THE BLAKE GEOMAGNETIC POLARITY EPISODE RECORDED IN CHINESE LOESS

A geomagnetic anomaly consisting of three clearly defined periods of r everse polarity separated by two short intervals of normal polarity ha s been documented in a loess section near Xining, western China. On th e basis of previous studies of Chinese loess stratigraphy, we correlat e this geomagnetic polarity episode with the Blake event. While more r esearch is needed to improve our understanding of the exact process of remanence acquisition of loess deposits, this study shows that loess may provide records of fast geomagnetic events and lends further suppo rt to the global nature of the Blake geomagnetic event.