Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
    • Journal home
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Geological Society home
  • Content
    • Online First
    • Issue in progress
    • All issues
    • All collections
    • Thematic Collections
    • Supplementary publications
    • Open Access
  • Subscribe
    • GSL fellows
    • Institutions
    • Corporate
    • Other member types
  • Info
    • Authors
    • Librarians
    • Readers
    • GSL Fellows access
    • Other member type access
    • Press office
    • Accessibility
    • Help
    • Metrics
  • Alert sign up
    • RSS feeds
    • Newsletters
  • Submit
  • Geological Society of London Publications
    • Engineering Geology Special Publications
    • Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis
    • Journal of Micropalaeontology
    • Journal of the Geological Society
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Memoirs
    • Petroleum Geology Conference Series
    • Petroleum Geoscience
    • Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society
    • Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
    • Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society
    • Scottish Journal of Geology
    • Special Publications
    • Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of London

User menu

  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of the Geological Society
  • Geological Society of London Publications
    • Engineering Geology Special Publications
    • Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis
    • Journal of Micropalaeontology
    • Journal of the Geological Society
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Memoirs
    • Petroleum Geology Conference Series
    • Petroleum Geoscience
    • Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society
    • Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
    • Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society
    • Scottish Journal of Geology
    • Special Publications
    • Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of London
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
  • Follow gsl on Twitter
  • Visit gsl on Facebook
  • Visit gsl on Youtube
  • Visit gsl on Linkedin
Journal of the Geological Society

Advanced search

  • Home
    • Journal home
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Geological Society home
  • Content
    • Online First
    • Issue in progress
    • All issues
    • All collections
    • Thematic Collections
    • Supplementary publications
    • Open Access
  • Subscribe
    • GSL fellows
    • Institutions
    • Corporate
    • Other member types
  • Info
    • Authors
    • Librarians
    • Readers
    • GSL Fellows access
    • Other member type access
    • Press office
    • Accessibility
    • Help
    • Metrics
  • Alert sign up
    • RSS feeds
    • Newsletters
  • Submit

Climate change, loess and palaeosols: proxy measures and resolution in North China

EDWARD DERBYSHIRE, ROB A. KEMP and XINGMIN MENG
Journal of the Geological Society, 154, 793-805, 1 September 1997, https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.154.5.0793
EDWARD DERBYSHIRE
1Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Hollow ay, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK (e-mail: )
2Geological Hazards Research Institute, Gansu Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
ROB A. KEMP
1Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Hollow ay, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK (e-mail: )
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
XINGMIN MENG
1Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Hollow ay, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK (e-mail: )
2Geological Hazards Research Institute, Gansu Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
PreviousNext
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

The Loess Plateau of North China is a key region for the study of records of Quaternary climatic change. Various techniques to abstract climatically sensitive data were first applied to the classic loess—palaeosol site at Luochuan, and current views on climatic change in Asia have been strongly moulded by results from this central part of the Loess Plateau. Data including the magnetic susceptibility, granulometry, mineralogy, geochemistry, micromorphology, fossil content, and inorganic and organic carbon content of Asian loess—palaeosol series have been used, singly and in combination, as surrogate measures of palaeoclimates to infer climatic changes with particular reference to changes in the Asian monsoon. Some of this work is reviewed and the status of a number of parameters as climatic proxies is discussed. Some lithostratigraphic sequences from which proxy measures of climate have been derived are incomplete, as shown by erosion surfaces, water-laminated zones and truncated palaeosol profiles, while others provide records of relatively low resolution. Most descriptions of Quaternary climatic changes based on studies of the loess emphasize alternations in the relative dominance of warm and moist v. cool, dry and dust-laden monsoons. Some recent studies of the much higher resolution loess—palaeosol successions on the western margins of the Loess Plateau have suggested that such changes may sometimes be out of phase, with the inference that the current climate model is too simple. Means of testing this hypothesis are proposed.

  • loess
  • palaeosols
  • monsoons
  • stratigraphy
  • palaeoclimate
  • © Geological Society of London 1997

Please note that if you are logged into the Lyell Collection and attempt to access content that is outside of your subscription entitlement you will be presented with a new login screen. You have the option to pay to view this content if you choose. Please see the relevant links below for further assistance.

INDIVIDUALS

Log in using your username and password

– GSL fellows: log in with your Lyell username and password. (Please check your access entitlements at https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/fellowsaccess)
– Other users: log in with the username and password you created when you registered. Help for other users is at https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/lyellcollection_faqs
Forgot your username or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article for 24 hours and download the PDF within the access period. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one. To download the PDF, click the 'Purchased Content' link in the receipt email.

LIBRARY USERS

Log in through your institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your library if you do not have a username and password.
If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.
If you think you should have access, please contact your librarian or email [email protected]

LIBRARIANS

Administer your subscription.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions about the Lyell Collection publications website, please see the access help page or contact [email protected]

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of the Geological Society: 154 (5)
Journal of the Geological Society
Volume 154, Issue 5
September 1997
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation tools

Climate change, loess and palaeosols: proxy measures and resolution in North China

EDWARD DERBYSHIRE, ROB A. KEMP and XINGMIN MENG
Journal of the Geological Society, 154, 793-805, 1 September 1997, https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.154.5.0793
EDWARD DERBYSHIRE
1Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Hollow ay, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK (e-mail: )
2Geological Hazards Research Institute, Gansu Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
ROB A. KEMP
1Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Hollow ay, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK (e-mail: )
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
XINGMIN MENG
1Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Hollow ay, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK (e-mail: )
2Geological Hazards Research Institute, Gansu Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Permissions
View PDF
Share

Climate change, loess and palaeosols: proxy measures and resolution in North China

EDWARD DERBYSHIRE, ROB A. KEMP and XINGMIN MENG
Journal of the Geological Society, 154, 793-805, 1 September 1997, https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.154.5.0793
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Email to

Thank you for sharing this Journal of the Geological Society article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Climate change, loess and palaeosols: proxy measures and resolution in North China
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Journal of the Geological Society
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Journal of the Geological Society.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Bookmark this article
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

Similar Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Repeated tabular injection of high-level alkaline granites in the eastern Bushveld, South Africa
  • Volcanic plume monitoring using atmospheric electric potential gradients
  • Shape fabrics and superimposed simple shear strain in a Precambrian shear belt, W Greenland
Show more: Article
  • Most read
  • Most cited
Loading
  • Virtual outcrop-based analysis of channel and crevasse splay sandstone body architecture in the Middle Jurassic Ravenscar Group, Yorkshire, NE England
  • The naming of the Permian System
  • The Eocene−Oligocene transition in Nanggulan, Java: lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and foraminiferal stable isotopes
  • The Ediacaran origin of Ecdysozoa: integrating fossil and phylogenomic data
  • False biosignatures on Mars: anticipating ambiguity
More...

Journal of the Geological Society

  • About the journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Submit a manuscript
  • Author information
  • Supplementary Publications
  • Subscribe
  • Pay per view
  • Copyright & Permissions
  • Activate Online Subscription
  • Feedback
  • Help

Lyell Collection

  • About the Lyell Collection
  • Lyell Collection homepage
  • Collections
  • Open Access Collection
  • Open Access Policy
  • Lyell Collection access help
  • Recommend to your Library
  • MARC records
  • Digital preservation
  • Developing countries
  • Geofacets
  • Manage your account
  • Cookies

The Geological Society

  • About the Society
  • Join the Society
  • Benefits for Members
  • Online Bookshop
  • Publishing policies
  • Awards, Grants & Bursaries
  • Education & Careers
  • Events
  • Geoscientist Online
  • Library & Information Services
  • Policy & Media
  • Society blog
  • Contact the Society

Published by The Geological Society of London, registered charity number 210161

Print ISSN 
0016-7649
Online ISSN 
2041-479X

Copyright © 2022 Geological Society of London