THE CONTRIBUTION OF LOESS MAGNETISM IN CHINA TO THE RETRIEVAL OF PAST GLOBAL CHANGES - SOME PROBLEMS

In the loess plateau of China, the stratigraphical position of the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary was not found in loess unit L8 at Luochuan and Jixian as is commonly accepted. The interbedded palaeosols may be differentiated from the parent loess not only by their high magnetic susceptibility but also by their enhanced remanence properties. These contrasts mainly result from concentration changes of the inherited magnetic minerals, grain-size changes and authigenic formation of magnetic minerals, which are all linked to climate-controlled soil formation processes.