Magnetic proxy climate results from the Duanjiapo loess section, southernmost extremity of the Chinese loess plateau

We report mineral magnetic results from a 7.5 m loess sequence (150 samples ) from the southernmost extremity of the Chinese loess plateau (which inclu des the last two glacial cycles). In this area the loess sediments experien ced particularly intense weathering processes. The magnetic assemblage is d ominated by a mixture of pseudo-single domain (PSD) and multidomain (MD) ma gnetite with associated superparamagnetic (SP) grains of either magnetite o r maghemite in the paleosols and weathered loess horizons. All the rock mag netic parameters fluctuate in parallel with marine sediment delta(18)O data over the last 150 kyr, thus reflecting changing global paleoclimatic condi tions. This relationship is also supported by the evidence of Milankovitch cycles in the magnetic susceptibility record. Paleorainfall estimates, when compared with other studies from the Chinese loess plateau, underline the (more) humid character of this region during the last similar to 130 kyr.