Rubidium and strontium geochemistry in the Laohushan loess section, Nanjing,and relation between magnetic susceptibility and paleoclimatic change

Abstract: The Xiashu loess in the Nanjing-Zhenjiang area records abundant information of the paleoclimatic change. The Xiashu loess, as a facies at the southern margin of eolian and dusty accumulations in northern China, occupies an important position in the study of the global environmental change. The authors systematically analyzed the Rb and Sr concentrations and magnetic susceptibility at the Laohushan section at 10 cm intervals. The results show that the Rb concentration and magnetic susceptibility may better indicate the variations in intensity of the East Asian monsoon and that the Rb/Sr ratio may server as a substitute proxy for chemical weathering of the Xiashu loess. The increase of the Rb/Sr ratio at the section from below upward is the result of intensification of chemical weathering over the last 120 ka.