Magnetic mineral dissolution in Pleistocene fluvio-lacustrine sediments, Nihewan Basin (North China)

The Nihewan fluvio-lacustrine sequence (North China) has recorded late Pliocene–Pleistocene climatic and environmental changes, and contains valuable information on early human evolution in high-latitude East Asia. We carried out a combined mineral-magnetic and geochemical investigation on a sequence from the Xiantai section, eastern Nihewan Basin. Results suggest that large-amplitude magnetic-property variations between so-called ‘high-magnetic’ and ‘low-magnetic’ units mainly result from preservation/dissolution cycles of detrital magnetic minerals in alternating oxic and anoxic depositional environments. In our preservation/dissolution model, the high- and low-magnetic units represent glacial and interglacial deposits, respectively. This contributes to a better understanding of the link between magnetic properties and climate in the Xiantai fluvio-lacustrine sequence. Based upon this relationship, early humans may have occupied the Xiantai and Xiaochangliang sites during an interglacial period, during both interglacial and glacial periods at the Donggutuo site, and during a glacial period at the Maliang site. Our work provides a paleoenvironmental context for early human adaptation and occupation in mainland East Asia during the early Pleistocene.