Glacial and interglacial periods of Siberia: Paleoclimate record of Lake Baikal and correlation with West Siberian stratigraphic scheme (the Brunhes Chron)

The article presents a new Lake Baikal paleoclimate record of biogenic sili ca for the Brunhes Chron (from 780 ka ago to the present). Correlation of t he Lake Baikal record with the marine oxygen isotope record shows that clim atic changes of Central Eurasia are not specific but follow the pattern of global climate fluctuations of the Northern Hemisphere caused by orbital fo rcing. Specific features of continental climatic changes (glaciations durin g substages 5d, 7d, 9d, and 15bcd) were also found in the Baikal record, Correlation of paleoclimate record of biogenic silica from Baikal bottom se diments with Siberian stratigraphic scheme was made for the Brunhes Chron. The paleoclimatic events of Lake Baikal are well identified with marine oxy gen isotope stages and correlate well with climatic events of Siberian stra tigraphic schemes for the Late Pleistocene but do not correlate for the Mid dle and Early Pleistocene. There are 10 warm interglacial and 9 cold glacia l periods during the Brunhes Chron of Lake Baikal, which agree with marine records but disagree with the Siberian stratigraphic scheme having only 7 g lacial and 8 interglacial periods within the Brunhes. This disagreement is probably related to the incomplete nature of terrestrial outcrop sections o f Siberia. The new Lake Baikal record may provide an important chronostrati graphic base for Central Asia.