How similar are Serbian and Chinese loess?

Loess deposits in the Vojvodina region of northern Serbia are among the oldest and most complete loess-paleosol sequences in Europe to date. These thick sequences contain a detailed paleoclimatic record from the late Early Pleistocene. The correlation of detailed magnetic susceptibility records from Vojvodina with the Chinese loess record and deep-sea isotope stratigraphy provides some significant similarities. However, grain size records from these two distant Eurasian loess deposits present significantly different patterns.The general similarity in magnetic records of Serbian and Chinese loess can be explained as a consequence of the general uniform global or hemispheric climate imprint via chemical weathering and intensity of pedogenesis. However, significant textural differences between Serbian and Chinese loess are more likely a consequence of changes in environmental conditions of proximate dust source areas. Deserts, as the main primary sources of dust for Chinese loess formation, are always "open" to provide material for further aeolian action. Consequently, the main periods of loess formation are characterized by relatively uniform grain-size. In contrast, in Serbia, during full glacial conditions, proximate source areas are relatively humid and "closed" for coarser material supply. This is opposite to drier middle and lower glacial conditions that are able to provide coarser material for loess formation. The documented increase in the coarse grain-size fraction contribution within the formation of the Serbian loess-paleosol sequences is likely linked to an environmental shift in the Danube floodplain, which acted as a primary source of coarser particles during loess formation. The more arid conditions within the so-called Danube Paleolithic corridor could have facilitated significant migrations of mammalian megafauna, followed by the immigration of Paleolithic hunters to this part of Europe.

کلیدواژه ها:

aeolian ، Eurasia ، China ، loess ، Pleistocene and Serbia