Loess

Pye, Kenneth

doi:10.1177/030913338400800202

Cited by 104 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 127 publications

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“…All analyses done by the laser diffraction method. Zagoskin Lake and eastern Colorado data from the present study; French, Chinese and Mississippi loess data are from Pye and Sherwin (1999). free and volatile (mostly organic matter)-free basis.…”

Section: Mineralogy and Geochemistrymentioning

confidence: 84%

A late Quaternary record of eolian silt deposition in a maar lake, St. Michael Island, western Alaska

et al. 2003

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Recent stratigraphic studies in central Alaska have yielded the unexpected finding that there is little evidence for full-glacial (late Wisconsin) loess deposition. Because the loess record of western Alaska is poorly exposed and not well known, we analyzed a core from Zagoskin Lake, a maar lake on St. Michael Island, to determine if a full-glacial eolian record could be found in that region. Particle size and geochemical data indicate that the mineral fraction of the lake sediments is not derived from the local basalt and is probably eolian. Silt deposition took place from at least the latter part of the mid-Wisconsin interstadial period through the Holocene, based on radiocarbon dating. Based on the locations of likely loess sources, eolian silt in western Alaska was probably deflated by northeasterly winds from glaciofluvial sediments. If last-glacial winds that deposited loess were indeed from the northeast, this reconstruction is in conflict with a model-derived reconstruction of paleowinds in Alaska. Mass accumulation rates in Zagoskin Lake were higher during the Pleistocene than during the Holocene. In addition, more eolian sediment is recorded in the lake sediments than as loess on the adjacent landscape. The thinner loess record on land may be due to the sparse, herb tundra vegetation that dominated the landscape in full-glacial time. Herb tundra would have been an inefficient loess trap compared to forest or even shrub tundra due to its low roughness height. The lack of abundant, full-glacial, eolian silt deposition in the loess stratigraphic record of central Alaska may be due, therefore, to a mimimal ability of the landscape to trap loess, rather than a lack of available eolian sediment.

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Section: Mineralogy and Geochemistrymentioning

confidence: 84%

A late Quaternary record of eolian silt deposition in a maar lake, St. Michael Island, western Alaska

et al. 2003

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“…4c and d) displayed a greater shift in the PSD after full dispersion. After conversion to f units, the fully dispersed PSDs have sorting values of 1.6 -2.1 f, within the range of typical loess (Pye and Sherwin, 1999). Minimally dispersed PSDs are consistently better sorted, with sorting values of 1.3-1.6 f.…”

Section: Particle Size Distributions Of Minimally and Fully Dispersedmentioning

confidence: 84%

Sedimentary aggregates in the Peoria Loess of Nebraska, USA

Mason

Jacobs

Greene³

et al. 2003

CATENA

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Loess grain size data used to infer transport direction or wind strength are generally derived from vigorously disaggregated samples. However, these data may not adequately represent the effective particle size distribution during loess transport, if the transported dust contained aggregates of finegrained material. Thin sections of minimally altered C and BC horizons in the late Pleistocene Peoria Loess of Nebraska, USA, indicate the presence of aggregates with diameters of 30 -1000 Am. The larger aggregates (>250 Am) are unlikely to have been transported, and are interpreted as the result of soil faunal activity and other pedogenic processes after deposition. Aggregates smaller than 250 Am could have a similar origin, but laser diffraction particle size analysis suggests that many are sedimentary particles. Comparison of minimally and fully dispersed particle size distributions from each sampling site was used to estimate the modal diameter of aggregates. The aggregate modal diameter becomes finer with decreasing loess thickness, representing increasing distance from the source. A similar trend was observed in the modal diameter of fully dispersed particle size distributions, which represents the mode of sand and silt transported as individual grains. We interpret both trends as the result of sorting during transport, supporting the interpretation that many of the aggregates were transported rather than formed in place. Aggregate content appears to increase with distance from the source, explaining a much more rapid downwind increase in clay content than would be expected if clay were transported as particles smaller than 2 Am diameter. this loess were transported as primary particles, were thoroughly exposed to sunlight and are potentially well suited for luminescence dating. D

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“…There are few methods of describing in detail the changes in Pleistocene climatic conditions, due to the relatively rare occurrence of floral and faunal remnants. As a result, the bulk of Pleistocene paleoclimatic reconstructions for the Carpathian Basin are based upon loess deposits-fine-grained, friable, windblown sediment accretions that cover many parts of the globe, and which in the Carpathian Basin can be tens of meters thick Pye 1984;Rózycki and Wydzia 1991). It is generally accepted that some of the longest, most continuous and best-studied loess deposits in Europe are found in the Carpathian Basin (Fitzsimmons et al 2012;Marković et al 2012aMarković et al , b, 2014.…”

Section: Environmental Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Danube Corridor Hypothesis and the Carpathian Basin: Geological, Environmental and Archaeological Approaches to Characterizing Aurignacian Dynamics

Chu

2018

J World Prehist

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Early Upper Paleolithic sites in the Danube catchment have been put forward as evidence that the river was an important conduit for modern humans during their initial settlement of Europe. Central to this model is the Carpathian Basin, a region covering most of the Middle Danube. As the archaeological record of this region is still poorly understood, this paper aims to provide a contextual assessment of the Carpathian Basin's geological and paleoenvironmental archives, starting with the late Upper Pleistocene. Subsequently, it compiles early Upper Paleolithic data from the region to provide a synchronic appraisal of the Aurignacian archaeological evidence. It then uses this data to test whether the relative absence of early Upper Paleolithic sites is obscured by a taphonomic bias. Finally, it reviews current knowledge of the Carpathian Basin's archaeological record and concludes that, while it cannot reject the Danube corridor hypothesis, further (geo) archaeological work is required to understand the link between the Carpathian Basin and Central and Southeastern Europe.

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Loess

Cited by 104 publications

References 127 publications

A late Quaternary record of eolian silt deposition in a maar lake, St. Michael Island, western Alaska

A late Quaternary record of eolian silt deposition in a maar lake, St. Michael Island, western Alaska

Sedimentary aggregates in the Peoria Loess of Nebraska, USA

The Danube Corridor Hypothesis and the Carpathian Basin: Geological, Environmental and Archaeological Approaches to Characterizing Aurignacian Dynamics

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