Variation of Zr/Rb ratios on the Loess Plateau of Central China during the last 130000 years and its implications for winter monsoon

Abstract

To find a new index of winter monsoon without effects of chemical weathering and pedogenesis is an important task in loess research. Chemical analysis of five grain size fractions (i.e. >32 μm, 32–20 μm, 20–8 μm, 8–2 μm and <2 μm) show that Zr is enriched in coarser grain size, while Rb is concentrated in finer fractions. An excellent correlation occurs between Zr/Rb ratios and mean grain size in loess units (L1LL1 and L1LL2) from Huanxian and Xifeng sections, reflecting that Zr/Rb ratios increase when grain size is coarser. Due to immobility of the two elements during the postdepositional process, Zr/Rb ratios can eliminate the effect of weathering and pedogenesis and serve as an excellent proxy on winter monsoon variation. The Zr/Rb ratio curves of the Huanxian, Xifeng and Luochuan sections during the last 130000 years show that the winter monsoon strength was very weak during MIS 3, which corresponded to the intensity during MIS 5.