Loess as a Quaternary paleoenvironmental indicator
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Abstract
Loess is aeolian sediment that is dominated by silt-sized particles. Unlike either coarser dune sand or finer-grained, long-range-transported dust, loess is relatively poorly sorted, reflecting a combination of transport processes, including saltation, low suspension, and high suspension. Loess can be readily identified in the field; deposits range in thickness from a few centimeters to many tens of meters, and are found over large areas of Eurasia, South and North America (Fig. 1), and smaller areas of New Zealand, Australia, Africa and the Middle East. Loess covers approximately 10% of the Earth’s land surface and is therefore one of the most important terrestrial archives of paleoenvironmental change during the Quaternary. In many regions, loess sections consist of deposits of mostly unaltered sediment with intercalated paleosols. Paleosols represent periods of landscape stability when loess deposition ceased altogether, or at least slowed significantly. Loess can be dated directly using luminescence, radiocarbon, and amino acid geochronology methods.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Loess as a Quaternary paleoenvironmental indicator |
| Series title | Past Global Changes |
| DOI | 10.22498/pages.22.2 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 2014 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | International Geosphere Biosphere Programme Global Change |
| Contributing office(s) | Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center |
| Description | 2 p. |
| First page | 84 |
| Last page | 85 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |