Climatic conditions recorded by terrestrial mollusc assemblages in the Chinese Loess Plateau during marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 12–10 |
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| Institution: | 1. Key Laboratory of Western China''s Environment System, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China;2. State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi''an, P.O. Box 17, 710075, China;3. Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA;4. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, China;1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, University of Pisa, Via S. Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, Italy;2. Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 49a, 50674 Cologne, Germany;3. Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse IGG-CNR, Via Moruzzi 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy;4. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia INGV, Via della Faggiola 32, 56126 Pisa, Italy;5. School of Geography, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia;6. EDYTEM, UMR CNRS 5204, Université de Savoie-Mont Blanc, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac cedex, France;7. School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia;8. School of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia;1. CNR, Istituto Scienze Marine (ISMAR), Via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italia;2. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, Italy;3. CNR, Istituto per l''Ambiente Marino Costiero (IAMC), Calata Porta di Massa, Interno Porto di Napoli, 80133 Napoli, Italy;4. CNR, Institute of Agro-environmental and Forest Biology (IBAF), Italy;5. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Siena, Italy;6. Department of Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | Past analogs for our present interglacial have been sought for better understanding of our present and future climate. Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11) has long been considered to be a good candidate and has gained increasing attention in recent studies of marine and terrestrial records. In the Chinese loess–paleosol sequences, S4 soil, interpreted as equivalent to MIS 11, yields a very precise terrestrial paleoclimate record of environmental changes that prevailed during this period. In this study, two high-resolution terrestrial mollusc records from the Loess Plateau have been analyzed to characterize climate variability during the periods of MIS 12–10. The changes in environment and climate, indicated by the variations in abundance of land mollusc species, are thus documented. Our mollusc results show that the L5 loess, equivalent of MIS 12, developed under relatively cold and dry conditions. Climate during this period was not as severe as indicated in the marine isotopic records. An episode of warmer and more humid condition occurred at the middle stage of the MIS 12, reflecting a summer monsoon strengthened during the glacial interval. A similar scenario has been observed in the middle part of MIS 10. In addition, our mollusc records provide insight into the climate conditions over the Loess Plateau during MIS 11, a general warm–humid climate dominated during the formation of S4 soil. But at least four fluctuations occurred at Xifeng region, reflecting unstable climate conditions and regional climate differences within the Loess Plateau during this period. Our study shows that the early part of S4, spanning over 30 ka, was very warm and humid, while the late part was characterized by mild-cool conditions. Comparison of mollusc species compositions of both MIS 11 and Holocene intervals reveals different climate conditions. The early part of MIS 11 was warmer and more humid than the Holocene optimum period, while the late part of MIS 11 was similar or cooler. Our study indicates that the extent of warming during the Holocene in the Loess Plateau might be significantly less than the conditions that prevailed during the MIS 11 interglacial period. |
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