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The significance and relationships among substitutive climatic proxies in the Holocene at the middle Loess Plateau in China

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Abstract

The substitutive climatic proxies contain climate data, including temperature, rainfall, monsoon, and so on. However, the environmental significance and relationships among climatic proxies remain uncertain. In this research, soil samples from three soil profiles in the Holocene at the middle Chinese Loess Plateau were studied to analyze the change of seven substitutive climatic proxies. The rescaled range analysis method and Pearson correlation coefficient were employed to determine the significance and relationships among these proxies. The results indicated that the magnetic susceptibility of soil, total ferrum content, and pH can reflect changes in both temperature and rainfall during soil formation. In addition, calcium carbonate content and total organic carbon were mainly affected by the rainfall and temperature, respectively. Particle size composition (clay fraction <0.005 mm and coarse silt 0.01–0.05 mm) is an effective means by which to describe the effects of the East Asian winter monsoon. The results of this study provide theoretical basis and scientific reference for further paleoclimate evolution research.

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Acknowledgments

This research was jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41201270), Open Research Fund Program of the State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau (Grant No. 10501-1211), Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin (China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research) (Grant No. IWHR-SKL-201219), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 20110491162), and Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 2012FFB03801).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, People’s Republic of China

    Liu Gang, Liu Puling, Yang Mingyi & Zhang Qiong

  2. College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People’s Republic of China

    Liu Gang, Cai Chongfa & Yang Wei

  3. State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100048, People’s Republic of China

    Liu Gang

  4. Key Laboratory of Geological Hazards on Three Gorges Reservoir Area, Ministry of Education, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, China Three Gorges University, No. 8, Daxue Road, Yichang, 443002, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

    Liu Gang, Xu Wennian & Zhang Qiong

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  1. Liu Gang
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  2. Liu Puling
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  3. Yang Mingyi
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  4. Cai Chongfa
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  5. Xu Wennian
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  6. Zhang Qiong
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  7. Yang Wei
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Correspondence to Liu Gang.

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Gang, L., Puling, L., Mingyi, Y. et al. The significance and relationships among substitutive climatic proxies in the Holocene at the middle Loess Plateau in China. Environ Earth Sci 70, 2997–3004 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2357-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2357-4

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