Loess Section Research Articles

Geochemistry and mineralogy of late Quaternary loess in the upper Mississippi River valley, USA: Provenance and correlation with Laurentide Ice Sheet history

The midcontinent of North America contains some of the thickest and most extensive last-glacial loess deposits in the world, known as Peoria Loess. Peoria Loess of the upper Mississippi River valley region is thought to have had temporally varying glaciogenic sources resulting from inputs of sediment to the Mississippi River from different lobes of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Here, we explore a new method of determining loess provenance using K/Rb and K/Ba values (in K-feldspars and micas) in loess from a number of different regions in North America. Results indicate that K/Rb and K/Ba values can distinguish loess originating from diverse geologic terrains in North America. Further, different loess bodies that are known to have had the same source sediments (using other criteria) have similar K/Rb and K/Ba values. We also studied three thick loess sections in the upper Mississippi River valley region. At each site, the primary composition of the loess changed over the course of the last glacial period, and K/Rb and K/Ba values parallel changes in carbonate mineral content and clay mineralogy. We thus confirm conclusions of earlier investigators that loess composition changed as a result of the shifting dominance of different lobes of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and the changing course of the Mississippi River. We conclude that K/Rb and K/Ba values are effective, robust, and rapid indicators of loess provenance that can be applied to many regions of the world.

The Crvenka loess-paleosol sequence: A record of continuous grassland domination in the southern Carpathian Basin during the Late Pleistocene

In this study, we compare two independent paleoenvironmental proxies for a loess sequence in northern Serbia, in the southern Carpathian Basin: novel n-alkane biomarkers and traditional land snail assemblages. Both are associated with other, more widely used proxy data for loess sections, such as environmental magnetism, grain size, and geochemical indices. Together, these paleoenvironmental proxy records provide evidence for the continued dominance of grasslands during the Late Pleistocene in the Southern Carpathian Basin. It is contrary to other European loess provinces, which are characterized by high diversity of Late Pleistocene environments (ranging from tundra-like to deciduous forest habitats). These findings highlight the southeastern part of Carpathian Basin as an important, but still insufficiently investigated, biogeographical refugium, and biodiversity preservation zone. The reason for this is a mostly stable paleoclimate for much of the Late Pleistocene.

A paleomagnetic record in loess\u2013paleosol sequences since late Pleistocene in the arid Central Asia

Geomagnetic excursions during Brunhes epoch have been brought to the forefront topic in paleomagnetic study, as they provide key information about Earth’s interior dynamics and could serve as another tool for stratigraphic correlation among different lithology. Loess–paleosol sequences provide good archives for decoding geomagnetic excursions. However, the detailed pattern of these excursions was not sufficiently clarified due to pedogenic influence. In this study, paleomagnetic analysis was performed in loess–paleosol sequences on the northern piedmont of the Tianshan Mountains (northwestern China). By radiocarbon and luminance dating, the loess section was chronologically constrained to mainly the last c.130 ka, a period when several distinct geomagnetic excursions were involved. The rock magnetic properties in this loess section are dominated by magnetite and maghemite in a pseudo-single-domain state. The rock magnetic properties and magnetic anisotropy indicate weakly pedogenic influence for magnetic record. The stable component of remanent magnetization derived from thermal demagnetization revealed the presence of two intervals of directional anomalies with corresponding intensity lows in the Brunhes epoch. The age control in the key layers indicates these anomalies are likely associated with the Laschamp and Blake excursions, respectively. In addition, relative paleointensity in the loess section is basically compatible with other regional and global relative paleointensity records and indicates two low-paleointensity zones, possibly corresponding to the Blake and Laschamp excursions, respectively. As a result, this study suggests that the loess section may have the potential to record short-lived excursions, which largely reflect the variation of dipole components in the global archives.

Climate change in arid central Asia since MIS 2 revealed from a loess sequence in Yili Basin, Xinjiang, China

K-feldspar pIRIR dating was used to establish a chronological framework for the KS15-05 loess section in the Yili Basin, northern Xinjiang Province, China, in arid central Asia. The reliability of the dating results was verified from the luminescence characteristics and internal checks. The chronology was used to calculate mass accumulation rates (MARs) for the section and the paleoclimatic proxies of grain size and magnetic susceptibility were also analyzed. The high dust accumulation patterns during the last glacial maximum in Yili Basin are consistent with those of the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). On a millennial-scale, the Bølling-Allerød (B/A) interstadial is clearly reflected in the KS15-05 section by the variation of the 2–10 μm grain-size fraction, suggesting the influence of the Westerlies which dominate the modern atmospheric circulation of the region. However, the B/A interstadial is poorly recorded in grain-size records of the CLP and this disparity may provide additional information about the nature of the transmission of climate signals from the North Atlantic region to Asia. Specifically, the zonal transmission of the B/A warm signal to the CLP may have been obscured by the cooling effect of High-latitude cold air to the north of the CLP.

Fe-oxide mineralogy of the Jiujiang red earth sediments and implications for Quaternary climate change, southern China

Diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry (DRS) is a new, fast, and reliable method to characterize Fe-oxides in soils. The Fe-oxide mineralogy of the Jiujiang red earth sediments was investigated using DRS to investigate the climate evolution of southern China since the mid-Pleistocene. The DRS results show that hematite/(hematite + goethite) ratios [Hm/(Hm + Gt)] exhibit an upward decreasing trend within the Jiujiang section, suggesting a gradual climate change from warm and humid in the middle Pleistocene to cooler and drier in the late Pleistocene. Upsection trends toward higher (orthoclase + plagioclase)/quartz ratios [(Or + Pl)/Q] and magnetic susceptibility values (χlf) support this inference, which accords with global climate trends at that time. However, higher-frequency climatic subcycles observed in loess sections of northern China are not evident in the Jiujiang records, indicating a relatively lower climate sensitivity of the red earth sediments in southern China.

Radiometric dating of late Quaternary loess in the northern piedmont of South Tianshan Mountains: Implications for reliable dating

Reliable chronologies are prerequisites when interpreting proxy records in terrestrial archives of Quaternary climate and environmental change. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating (AMS 14C) are commonly used to date late Quaternary loess deposits in the Chinese Loess Plateau, but the range and reliability of the two methods in Central Asia are still debated. In this study, we investigate both fine‐grained quartz OSL and AMS 14C dating of a late Quaternary loess section located at the northern piedmont of the South Tianshan Mountains in Central Asia and discuss the reliability of the two radiometric dating methods. The results show that the OSL and AMS 14C ages are generally consistent with the stratigraphic sequence when the ages are younger than 25 cal ka BP, which means that both can be used to establish a reliable chronology in the Ili Basin. But beyond this age, the OSL dating method seems to be a more reliable approach. The results also supported previous dates based on medium‐grained quartz OSL dating of the Ili loess in the southern piedmont of the North Tianshan Mountains. Radiocarbon ages older than 25 cal ka BP should be treated with caution, and attention must be paid to the influence of pedoturbation on OSL signals in the Central Asian loess. Multiple dating approaches for mutual authentication and exploring new dating materials are suggested in further loess chronological research. These findings will be helpful in establishing a reliable timescale and in reconstructing high‐resolution environmental change in Central Asia.

Palaeowind directions and sources of detrital material archived in the Roxolany loess section (southern Ukraine)

Measurements of the anisotropy of whole-rock magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and U-Pb ages of detrital zircons have been combined to define the palaeowind directions and sources of wind-blown dust in the loess-palaeosol key section at Roxolany (southern Ukraine). Zircon dating has also been used to determine the age and provenance of the interbedded Roxolany tephra. The distribution of AMS axes in the loess indicates that the prevailing wind during its accumulation blew from the north-west, the same as the mean present-day summer wind direction measured in the nerby city of Odessa. The U-Pb isotopic ages of the detrital zircons mostly range between 0.25 and 2 Ga, with clusters at 0.28, 0.32, 0.45, 0.58, 1.0 and 1.5 Ga. Single Neoarchean grains (ca. 2.7 Ga) were also found. These ages indicate that material from Carpathian and Podolian sources formed the Roxolany loess. This material initially was transported by the Dniester River, then was wind-blown form the Dniester liman and the lower Dniester valley, located NW of Roxolany. Most of the pyroclastic zircons from the Roxolany tephra gave ages of 470–840 ka, with a peak between 500 and 750 ka. This age range is consistent with their being derived from the Ciomadul volcano in Romania.

Samuel Hibbert in Edinburgh; early studies on loess deposits- connecting Leonhard and Lyell

Samuel Hibbert (1782–1848) published his book ‘History of the Extinct Volcanos of the Basin of Neuwied, on the Lower Rhine’ in 1832. This book contained some of the first references to loess deposits in the geological literature. It also contained a detailed geological map of the region around the Laacher See which showed the distribution of the loess. Hibbert had some influence on Charles Lyell and was acknowledged in the brief loess section when volume 3 of the Principles of Geology was published in 1833. Loess was effectively announced in 1824 by Karl Caesar von Leonhard in Heidelberg, and made well known by Lyell in 1833. Between 1824 and 1833 Hibbert produced some of the first studies in English. He was a student at Edinburgh University at the same time as Ami Boue (c.1815–1818) and he was much influenced by Boue, on basins, on large floods, and on the nature of loess. He deserves to be recognised as a significant loess pioneer; he was included in the list of loessic savants produced by Lyell in 1833: Leonhard, Bronn, Boue, Voltz, Steininger, Merian, Rozet, Hibbert. He eventually had an unfortunate relationship with Lyell (and other geologists) and the loessic link was soon severed. The 1832 book was his only loessic contribution to geo-scholarship.

Provenance and formation of the red palaeosol and lithified terra rossa-like infillings on the Island of Susak: A high-resolution and chronological approach

Red palaeosol (RP) covering the carbonate basement exposed at the bottom of the loess section and lithified terra rossa-like materials situated in cavities (LTR1) and karstified fissures (LTR2) in Cretaceous limestones were investigated by means of high-resolution approach, to give a systematic and deeper palaeopedological insight into reddish materials and the exposed red palaeosols on the island of Susak. Both, selected geochemical indicators of weathering (Al/Si, (Na + K)/Al and Fed/Fet) and provenance (La/Ce), as well as detailed mineralogical analysis clearly showed differences among LTR1, LTR2 and RP, respectively. LTR1 and LTR2 represent erosional remains of different soils that existed on the surface of the limestone bedrock prior to the formation of the RP. LTR2 has the highest ZTR (zircon-tourmaline-rutile index) index and contains bauxite minerals (gibbsite and boehmite), clays (kaolinite and mixed-layer clay minerals), and haematite. LTR2 bears characteristics of reworked bauxitic materials mixed with other soils that existed on the surface of the carbonate basement. Those materials might have been mixed and transported until they were captured in the karstified fissure, and, subsequently interlocked with calcite veins and lithified. This might have happened from the Eocene age on. Our attempt to resolve the age of LTR2 formation more precisely, using palaeomagnetic investigations, did not give unambiguous results because the extremely viscous behaviour of the LTR2 samples hinders the acquisition of a stable remanent magnetisation. If we exclude the secondary calcite, LTR1 bears typical mineralogical and geochemical characteristics (e.g. Fed/Fet ratio) similar to those of Istrian terra rossa. Insoluble residues of Cretaceous limestone might have been the main parent materials for the LTR1 formation while the most likely additional fluxes influencing terra rossa formation on the island of Susak were aeolian dust and flysch. The erosion remains ended in limestone cavities and were mixed with cm to dm sized angular and subangular limestone clasts and, subsequently, interlocked with calcite veins and lithified. The investigated RP profile comprised the following mineral horizons: Bwb1-Bwb2-Bwb3-R. The RP formed in a lithologically uniform material that dominantly presents a mixture of loess and, partly, remains of older soils (e.g. rounded clay coatings not related to macrovoids) that existed on the surface of the Cretaceous limestone. Fed/Fet ratio in RP reflects a low degree of weathering of Fe-containing primary silicates. Therefore, we can conclude that the RP does not fit a rather limited variation of selected Fe-oxide characteristics typical for terra rossa. The investigated RP was classified independently of the overlying material. The full name of the palaeosol that we classified is as follows: Hypereutric Chromic Cambisol (Episiltic, Endoloamic). Since no reversal of the EMF was recorded in the RP, we concluded that the RP formed during the Brunhes epoch. Luminescence dating was applied to establish the age of the RP. Based on the acquired data, we assume that the RP very likely formed during the Penultimate Interglacial (OIS7).

Hydrochemical and isotope characteristics of spring water discharging from Qiushe Loess Section in Lingtai, northwestern China and their implication to groundwater recharge

Hydrochemical and isotope characteristics of spring water discharging from Qiushe Loess Section in Lingtai, northwestern China and their implication to groundwater recharge

Lithological indicators of loess sedimentation of SW Poland

Abstract High-resolution grain-size investigations were carried out in two SW Polish loess sections: Biały Kościół (Niemcza-Strzelin Hills) and Zaprężyn (Trzebnica Hills). Each sequence was sampled by using the same methodology and samples were taken at 5 centimeters intervals. The particle size distribution was obtained with a Mastersizer 2000 laser, used for diffraction methods. From the obtained results the basic parameters and grain size indicators were calculated: Mz, Grain Size Index ratio, U-ratio and the percentage content of clay (< 4μm) and sand (> 63 μm). Both loess-soil sequences are composed of interfluve and slope loess facies and consist of five litho-pedostratigraphic units developed during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene: two loess units L1LL1, L1LL2 and three polygenetic fossil soils sets S0, S1 and L1SS1. The distance between these two profiles is about 60 km. Zaprężyn, as a section located more to the north, has almost no lower younger loess and higher level of weathering which could be related to proximity of this site to the Ice Sheet margin. The climate here was more extreme and harsh. What is more, the difference in development of soil L1SS1 can be observed: while in Biały Kościół pedogenesis process was slower and less disturbed than in Zaprężyn. The upper part of L1SS1 in Biały Kościół was deformed by gelifluction, frost heave and other periglacial processes. Mz indicator by the grain-size distribution in these sediments reflects subtle variations in the climatic system. Moreover, in Zaprężyn the content of sand fraction is higher than in Biały Kościół what can be the evidence of short episodes of strong winds during cold period of sedimentation. The aim of this paper is to compare two loess profiles by their stratigraphical and lithological similarities which are result of climate conditions and features of surrounding environment.

Luminescence dating of the Zeketai loess section in the Ili Basin, northwestern China: Methodological considerations

Loess deposits in Xinjiang, northwestern China are ideal archives for past environmental changes in the Westerlies-dominated central Asia. Among previous luminescence dating studies of loess in Xinjiang, few have attempted to systematically investigate the methodological aspects. In this study, we report results of a multiple-procedure luminescence dating of the Zeketai loess section in the Ili Basin, central Xinjiang. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) signals were used for quartz and polymineral grains of different sizes. The pIRIR ages obtained with two protocols agree well with each other and constrain the loess deposition between 50 ka and 88 ka. The OSL ages of fine-grained quartz are in stratigraphic order and range from 37 ka to 61 ka, but are ∼30% younger than the pIRIR295 ages of both fine and medium grained polyminerals. Although the causes of the discrepancy between the ages derived from different luminescence dating protocols are still to be understood, we stress that the quartz OSL ages of loess in this region are likely to be underestimated, especially for samples older than 40 ka. The polymineral or potassium feldspar pIRIR signal is recommended for dating loess in the Ili Basin, at least as an internal check.

Fake age hiatus in a loess section revealed by OSL dating of calcrete nodules

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating on potassium feldspar has been performed with high resolution in the Luochuan section in the Chinese Loess Plateau. An age hiatus of ∼ 15 ka is found at the top of L2 layer within the loess/paleosol sequences. The age of the potassium feldspar from the calcrete nodules along the S1/L2 boundary is significantly older than those of the paleosol and loess samples lying above and below the boundary. The age overestimation of the potassium feldspar from calcrete nodules is caused by the underestimation of the dose rate, because accretion of carbonates could dilute the radioactivity. The age hiatus at the top of L2 also resulted from the underestimation of the dose rates of four loess samples beneath this hiatus. These four loess samples have high CaO concentrations. Ages of these samples are overestimated in the similar way as the nodules, but with smaller degrees. All results suggest that the accretion of carbonates happened after the loess deposition.The carbonate accretion process of the calcrete nodules has been simulated with accumulation models. The accretion can be as young as 46 ka, assuming the calcrete nodules formed rapidly at a certain time point. For slow and gradual accretion models, the carbonate started to accumulate slowly since the dust deposition and the accumulation became faster afterwards. The transition of the accretion rate may relate to the climate change or a change in the carbonate leaching and re-precipitation system.

Magnetic stratigraphy of the Danube loess: A composite Titel-Stari Slankamen loess section over the last one million years in Vojvodina, Serbia

In Europe, the most complete loess-paleosol sequences over the past million years are preserved in the Serbian part of the Danube River drainage basin. The similarity in stratigraphy and climatic cycles between the Serbian and the Chinese loess sequences suggests that the loess deposits in these two regions could play an important role in the study of intercontinental climatic correlations and linkage. However, previous magnetostratigraphic studies of the Serbian loess, mainly conducted using the alternating field (AF) demagnetization approach, show significant differences with the Chinese loess, especially the stratigraphic positioning of the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary (MBB). Here, we conduct a detailed magnetostratigraphic investigation of a composite Titel-Stari Slankamen loess section in the Vojvodina (northern Serbia), using thermal and hybrid demagnetization methods, aiming to establish new chronological constraints for the Danube Basin loess. Based on the analyses of the mineral magnetic properties, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, progressive thermal and hybrid demagnetization, the MBB was determined within S8, broadly consistent with the MBB position seen in the Chinese loess. Present evidence supports the hypothesis that the overall normal polarity in the upper part of L9, with a thickness of 2.1 m, was possibly caused by a combination of the remagnetization of remanence-carrying coarse-grained magnetite during the Brunhes normal chron and bioturbation during the forming of the overlying paleosol S8. Thus, our magnetostratigraphic results provide solid chronological evidence for the coherence of pedostratigraphy and climatostratigraphy for the loess deposits in the Danube Basin and China. The synchronous occurrence of the strongest developed paleosol S5 (corresponding to MISs 15–13) and the least weathered thick loess unit L9 (corresponding to MISs 24–22) in the two regions confirms that extreme climatic events during these two intervals are possibly common features of the climate in the Northern Hemisphere at those times.

Loess deposits in Beijing and their paleoclimatic implications during the last interglacial-glacial cycle

Loess-paleosol sequences are important terrestrial paleoclimatic archives in the semi-arid region of north-central China. Compared with the numerous studies on the loess of the Chinese Loess Plateau, the eolian deposits, near Beijing, have not been well studied. A new loess section in the northeast suburb of Beijing provides an opportunity for reconstructing paleoenvironmental changes in this region. An optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology yields ages of 145.1 to 20.5 ka, demonstrating that the loess deposits accumulated during the last interglacial-glacial cycle. High-resolution climatic proxies, including color-index, particle size and magnetic parameters, reveal orbital-scale climatic cycles, corresponding to marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS) 6 to MIS 2. In contrast to the loess deposits of the central Loess Plateau, loess near Beijing is a mixture of distal dust materials from gobi and sand deserts in the arid part of northwestern China and proximal, local alluvial sediments. Climatic change in Beijing during the last interglacial-glacial cycle was controlled primarily by the changing strength of the East Asian monsoon. Paleosols developed during the last interglacial complex (between 144.0 and 73.0 ka) and the interstadial of the last glaciation (between 44.6 and 36.2 ka), being associated with an enhanced summer monsoon in response to increased low-latitude insolation and a weakened Siberia High. Loess accumulation occurred during cold-dry stages of the last glaciation, in response to the intensified winter monsoon driven by the strengthened Siberia High and its longer residence time.

Abrupt climatic events recorded by the Ili loess during the last glaciation in Central Asia: Evidence from grain-size and minerals

The loess record of Central Asia provides an important archive of regional climate and environmental changes. In contrast to the widely investigated loess deposits in the Chinese Loess Plateau, Central Asian loess–paleosol sequences remain poorly understood. Here, we present an aeolian loess section in the southern Ili Basin. Based on granularity and mineralogical analyses, we reconstruct climatic changes during the last glaciation. The results indicated that most of the abrupt climatic events (such as Dansgaard-Oeschger events and Heinrich events) were imprinted in this loess section, although their amplitudes and ages showed some differences. Compared with the millennial oscillations recoded in loess and stalagmites in East Asia, the arid Central Asia responded more sensitively to the warming events than to the cooling events. The shifting trajectory of westerlies across Central Asia played an important role in dust deposition during the stadials. The North Atlantic climatic signals may have been transmitted from Central Asia to the East Asian monsoon regions via the westerlies.

The geochemistry of loess: Asian and North American deposits compared

Loess is widely distributed over Asia and North America and constitutes one of the most important surficial deposits that serve as terrestrial records of the Quaternary. The oldest Pleistocene loess in China is likely ∼2.6 Ma, thus spanning much or all of the Pleistocene. In North America, most loess is no older than the penultimate glacial period, with the exception of Alaska, where the record may go back to ∼3.0 Ma. On both continents, loess deposits date primarily to glacial periods, and interglacial or interstadial periods are represented by paleosols. Both glacial and non-glacial sources of silts that comprise the bulk of loess deposits are found on both continents. Although loess has been considered to be representative of the average upper continental crust, there are regionally distinctive compositions of loess in both Asia and North America. Loess deposits in Asia from Yakutia, Tajikistan, and China have compositionally distinct major element compositions, due to varying abundances of silicate minerals, carbonate minerals, and clay minerals. In North America, loess in the Mississippi River valley, the Great Plains, and Alaska are also distinguishable with regard to major element composition that reflects highly diverse source sediments. Trace element geochemistry (Sc-Th-Zr and the rare earth elements) also shows regional diversity of loess bodies, in both Asia and North America. On both continents, most loess bodies show significant contributions from later-cycle, altered sedimentary rocks, as opposed to direct derivation from igneous rocks. Further, some loess bodies have detectable contributions from mafic igneous rocks as well as major contributions from average, upper-crustal, felsic rocks. Intercalated paleosols in loess sections show geochemical compositions that differ significantly from the underlying loess parent materials. Ratios of soluble-to-insoluble elements show depletions in paleosols due to chemical weathering losses of calcite, dolomite, plagioclase, mica, apatite, and smectite. In Asia and North America, the last interglacial paleosol is more weathered than equivalent modern soils, which could be due either to a climate that was warmer and more humid, a longer period of pedogenesis, or both. In Asia, early Pleistocene loess and paleosols are both more weathered than those from the middle and late Pleistocene, forming prior to a mid-Pleistocene aridification of Asia from uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Understanding the geochemistry of loess and paleosols can tell us much about past atmospheric circulation, past temperature and moisture regimes, and even tectonic processes.

Tropical and high latitude forcing of enhanced megadroughts in Northern China during the last four terminations

Understanding the origin and evolutionary history of drought events is of great significance, providing critical insight into future hydrological conditions under the changing climate. Due to the scarcity of drought proxies from northern China, the occurrence and underlying mechanisms of the drought events remains enigmatic on longer timescales. Here we utilize microbial lipid proxies to reconstruct significant drought events over the last four ice age terminations in the southernmost section (Weinan section) of the Chinese Loess Plateau. The abundance of archaeal isoprenoid GDGTs (glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers) relative to bacterial branched GDGTs, measured by Ri/b and BIT indices, is diagnostic of enhanced drought conditions. The Ri/b (and BIT) indices are stable and low (high) throughout most of the loess section spanning the last 350 thousand years, but they do exhibit sharp transient peaks (valleys) during the intervals associated with the four ice age terminations, and especially Terminations II and IV. These enhanced drought events are, non-intuitively, associated with a significant decrease in the relative abundance of C4 plants, inferred by a decrease in the carbon isotope composition of bulk organic matter. Although the microbial records show some consistency with the Weinan grain size profiles, indicative of Eastern Asian winter monsoon variability, they also show some apparent difference. In fact, some features of the microbial records exhibit strong similarities with marine sediment planktonic foraminiferal δ13C records from the western Pacific warm pool, which reflect ENSO-like changes during glacial terminations. Therefore, enhanced droughts immediately before the interglacial warming in northern China could be explained, at least in part, by teleconnections in tropical ocean–atmosphere circulation via shifts in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and associated Jet Stream over the Asian continent. According to our microbial biomarker data, these enhanced megadroughts are apparently different, both in terms of severity and causal mechanism, from the more commonly discussed dry conditions observed during glacial periods.

Optimal Sections of Tunnels’ Cross Sections with Different Overburdens

Introduction: In order to obtain the optimal section for super-large cross-section loess tunnels with different overburdens, the ANSYS software is applied in this paper. Methods: Based on the calculation nonconvergence criteria and Mohr-Coulomb criteria, the static stability of loess tunnel section is analyzed by the finite element static strength reduction method. According to the safety factors of rock mass surrounding tunnel in the case of critical failure, the safety factors of super-large cross-section loess tunnel is discussed with different section forms (rectangular cross-section, circular cross-section, horseshoe cross-section and curve wall cross-section) and different overburdens under gravity. Results and Conclusion: The results show that the safety factors of circular section and curve wall cross-section are bigger than the safety factors of the horseshoe cross-section and rectangular cross-section. The curve wall cross-section is considered to be the optimal section because of the fact that the force around the vault and the arch bottom is uniform and symmetrical, and the maximum vertical displacement of the lining is small. The horseshoe cross-section should be avoided in the loess tunnel, because the safety factor of horseshoe cross-section is so small, and stress concentration phenomenon is obvious in the case of deep buried tunnel.

Loess deposits since early Pleistocene in northeast China and implications for desert evolution in east China

Loess deposits and deserts are regarded as coupled geological systems and loess deposits on the periphery of deserts can often be used to reconstruct desert evolution. Previous studies of desert evolution in Asia are mainly concentrated in northwest China and the China Loess Plateau, and little is known about long-term desert evolution in east China. In this study, we selected the Sishijiazi loess section in the Chifeng area in northeast China to study the long-term evolution of the desert in east China. A high-resolution magnetostratigraphy combined with optically stimulated luminescence dating indicated that the age of the section base is approximately 1.02Ma. The Brunhes-Matuyama boundary is at the depth of 39.8m in loess unit L8, and the upper boundary of the Jaramillo Subchron is at the depth of 60.8m in paleosol S10. The results of grain-size analysis indicate a coarsening grain-size trend in the past 1.0Ma. In addition, based on grain-size variations, the desert evolution in east China since ∼1.0Ma can be divided into three stages: stability from 1.0 to 0.8Ma, desert recession from 0.8 to 0.5Ma, and gradual expansion since 0.5Ma. Our results further indicate that the evolution of desert in east China was mainly controlled by changes in global ice volume, and that the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau may have had an additional effect.