Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T21:31:11.180Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Pedosedimentary Reconstruction of a Thick Loess-Paleosol Sequence near Lanzhou in North-Central China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Rob A. Kemp ,
Edward Derbyshire ,
Meng Xingmin ,
Chen Fahu  and
Pan Baotian
Rob A. Kemp
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom
Edward Derbyshire
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom Geological Hazards Research Institute, Gansu Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
Meng Xingmin
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom Geological Hazards Research Institute, Gansu Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
Chen Fahu
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
Pan Baotian
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A 38-m well section near Lanzhou at the semiarid western margin of the Loess Plateau, China, contained a continuous, high-resolution loess-paleosol sequence spanning the last 130,000 yr. Depth functions of micromorphological features, magnetic susceptibility, calcium carbonate, organic carbon, and median grain size provide the basis for pedosedimentary and associated paleoenvironmental reconstructions of three paleosol complexes (S1, Sm, and S0). Each pedosedimentary stage reflects the interaction of changing intensities of controlling monsoonal forces. Three periods of reduced dust inputs and enhanced pedogenic activity, notably bioturbation and weak leaching, can be identified from within the S1 pedocomplex. These "soil-forming intervals" were separated by phases of varying land surface instability characterized by arid dust deposition, semiarid accretionary pedogenesis, water reworking, and crust formation, or even freeze-thaw modification. The Sm pedocomplex represents an interval of relatively rapid dust accumulation with only minimal syndepositional modification and minor pedogenic alteration at ephemeral land surfaces. The S0 pedocomplex is clearly more pedogenically developed, although erosion, reworking, and mixing by water have partly homogenized the property depth functions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , January 1995 , pp. 30 - 45
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. H. Liu, T. S. Lu, Y. C. Porter, S. C. Kukla, G. Wu, X. H., and Hua, Y. M. (1990). The long-term paleomonsoon variation recorded by the loess-paleosol sequence in central China. Quaternary International 7/8, 91–95.Google Scholar
An, Z. S. Kukla, G. J. Porter, S. C., and Xiao, J. (1991a). Magnetic susceptibility evidence of monsoon variation on the Loess Plateau of Central China during the last 130,000 years. Quaternary Research 36, 29–36.Google Scholar
An, Z. S. Wu, X. H. Wang, P. X. Wang, S. M. Dong, G. R. Sun, X. J. Zhang, D. E.,Lu, Y. C. Zheng, S. H., and Zao, S. L. (1991b). Changes in the monsoon and associated environmental changes in China since the last interglacial. In “Loess, Environment and Global Change” (Liu, T. S., Ed.), pp. 1–29. Science Press, Beijing.Google Scholar
An, Z. S. Porter, S. C. Zhou, W. J. Lu, Y. C. Donahue, D. J. Head, M. J. Wu, X. H.. Ren, J. Z., and Zheng, H. B. (1993). Episode of strengthened summer monsoon climate of Younger Dryas age on the Loess Plateau of Central China. Quaternary Research 39, 45–54.Google Scholar
Bascomb, C. L. (1982). Physical and chemical analysis of < 2 mm samples. Soil Survey Technical Monograph 6, 14–41.Google Scholar
Bresson, L-M., and Boiffin, J. (1990). Morphological characterization of soil crust development stages on an experimental field. Geoderma 47, 301–325.Google Scholar
Bronger, A., and Heinkele, Th. (1989). Micromorphology and genesis of paleosols in the Luochuan loess section, China: Pedostratigraphic and environmental implications. Geoderma 45, 123–143.Google Scholar
Bullock, P. FedorofF, N. Jongerius, A. Stoops, G., and Tursina, T. (1985). “Handbook for Soil Thin Section Description.” Waine Research, Wolverhampton.Google Scholar
Chen, F. H. Li, J. J., and Zhang, W. X. (1991). Loess stratigraphy of the Lanzhou profile and its comparison with deep-sea sediment and ice core record. GeoJournal 24, 201–209.Google Scholar
Derbyshire, E. Keen, D. H. Kemp, R. A. Shaw, J., and Wintle, A. G. (1994). Loess-paleosol sequences as recorders of paleoclimatic variation during the last glacial-interglacial cycle in central China. In “Paleoclimate of the Last Glacial-interglacial Cycle” (Funnell, B. M. and Kay, R. L. F., Eds.), Vol. 94/2, pp. 27–32. Natural Environment Research Council Special Pub., Swindon.Google Scholar
Derbyshire, E. Wang, J. T. Jin, Z. X. Billard, A. Egels, Y. Kasser, M. Jones, D. K. C. Muxart, T., and Owen, L. (1991). Landslides in the Gansu loess of China. In “Loess” (Okuda, S. Rapp, A., and Zhang, L. Y., Eds.). Catena Supplement 20, 119–145.Google Scholar
Ding, Z. L. Rutter, N., and Liu, T. S. (1993). Pedostratigraphy of Chinese loess deposits and climatic cycles in the last 2.5 Myr. Catena 20, 73–91.Google Scholar
Guo, Z. T., and Fedoroff, N. (1991). Paleoclimatic and stratigraphic implications of the SI paleosol in the loess sequence in China. In“Loess, Environment and Global Change” (Liu, T. S., Ed.), pp. 187–198. Science Press, Beijing.Google Scholar
Guo, Z. T. Fedoroff, N., and An, Z. H. (1991). Genetic types of the Holocene soil and the Pleistocene paleosols in the Xifeng loess section in central China. In “Loess, Environment and Global Change” (Liu, T. S., Ed.), pp. 93–111. Science Press, Beijing.Google Scholar
Herrero-Bervera, E. Helsley, C. E. Hammond, R., and Chitwood, L. A, (1989). A possible lacustrine paleomagnetic record of the Blake episode from Pringle Falls, Oregon, USA. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 56, 112–113.Google Scholar
Kemp, R. A. (in press). Distribution and genesis of calcitic pedofeatures within a rapidly aggrading loess-paleosol sequence in China. Geoderma. Google Scholar
Kemp, R. A. Jerz, H. Grottenthaler, W., and Preece, R. (1994). Pedosedimentarv fabrics of soils within loess and colluvium in southern England and Germany. In “Soil Micromorphology” (Ringrose-Voase, A., and Humphries, G., Eds.), pp. 207–219. Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Kukla, G. and An, Z. S. (1989). Loess stratigraphy in central China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 72, 203–225.Google Scholar
Lee, J. A., and Kemp, R. A. (1992). “Thin Sections of Unconsolidated Sediments and Soils: A Recipe.” Centre for Environmental Analysis and Management Technical Report No. 2, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London.Google Scholar
Li, J. J. Zhu, J. J. Kang, J. C. Chen, F. H. Fang, X. M. Mu, D. F. Cao, J. X. Tang, L. Y. Zhang, Y. T., and Pan, B. T. (1992). The comparison of Lanzhou loess profile with Vostok ice core in Antarctica over the last glaciation cycle. Science in China 35, 476–487.Google Scholar
Liu, T. S. Zhang, S. X., and Han, J. M. (1987). Stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental changes in the loess of central China. Quaternary Science Reviews 6, 489–501.Google Scholar
Liu, X. M. Liu, T. S. Shaw, J. Heller, F. Xu, T. C., and Yuan, B. Y. (1991). Paleomagnetic and paleoclimatic studies of Chinese loess. In“Loess, Environment and Global Change” (Liu, T. S., Ed.), pp. 61–81. Science Press, Beijing.Google Scholar
Mucher, H. J., and de Ploey, J. (1977). Experimental and micromorphological investigation of erosion and redeposition of loess by water. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2, 117–124.Google Scholar
Mucher, H. J., and Vreeken, W. J. (1981). (Re)deposition of loess in southern Limbourg, the Netherlands. 2. Micromorphology of the lower silt loam complex and comparison with deposits produced under laboratory conditions. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 6, 355–363.Google Scholar
Porter, S. C. An, Z. S., and Zheng, H. B. (1992). Cyclic Quaternary alluviation and terracing in a nonglaciated drainage basin on the north flank of the Qinling Shan, central China. Quaternary Research 38, 157–169.Google Scholar
Rolph, T. C. Shaw, J. Derbyshire, E., and Wang, J. T. (1993). The magnetic mineralogy of a loess section near Lanzhou, China. In “The Dynamics and Environmental Contexts of Aeolian Sedimentary Systems” (Pye, K., Ed.). Geological Society Special Publication, London 72, 311–323.Google Scholar
Rutter, N. (1992). Presidential address, XIII INQUA Congress 1991: Chinese loess and global change. Quaternary Science Renews 11, 275–281.Google Scholar
Rutter, N., and Ding, Z. L. (1993). Paleoclimates and monsoon variations interpreted from micromorphogenic features of the Baoji paleosols, China. Quaternary Science Reviews 12, 853–862.Google Scholar
Van Vliet-Lanoe, B. Coutard, J-P., and Pissart, A. (1984). Structures caused by repeated freezing and thawing in various loamy sediments: A comparison of active, fossil and experimental data. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 9, 553–565.Google Scholar
Vepraskas, M, J. (1992). “Redoximorphic Features for Identifying Aquic Conditions.” North Carolina Agricultural Research Service Technical Bulletin No. 301, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.Google Scholar