Paleoclimatic Changes Recorded by Loess–Paleosol Sequences in the Quaternary

Dear Colleagues,

Loess deposits that cover ca. 10% of our planet’s surface have proven to be valuable archives of past climatic conditions at millennial and centennial timescales and are extensively studied to reconstruct paleoclimate information. Archaeological sites and ancient artifacts are often found within loess deposits, offering insights into past civilizations and their immediate life conditions. Loess paleoclimate studies have contributed significantly to our understanding of long-term climate dynamics, including the identification of glacial–interglacial cycles, changes in monsoon pattern wind fields, and the impact of climate change on ecosystems and human societies throughout history on regional and global scales. Loessy landscapes are important areas of agricultural production, yet are also susceptible to erosion; thus, proper land management practices are important to prevent soil erosion and maintain the stability of the loess deposits and the fertility of topping soils under changing climatic conditions. Insight into past changes in soil properties can aid with such measures.

We welcome you to submit a paper to this Special Issue, “Paleoclimatic Changes Recorded by Loess–Paleosol Sequences in the Quaternary”. This Special Issue seeks to investigate the mentioned aspects of Quaternary loess research using paleoenvironmental, paleoclimate, geochemical, agroecological, geomorphological, and archaeological approaches. This Special Issue is open to all regions and timescales of the past 2.5 million years. Southern Hemisphere studies are especially welcome.

Best regards,

Dr. Sandor Gulyas
Dr. Peter Almond
Guest Editors

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• loess/paleosol sequences
• paleoclimate
• paleoenvironment
• earth surface processes

Title: Approach of XRF Core Scanning to loess in high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction
Author: Yang
Highlights: Propose a novel sampling and data tidying method; Systematic evaluation of element quality of loess cores; Valuable scanning elements indicate winter monsoon fluctuations.

Title: Late Mid Pleistocene climate changes in central Ukraine: a multidisciplinary palaeoenvironmental study of key sites at Gunky and Zamozhne
Authors: Natalia Gerasimenko 1; Dmytro Hlavatskyi 2; Oleksandr Bonchkovskyi 1; William A.P. Wimbledon 3; Volodymyr Bakhmutov 2; Semen Cherkes 2; Illia Kravchuk 1
Affiliation: 1Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9278-5770 [N.G.], 2Institute of Geophysics of the NAS of Ukraine 3School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Abstract: Two closely located loess-palaeosol sections in the Middle Dnipro area, Gunky and Zamozhne, have been studied using combined lithopedological, grain-size, micromorphological, pollen and rock magnetic methods. The Gunky site is well known for palaeontological fossils from its basal fluvial deposits that are unambigously correlated with the Holsteinian (MIS 11, Early Zavadivka, Likhvin) times. The other age marker in this section is provided by the Dnipro glacial and glacio-lacustrine deposits (MIS 6), overlain by a typical pedocomplex from the last interglacial (MIS 5e). In the interval between the Early Zavadivka and Dnipro units, two well-developed pedocomplexes with interglacial pollen successions have been defined, correlated with MIS 9 and MIS 7. They are separated by a loess unit and a well-developed level of cryogenic features, which indicate deep ground freezing under a severe periglacial climate (MIS 8). The lower pedocomplex is separated from the Lower Zavadivka interglacial deposits by a loess and fluvial deposits with pollen of a periglacial type (MIS 10). The are well correlated in Gunky and Zamozhne sites. The complete sequence of the Upper Pleistocene deposits has also been studied, and, in the Zamozhne site, also two Lower Mid Pleistocene units, correlated with MIS 12 and MIS 13. Rock magnetic, lithopedological and pollen data match very well in their palaeoclimatic implications. Individual interglacial soil features, pollen successions and the rock magnetic record have been clearly defined, but a common regular trend in environmental and climate change can be also proved during the studied interglacials. The unique completeness of palaeoenvironmetal records from the terrestrial equivalents of MIS 10 to MIS 9 enables the definition of the Gunky–Zamozhne sections as their type locality in central and eastern Ukraine.