Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T22:08:58.844Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Six million years of magnetic grain-size records reveal that temperature and precipitation were decoupled on the Chinese Loess Plateau during ~ 4.5–2.6 Ma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Junsheng Nie ,
Yougui Song ,
John W. King ,
Rui Zhang  and
Xiaomin Fang
Junsheng Nie*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environment System, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, P.O. Box 17, 710075, China Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, China
Yougui Song
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, P.O. Box 17, 710075, China
John W. King
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA
Rui Zhang
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Western China's Environment System, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
Xiaomin Fang
Affiliation:
Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, China
*
*Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Western China's Environment System, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China. E-mail addresses:[email protected], [email protected] (J. Nie).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Magnetic grain-size variations have been used as sensitive paleoclimate proxies to investigate the evolution of the East Asian summer monsoon, but their relationship with temperature and precipitation is not entirely clear. Here we find that two magnetic grain-size proxy records (χARM/χLF and χARM/SIRM, where χARM, χLF and SIRM are anhysteretic remanent magnetization susceptibility, magnetic susceptibility measured at 470 Hz and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization, respectively) of Chinese loess and red-clay sediments co-vary during the last 6 Ma, except between ~ 4.5 and 2.6 Ma, when these two records had opposite trends. We attribute this disparate behavior to the different responses of χARM/χLF and χARM/SIRM to temperature and precipitation during ~ 4.5–2.6 Ma, when temperature and precipitation on the Chinese Loess Plateau were decoupled. A comparison of the loess and red-clay χARM/χLF and χARM/SIRM records with the global ice-volume proxy records reveals that χARM/χLF is more sensitive to temperature variations than χARM/SIRM. The results suggest that temperature on the Chinese Loess Plateau had a cooling trend from ~ 4.5 to ~ 2.6 Ma, whereas rainfall tended to increase. Our studies demonstrate that joint analysis of loess χARM/χLF and χARM/SIRM records can reveal paleoclimatic information that cannot be revealed by a single parameter.

Keywords

LoessRed clayChinese Loess PlateauPlioceneQuaternaryRock magnetism
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 79 , Issue 3 , May 2013 , pp. 465 - 470
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

An, Z.S., Kutzbach, J.E., Prell, W.L., and Porter, S.C. Evolution of Asian monsoons and phased uplift of the Himalaya–Tibetan plateau since Late Miocene times. Nature 411, (2001). 62–66.Google Scholar
Bloemendal, J.C., and Liu, X. Rock magnetism and geochemistry of two Plio-Pleistocene Chinese loess–paleosol sequences—implications for quantitative palaeoprecipitation reconstruction. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 226, (2005). 149–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cande, S.C., and Kent, D.V. Revised calibration of the geomagnetic polarity timescale for the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Journal of Geophysical Research 100, (1995). 6093–6095.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deng, C., Vidic, N., Verosub, K., Singer, M., Liu, Q., Shaw, J., and Zhu, R.X. Mineral magnetic variation of the Jiaodao Chinese loess/paleosol sequence and its bearing on long-term climatic variability. Journal of Geophysical Research 110, (2005). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004JB003451CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Florindo, F., Zhu, R.X., Guo, B., Yue, L.P., Pan, Y.X., and Speranza, F. Magnetic proxy climate results from the Duanjiapo loess section, southernmost extremity of the Chinese loess plateau. Journal of Geophysical Research 104, (1999). 645–659.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallet, S., Jahn, B.M., and Torii, M. Geochemical characterization of the Luochuan loess–paleosol sequence, China, and paleoclimatic implications. Chemical Geology 133, (1996). 67–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geiss, C.E., Zanner, C.W., Banerjee, S.K., and Joanna, M. Signature of magnetic enhancement in a loessic soil in Nebraska, United States of America. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 228, (2004). 355–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guo, B., Zhu, R.X., Roberts, A.P., and Florindo, F. Lack of correlation between paleoprecipitation and magnetic susceptibility of Chinese loess/paleosol sequences. Geophysical Research Letters 28, (2001). 4259–4262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, W., Fang, X., and Berger, A. Tibet forcing of mid-Pleistocene synchronous enhancement of East Asian winter and summer monsoons revealed by Chinese loess record. Quaternary Research 78, (2012). 174–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hao, Q.Z., Oldfield, F., Bloemendal, J., and Guo, Z.T. Particle size separation and evidence for pedogenesis in samples from the Chinese Loess Plateau spanning the past 22 m.y.. Geology 36, (2008). 727–730.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haug, G.H., Tiedemann, R., Zahn, R., and Ravelo, A.C. Role of Panama uplift on oceanic freshwater balance. Geology 29, (2003). 207–210.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heil, C.W., King, J.W., Zárate, M.A., and Schultz, P.H. Climatic interpretation of a 1.9 Ma environmental magnetic record of loess deposition and soil formation in the central eastern Pampas of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Quaternary Science Reviews 29, (2010). 2705–2718.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heller, F., Shen, C.D., Beer, J., Liu, T.S., Bronger, A., Suter, M., and Bonani, G. Quantitative estimates of pedogenic ferromagnetic mineral formation in Chinese loess and paleoclimatic implications. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 114, (1993). 385–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heslop, D., Langereis, C.G., and Dekkers, M.J. A new astronomical timescale for the loess deposits of Northern China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 184, (2000). 125–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, J., and Channell, J. Sedimentary magnetism, environmental magnetism, and magnetostratigraphy, 1987–1990. Reviews of Geophysics 39, (1991). 358–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laskar, J., Joutel, F., and Boudin, F. Orbital, precessional, and insolation quantities for the Earth from − 20 Myr to + 10 Myr. Astronomy and Astrophysics 270, (1993). 522–533.Google Scholar
Laskar, J., Robutel, P., Joutel, F., Gastineau, M., Correia, A.C.M., and Levrard, B. A longterm numerical solution for the insolation quantities of the Earth. Astronomy and Astrophysics 428, (2004). 261–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, X.M., Hesse, P., Beget, J., and Rolph, T. Pedogenic destruction of ferrimagnetics in Alaskan loess deposits. Australian Journal of Soil Research 39, (2001). 99–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, Q., Deng, C., Torrent, J., and Zhu, R.X. Review of recent development in mineral magnetism of the Chinese loess. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, (2007). 368–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lu, H., Han, J., and Wu, N. The analysis of modern soil magnetic susceptibility and its paleoclimate. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences 24, (1994). 1290–1297.Google Scholar
Lü, L.Q., Fang, X.M., Mason, A.J., Li, J.J., and An, Z.S. The evolution of coupling of Asian winter monsoon and high latitude climate of Northern Hemisphere. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences 44, (2001). 185–191. (Supplement) CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maher, B., and Hu, M. A high-resolution record of Holocene rainfall variations from the western Chinese Loess Plateau: antiphase behaviour of the African/Indian and East Asian summer monsoons. The Holocene 16, (2006). 309–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maher, B.A., Thompson, R., and Zhou, L.P. Spatial and temporal reconstructions of changes in the Asian palaeomonsoon — a new mineral magnetic approach. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 125, (1994). 461–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Motoi, T., and Chan, W.L. Colder Subarctic Pacific with larger sea ice caused by closure of the Central American Seaway and its influence on the East Asian monsoon: a climate model study. Geological Society of London, Special Publications 342, (2010). 265–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nie, J., King, J., and Fang, X. Enhancement mechanisms of magnetic susceptibility in the Chinese red-clay sequence. Geophysical Research Letters 34, (2007). L19705 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2007GL031430CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nie, J., King, J., and Fang, X. The correlation between the magnetic susceptibility record of the Chinese aeolian sequences and the marine benthic oxygen isotope record. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 9, (2008). Q12026 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2008GC002243CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nie, J., King, J., and Fang, X. Link between benthic oxygen isotopes and magnetic susceptibility in the red-clay sequence on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Geophysical Research Letters 35, (2008). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2007GL032817CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nie, J., King, J., and Fang, X. Tibetan uplift intensified the 400 k.y. signal in paleoclimate records at 4 Ma. Geological Society of America Bulletin 120, (2008). 1338–1344. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B26349.1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nie, J., Song, Y., King, J.W., and Egli, R. Consistent grain size distribution of pedogenic maghemite of surface soils and Miocene loessic soils on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Journal of Quaternary Science 25, (2010). 261–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orgeira, M.J., Egli, R., and Compagnucci, R.H. A quantitative model of magnetic enhancement in loessic soils. Petrovsky, E., Ivers, D., Harinarayana, T., and Herrero-Bervera, E. The Earth's Magnetic Interior. (2011). Springer, New York. 361–397.Google Scholar
Porter, S.C., Hallet, B., Wu, X.H., and An, Z.H. Dependence of near-surface magnetic susceptibility on dust accumulation rate and precipitation on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Quaternary Research 55, (2001). 271–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shackleton, N.J., and Pisias, N.G. Atmospheric carbon dioxide, orbital forcing, and climate. Sundquist, E.T., and Broecker, W.S. The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric CO2: Natural Variations Archean to Present. (1985). AGU, Washington, D.C.. 303–317.Google Scholar
Shackleton, N.J., Berger, A., and Peltier, W.R. An alternative astronomical calibration of the lower Pleistocene timescale based on ODP Site 677. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 81, (1990). 251–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shackleton, N.J., Hall, M.A., and Pate, D. Pliocene stable isotope stratigraphy of site 846. Pisias, N.G., Janacek, L.A., Palmer-Julson, A., and Van Andel, T.H. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program-Scientific Results. (1995). IODP, College Station, Texas. 337–355.Google Scholar
Sun, Y., Chen, J., Clemens, S.C., Liu, Q., Ji, J., and Tada, R. East Asian monsoon variability over the last seven glacial cycles recorded by a loess sequence from the northwestern Chinese Loess Plateau. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 7, (2006). Q12Q02 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2006GC001287CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verosub, K.L., and Roberts, A.P. Environmental magnetism: past, present, and future. Journal of Geophysical Research 100, (1995). 2175–2192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verosub, K., Fine, P., Singer, M., and TenPas, J. Pedogenesis and paleoclimate: interpretation of the magnetic susceptibility record of Chinese loess–paleosol sequences. Geology 21, (1993). 1011–1014.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, N.Q., Rousseau, D.D., and Liu, D.S. Land mollusk records from the Luochuan loess sequence and their paleoenvironmental significance. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences 39, (1996). 494–502.Google Scholar
Zhang, R., Kravchinsky, V.A., Zhu, R.X., and Yue, L.P. Paleomonsoon route reconstruction along a W–E transect in the Chinese Loess Plateau using the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility: summer monsoon model. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 299, (2010). 436–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, L., Oldfield, F., Wintle, A., Robinson, S., and Wang, J.T. Partly pedogenic origin of magnetic variations in Chinese loess. Nature 346, (1990). 737–739.CrossRefGoogle Scholar