Mass accumulation rate changes in Chinese loess during MIS 2, and asynchrony with records from Greenland ice cores and North Pacific Ocean sediments during the Last Glacial Maximum

• Mass accumulation rate changes during MIS 2 determined for eight sites on the CLP.
• Relative mass accumulation rate changes during MIS 2 across the whole of the CLP.
• Rapid (slow) dust accumulation during the LGM (the last deglaciation).
• Asynchronous proximal and distal Asian-sourced dust accumulation during LGM.
• Significance of changes in the zone axis of the Westerly jet at dust transport.

Sensitivity-corrected quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods have been widely accepted as a promising tool for the construction of late Pleistocene chronology and mass or dust accumulation rates (MARs or DARs) on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). Many quartz OSL ages covering marine isotope stage (MIS) 2 (equal to L1-1 in Chinese loess) have been determined for individual sites within the CLP in the past decade. However, there is still a lack of detailed MAR or DAR reconstruction during MIS 2 across the whole of the CLP. Here, we present detailed MARs determined for eight sites with closely-spaced quartz OSL ages covering ∼MIS 2, and relative MARs suggested by a probability density analysis of 159 quartz OSL ages ranging from ∼30 to 10 ka ago, from 15 sites on the CLP. The results show enhanced dust accumulation during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), with particularly rapid dust accumulation from ∼23 to 19 ka ago (the late LGM). In contrast, MARs determined for the last deglaciation (from ∼19 to 12 ka ago) are low. The MAR changes during MIS 2 in Chinese loess are mainly controlled by the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) intensity, which is forced by Northern Hemisphere ice volume. The MAR changes also indicate that dust accumulation during MIS 2 is generally continuous at millennial time scales on the CLP. Comparison of Asian-sourced aeolian dust MARs in Chinese loess with those preserved in Greenland ice cores and North Pacific Ocean sediments indicates that rapid dust accumulation occurred from ∼26 to 23 ka ago (the early LGM) in Greenland ice cores and North Pacific Ocean sediments, suggesting a several kilo-year difference in timing when compared with the rapid dust accumulation during the late LGM in Chinese loess. This asynchronous timing in enhanced dust accumulation is probably related to both changes in the EAWM intensity and changes in the mean position of zone axis of the Westerly jet, both of which are greatly influenced by Northern Hemisphere ice volume. This study highlights the possible influence of changes in the mean position of zone axis of the Westerly jet on long-range transport of Asian-sourced dust.