan and correlation with Chinese loess

Abstract

In the present study, the Chashmanigar loess–soil sequence in southern Tajikistan is studied; this loess section has a paleomagnetic basal age of about 1.77 Myr. Magnetic susceptibility, color reflectance and grain size were systematically measured for closely spaced samples from the section. Paleosols consistently have a finer grain size distribution, higher magnetic susceptibility, redder color reflectance and lower dust sedimentation rate than loess horizons, suggesting a colder, drier and dustier environment during glacial periods than in interglacial periods. The grain size record was tuned to variations in obliquity and precession of the Earth’s orbit. The resulting magnetic susceptibility, grain size and color reflectance time series all show well-expressed astronomical periodicities during the Pleistocene. The mid-Pleistocene climate transition, characterized by a shift of dominant climatic periods from 41 kyr to 100 kyr at about 1.0–0.8 Myr, is clearly documented in these proxy records. Comparison of the Chashmanigar loess record with the Lingtai loess section in China and the ODP site 677 δ 18O record shows that during the entire Pleistocene, the climate cycles recorded by the Central Asian loess can be well correlated to the Chinese loess and deep-sea oxygen isotope records. It is suggested that alternations of loess and soil horizons both in Central Asia and China could be basically forced by global ice volume variations, although different wind systems have controlled the Pleistocene loess transport and sedimentation in the two areas.