Mineral magnetic properties of loess-paleosol couplets of northern Serbia over the last 1.0 Ma

We conducted the first detailed mineral magnetic investigation of more than nine loess-paleosol couplets of the composite Titel-Stari Slankamen loess section in Serbia, which provides one of the longest and most complete terrestrial record of paleoclimatic changes in Europe since similar to 1.0 Ma. The results show that the ferrimagnetic mineral assemblage of the loess units is dominated by partially oxidized multidomain (MD) and pseudo-single domain (PSD) magnetite; however, with an increasing degree of pedogenesis, the eolian contribution is gradually masked by pedogenic superparamagnetic(SP) and single-domain (SD) ferrimagnets (mainly maghemite). The overall consistency of ferrimagnetic grain-size parameters indicates an absence of dissolution of the fine-grained ferrimagnetic fraction despite changes in climate regime over the past 1.0 Ma. The variations of normalized dJ/dT(@120K) and normalized chi(heating@530 degrees C) reflect a long-term stepwise increase in aridity during glacials with a major step at similar to 0.6-0.5 Ma, over the last 1.0 Ma. Overall, the results provide an improved basis for the future use of the magnetic properties of Serbian loess deposits for paleoclimatic reconstruction.

Automated summary

This study conducted a detailed mineral magnetic investigation of loess-paleosol couplets in Serbia, revealing changes in ferrimagnetic mineral assemblage with increasing pedogenesis. The results provide an improved basis for using Serbian loess deposits for paleoclimatic reconstruction.