In 2019, the EGU SSP blog reported from a workshop exploring Paleozoic dust. By now, the Deep Dust initiative is supported by the International Continental Scientific Drilling program, which is an important step. It is planned to drill in the US in a first project phase. The Deep Dust Drilling Project (DEEP DUST) is focused on understanding paleoclimatic conditions, biospheric responses and climat ...[Read More]
An online learning platform for cyclostratigraphy – www.cyclostratigraphy.org
Cyclostratigraphers aim to read and understand the effect of climate-driven orbital changes in the geological record through time. In doing so, they start from an important prerequisite: An imprint of insolation variations caused by Earth’s orbital eccentricity, obliquity and/or precession (Milankovitch forcing) can be preserved in the geological rock record. The new www.cyclostratigraphy.org webs ...[Read More]
What’s my age again? Comparing dating methods in loess
Figure 1: The investigated Balta Alba Kurgan loess-paleosol sequence in Romania with the partly preserved Kurgan on top (black dashed line). Sampled profiles are indicated by the white rectangles and the stratigraphically important tephra layer is highlighted in pink (adapted from [1]).
As you have learned from our previous posts, loess is a widespread terrestrial sediment, known to be an important archive for the changes of past environmental and climatic conditions. In order to use loess as a proxy, we first need to investigate the age of the sediments. In loess, different dating methods can be used, such as luminescence dating, radiocarbon dating, magnetic stratigraphy, and or ...[Read More]
Desert loess: formation, distribution, geoscientific value
Image of desert loess from Tunisia, provided by Sascha Meszner, Maximilian Pachtmann and Georg Mettig (Institute for Geography, TU Dresden; Germany).
Loess is an aeolian (wind-driven) silty sediment covering over 10% of the Earth’s land surface; it occurs predominantly in the mid-latitudes. On a global scale, loess is among the most widespread unconsolidated sediments, and of crucial importance for agricultural regions where loess deposits are known to form fertile soils because of its ability to store water and retain nutrients. Loess is compr ...[Read More]