Rock-magnetic proxies of climate change from loess -paleosol sediments of the Czech Republic

Summary Rock-magnetic characteristics of late Pleistocene loess-paleosol sequences in the Czech Republic show patterns of variation that reflect climate-related depositional and diagenetic processes which acted on the sedimentary profiles. Mass-normalized magnetic susceptibility is high in interglacial and interstadial paleosols, while uniformly low values are measured in unweathered loess horizons. Normalized ferrimagnetic susceptibility and anhysteretic remanent magnetization show an enhancement of ultrafine (superparamagnetic, SP) and fine (single-domain, SD, and pseudo-single-domain, PSD) grains in chernozem paleosols correlated with δ¹⁸O substages 5c and 5a as well as in the Holocene soil. The parabraunerde paleosol associated with peak interglacial conditions, correlated with δ¹⁸O substage 5e, shows evidence of diagenetic loss of fine grained magnetic minerals, although coarse (multidomain, MD) grains appear to be preserved. Low temperature remanence behavior plus high temperature susceptibility measurements of representative samples from each lithologic unit indicate that magnetite and maghemite are the dominant magnetic minerals within the sediments. Variations in concentration-independent rock-magnetic parameters are therefore primarily a function of grain size variations through the profile. It is anticipated that with additional magnetic and non-magnetic sedimentological and geochemical tests, a quantitative rock-magnetic — paleoclimate model can be developed for the central European loess region.