Direct correlation of the marine oxygen isotope record with the Chinese Loess Plateau iron oxide and magnetic susceptibility records

Comparison of our Loess Plateau paleoclimatic proxies in V21-146 to previously published oxygen isotope data from this core suggests that through Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9, coincident with Loess Plateau interglacial soil level 3 (S3), ocean temperature increases and the onset of monsoonal conditions on the Loess Plateau were synchronous. However, for MIS 11/12 (interglacial/glacial S4/L5) changes in the ocean appear to significantly lead those on land and there is a lack of correlation between MIS 13 and S5. These out of phase events may be a response to a reorganization of the ocean/atmosphere system as indicated by changes in the δ13C record. It has previously been suggested that changes in eolian flux record eolian transport from the Loess Plateau, but we find little correlation between eolian flux and our Loess Plateau proxies, suggesting that some of the eolian sediments were derived from outside the Loess Plateau.