Provenance and Climatic Implications of the Middle-Pleistocene Loess Deposit, Southern China

The middle-Pleistocene Xiashu loess deposit in the lower reaches of Yangtze River (LRYR), southern China, may yield evidence with significant climatic and environmental significance. However, its provenance remains controversial. In this study, grain size analysis, quartz surface microtextural morphological observations, enabled comparison LRYR those on Loess Plateau northern China. results show that characteristics do not follow coarse-fine NW-SE trend microtextures grains are distinctly different from indicating deposits two regions have provenances. Gobi Desert inland northwestern China considered as primary loess. Instead, adjacent floodplains LRYR, alluvial plains Huai Yellow to north during glacial periods suggested dominant source materials for Under background climate transition (MPT), regional aridity a strengthened east Asian winter monsoon (driven by global cooling rapid uplift Tibetan Plateau) were drivers development sustained eolian accumulation represent response subtropical area MPT event at around 0.9 Ma.