Summary
Magnetic susceptibility of more than 160 modern silty soil samples in China was measured to assess the relationship between the magnetic susceptibility and modern climatic parameters. Correlation between magnetic susceptibility and mean annual temperature (MAT) or mean annual precipitation (MAP), shows a complex picture and no single function can be found to fit all the data on the national scale. In East China, where East Asian monsoon plays an important role for the climate conditions, magnetic susceptibility increases with the increase of MAT or MAP in temperate semi-arid regions of the Loess Plateau and surrounding areas. This can be attributed to increasing intensity of pedogenesis which would favor the formation of strongly magnetic minerals and/or reduce depositional rate of eolian dust. Magnetic susceptibility tends to decrease with the increase of temperature and precipitation in the tropical and subtropical warm and humid regions of the vast areas south of the Yangtze River. This may be explained by pedogenic transformation of iron-bearing minerals to weakly magnetic minerals. Between these two different correlation patterns, 15°C of MAT and/or 1200 mm of MAP seem to be the thresholds. In West China, the correlation becomes quite complex in the great mountains and vast sedimentary basins in the north-west. This may be due to the prevailing continental climate in this region and topographic contrast within short distance. The correlation for the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) Plateau is not clear because very few samples were collected. Fluctuations of paleo-temperature and paleo-precipitation at Luochuan for the last 130 ka were estimated using the climofunction obtained from this study.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
An Z.S., Kukla G.J., Porter S.C. and Xiao J.L., 1991: Magnetic susceptibility evidence of monsoon variation on the loess plateau of central China during the last 130,000 years.Quat. Res. 36, 29–36.
Banerjee S.K., 1995, Chasing the paleomonsoon over China: Its magnetic proxy record.GSA Today 5, 93–97.
Beer J., Shen C.D., Heller F., Liu T.S., Bonani G., Dittrich B., Suter M. and Kubik P.W., 1993:10Be and magnetic susceptibility in Chinese loess.Geophys. Res. Lett. 20, 57–60.
Davis J.C., 1986:Statistics and Data Analysis in Geology. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Evans M.E. and Heller F., 1994: Magnetic enhancement and palaeoclimate: Study of a loess/paleosol couple across the Loess Plateau of China.Geophys. J. Int. 117, 257–264.
Eyre J.K. and Shaw J., 1994, Magnetic enhancement of Chinese loess: the role of γFe2O3?Geophys. J. Int. 117, 265–271.
Guo Z.T., Fedoroff N. and An Z.S., 1991: Genetic types of the Holocene soil and the Pleistocene paleosols in the Xifeng loess section in central China. In: T.S. Liu (ed.),Loess, Environment, and Global Change, Science Press, Beijing, 93–111.
Guo Z.T., Liu T.S. and An Z.S., 1994: Paleosols of the last 0.15 Ma in the Weinan loess section and their paleoclimatic significance.Quat. Sci. 256–269. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Han J.M., Hus J.J., Paepe R., Vandenberghe R.E. and Liu T.S., 1991: The rock magnetic properties of the Malan and Lishi Formations in the loess plateau of China. In: T.S. Liu (ed.),Loess, Environment, and Global Change, Science Press, Beijing, 125–141.
Heller F. and Liu T.S., 1984: Magnetism of Chinese loess deposits.Geophys, J. R. Astr. Soc. 77, 125–141.
Heller F. and Liu T.S., 1986: Palaeoclimatic and sedimentary history from magnetic susceptibility of loess in China.Geophys. Res. Lett. 13, 1169–1172.
Heller F., Liu X.M., Liu T.S. and Xu T.C., 1991: Magnetic susceptibility of loess in China.Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 103, 301–310.
Heller F., Shen C.D., Beer J., Liu X.M., Liu T.S., Bronger A., Suter M. and Bonani G., 1993: Quantitative estimates of pedogenic ferromagnetic mineral formation in Chinese loess and palaeoclimatic implications.Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 114, 385–390.
Hunt C.P., Banerjee S.K., Han J.M., Solheid P.A., Oches E., Sun W.W. and Liu T.S., 1995: Rock-magnetic proxies of climate change in the loess-paleosol sequences of the western Loess Plateau of China.Geophys. J. Int. 123, 232–244.
Hus J.J. and Han J.M., 1992: The contribution of loess magnetism in China to the retrieval of past global changes: some problems.Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 7, 154–168.
Jenny H., 1941:Factors of Soil Formation. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Jia R.F., Liu D.S. and Lin B.H., 1992: A preliminary study on magnetism of organic matter in Duanjiapo loess section at Lantian, Shaanxi Province, China.Geochimica 234–242. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Kukla G., Heller F., Liu X.M., Xu T.C., Liu T.S. and An Z.S., 1988: Pleistocene climates in China dated by magnetic susceptibility.Geology 16, 811–814.
Li Q.K., 1983:Red Soils in China. Science Press, Beijing. (in Chinese)
Liu J.Q., Nie G.Z., Chen T.M., Song C.Y., Guo Z.T., Li K., Gao S.J. and Qiao Y.L., 1995a: A preliminary high resolution time scale for the last 130 000 years at Weinan loess section, China.Scientia Geologica Sinica 4, Supplementary Issue (1), 9–22.
Liu T.S., 1985:Loess and the Environment. China Occean Press, Beijing.
Liu X.M., Shaw J., Liu T.S., Heller F. and Yuan B.Y., 1992: Magnetic mineralogy of Chinese loess and its significance.Geophys. J. Int. 108, 301–308.
Liu X.M., Rolph T., Bloemendal J., Shaw J. and Liu T.S., 1995b: Quantitative estimates of palaeoprecipitation at Xifeng, in the loess plateau of China.Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimat., Palaeoecol. 113, 243–248.
Maher B.A. and Thompson R., 1991, Mineral magnetic record of the Chinese loess and paleosols.Geology 19, 3–6.
Maher B.A. and Thompson R., 1995: Paleorainfall reconstructions from pedogenic magnetic susceptibility variations in the Chinese loess and paleosols.Quat. Res. 44, 383–391.
Maher B.A., Thompson R. and Zhou L.P., 1994: Spatial and temporal reconstructions of changes in the Asian palaeomonsoon: a new mineral magnetic approach.Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 125, 462–471.
Ren M.E. (ed.), 1982:The Essentials of the Natural Geography of China. Beijing, The Commercial Press, Beijing.
Rolph T.C., Shaw J., Derbyshire E. and Wang J.T., 1993: The magnetic mineralogy of a loess section near Lanzhou, China. In: K. Pye (ed.),The Dynamics and Environmental Context of Aeolian Sedimentary Systems, Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. 72, 311–323.
Thompson R. and Oldfield F., 1986:Environmental Magnetism. Allen and Unwin, London.
Schwertmann U. and Taylor R.M., 1977: Iron oxides. In: J.B. Dixon (ed.),Minerals in Soil Environments, Soil Soc. Am., 145–180.
Vandenberghe R.E., DeGrave E., Hus J.J. and Han J.M., 1992: Characterization of Chinese loess and associated paleosol by Mössbauer spectroscopy.Hyperfine Interac. 70, 977–980.
Zhou L.P., Oldfield F., Wintle A.G., Robinson S.G. and Wang J.T., 1990: Partly pedogenic origin of magnetic variations in Chinese loess.Nature 346, 737–739.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jiamao, H., Houyuan, L., Naiqin, W. et al. The magnetic susceptibility of modern soils in China and its use for paleoclimate reconstruction. Stud Geophys Geod 40, 262–275 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02300742
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02300742