SAR TT-OSL dating of the loess deposits in the Horqin dunefield (northeastern China)

Palaeoclimatic change in northeastern China during the late Quaternary remains poorly understood. This is partly because of the scarcity of detailed investigations into archives in the region, but especially because of the lack of an appropriate dating method to obtain age control for the area's loess deposits. In this paper, the single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) OSL and thermally transferred OSL (TT-OSL) method have been used to date two typical loess sections (Kulungou and Pingancun) in northeastern China. The results show that the SAR TT-OSL method is suitable for dating the Horqin aeolian sections and suggest that deposition commenced at least since the middle Pleistocene in the Horqin dunefield. A sand layer deposited at about 262 ± 32 ka implies that the dunefield experienced at least one significant period of aridification during the late Quaternary.

► Dating loess in the Horqin dunefield back to 300 ka using quartz SAR TT-OSL.
► Providing chronostratigraphic evidence that the dunefield formed since the middle Pleistocene.
► Reporting a significant aridification event in Horqin dunefield at about c. 262 ± 32 ka.