Figure 2: Lithology and sedimentology of the reddish loess studied in the AB1 section.
From: Early Pleistocene climate in western arid central Asia inferred from loess-palaeosol sequences
(a–c) Photograph showing the lithology of the studied section; (d) SEM image showing the angular morphology of quartz grains; (e) thin section showing pedogenic features within palaeosols: D - Calcite depletion zones dominated by speckled b-fabric, C - Clay coatings along channels, Ca - Calcitic crystallitic b-fabric, O - dominance of Fe/Mn oxides as coatings in the matrix. (f) comparison of the major element compositions between the lower Pleistocene loess and the overlying upper Pleistocene loess in the AB1 section; (g) comparison of the textural classification of the red-coloured sediments and the overlying upper Pleistocene loess from the AB1 section (grey squares) (the classification was made using the computer program described in ref. 57); (h) grain-size distribution of representative samples and its comparison with those of typical loess from the overlying upper Pleistocene loess (this study), south Tajikistan28, and the CLP29. It should be noted that the laser diffraction method may potentially underestimate the content of the clay fraction. The figure was generated using Adobe Illustrator.
