Chinese loess plateau

Floral communities in terrestrial habitats such as steppes are highly sensitive to regional climate changes. Here, we generated carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles for soil organic matter (SOM) in the Weinan loess-paleosol section in order to investigate changes in floral communities on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) and their relationship to climate variation since 75 ka. δ 13 C SOM at Weinan ranges from −23.6 to −18.0‰ and δ 15 N SOM ranges from +3.4 to +5.5‰. Modeling based on the δ 13 C SOM record suggests that the proportion of C4 plants (%C4) has varied from lower during cold intervals (with minima of 24–32% at 73.1 ka, 20.9 ka (LGM), and 0.6 ka) to higher during warm intervals (with maxima of 62–64% at 53.0 ka and 8.2 ka). The δ 13 C SOM and δ 15 N SOM profiles are strongly correlated (r = +0.82; p(α) < 0.001), suggesting that the N-isotope composition of SOM was also largely controlled by inputs of C4 versus C3 plants, consistent with known patterns of N-isotope variation among modern plants. The %C4 profile exhibits significant covariation with reconstructed mean annual temperatures (MAT) (r = +0.42; p(α) < 0.001), mean annual precipitation (MAP) (r = +0.42; p (α) < 0.001), and summer monsoon intensity (r = +0.50; p(α) < 0.001), suggesting that paleovegetation was controlled by each of these climate variables to a degree. Comparing the Weinan record to SOM profiles across the CLP region, we identified three zones of varying monsoonal influence, with the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) exerting the strongest influence on the southeastern margin of the CLP, and the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) greater influence on its northwestern margin. This paper provides new insights into deciphering paleovegetation patterns and their links to paleoclimate change on the basis of paired C-and N-isotope records.

In the early 1980s, Ding Fang ’s earliest sketches still carried the characteristics of social realism. With the influence of Western culture in the "New Enlightenment", he has transformed into the practice of modernist oil paintings and turned to be an active figure in the '85 Art New Wave. Differentiated from most contemporary artists who apply urban experience and formulates their works substantially with Western culture, Ding has established his own modernist style by "journey to the northwest". He has built an isomorphic structure based on Loess Plateau, traditional Chinese cultural symbol, and Christianity, breaking the single narrative of the nationalist perspective with the integration of Western cultures. Ding Fang's practice reflects not only the multiple developing paths of Chinese contemporary art but also the collective attempt to reconstruct the subjectivity of Chinese contemporary culture in the 1980s. Therefore, the exploration of Ding Fang’s artistic practice in the 1980s can help us unearth and understand the complexity of constructing contemporary art subjectivity in China.

Magnetic susceptibility (MS) of surface sediment varies systematically across the Loess Plateau in central China, decreasing exponentially from &gt;200×10−8 m3/kg at the northern margin of the Qinling Shan to ≤30×10−8 m3/kg near the southern margin of the Mu Us Desert. MS correlates highly with loess median grain size (r 2=0.79), which decreases south-southeastward across the plateau. It also correlates with mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) (r 2=0.58 and 0.60, respectively), and with their product MAT×MAP (r 2=0.83), which is considered a measure of potential pedogenic activity. Because regional isopleths depicting grain size and the primary meteorological parameters are nearly parallel, it is difficult to determine their relative influence on MS. A simple MS model, based on the observed spatial variation in loess thickness, permits quantitative assessment of the effect of the dust accumulation rate on the MS signal of surface sediment and isolates t...

Magnetic susceptibility (MS) of surface sediment varies systematically across the Loess Plateau in central China, decreasing exponentially from &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;200×10−8 m3/kg at the northern margin of the Qinling Shan to ≤30×10−8 m3/kg near the southern margin of the Mu Us Desert. MS correlates highly with loess median grain size (r 2=0.79), which decreases south-southeastward across the plateau. It also correlates with mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) (r 2=0.58 and 0.60, respectively), and with their product MAT×MAP (r 2=0.83), which is considered a measure of potential pedogenic activity. Because regional isopleths depicting grain size and the primary meteorological parameters are nearly parallel, it is difficult to determine their relative influence on MS. A simple MS model, based on the observed spatial variation in loess thickness, permits quantitative assessment of the effect of the dust accumulation rate on the MS signal of surface sediment and isolates the likely role of climate in the production of magnetic minerals. The model suggests that 84% of the loess MS variance is dictated by the diluting effect of dust and 10–11% is associated with meteorological factors, primarily precipitation. The observed and modeled relationships support hypotheses that attribute variations in MS in the loess-paleosol succession to varying rates of dust deposition and in situ production of magnetic minerals in the accretionary soils, both of which are controlled by monsoon climate.

SUMMARY This paper deals with the magnetic properties (magnetic susceptibility, saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM), magnetomineralogicl parameters), the contents of heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn) and their mutual relationship in the urban topsoils of Luoyang, China. Magnetic susceptibility measured on 215 urban topsoil samples ranged from 31 × 10−8 to 1128 × 10−8 m3 kg−1 (average 215 × 10−8 m3 kg−1) and showed that high magnetic susceptibility values were obtained on topsoil samples from industrial areas (aver- age 313 × 10−8 m3 kg−1) and roadside (236 × 10−8 m3 kg−1), whereas lower susceptibility values were observed in parks and green areas (123 × 10−8 m3 kg−1). The urban topsoils were enriched with Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn, with average contents of 1.71, 30.51, 85.40, 65.92 and 215.75 mg kg−1, respectively. The heavy metals Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn show a statistically sig- nificant correlation with magnetic susceptibility and SIRM. The Tomlinson Pollution Lo...

... 1): n, number of archaeological sites (The Editorial Board of an Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics, 1996, in press). (A) Dadiwan Culture (7800–7350 cal. yr BP); (B) early Yangshao Culture (6800–6000 cal. ... The Editorial Board of an Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics. 1996. ...

The 28 m high-resolution Shajinping loess section in Lanzhou on the western Chinese Loess Plateau records a 60 ka, millennial summer monsoon variation. The record shows that Asian summer monsoons have rapid episodic pulse enhancements spanning only ca. ...

Geomagnetic excursions are prominent short-lived features (normally &lt; 5 kyr) of the Earth’s magnetic field and lie temporally between Microchrons (Laj & Channell 2007) and short time intervals of anomalously high secular variation. Because of their short duration and the time required for remanence acquisition in sediments their record in terrestrial archives is scarce. However, already in the seventies (Tucholka

Investigation of the global loess record—primarily as a palaeoclimatic archive—continues unabated. One important aspect of this research effort is the determination of the magnetic properties of the loess itself and of the palaeosols developed within it. In earlier work, these have provided a record of major long-term past climatic changes; however, recent studies are now revealing sub-Milankovitch signals with teleconnections