Central Asian Loess

Long-term dynamics of high latitude Eurasian climate subsystems during the middle and late Pleistocene: investigating indicators from Central Asian piedmont loess deposits

01/01/2026 to 31/12/2027

Our project will investigate evidence for past variability of one of the least well-understood components of the Eurasian climate subsystem
– the high-latitude Siberian high-pressure system and the latitudinally dynamic polar jet streams. Evidence for temporal changes in these
systems, and their interactions with the adjacent mid-latitude westerlies and the tropical Asian and Indian monsoons, is preserved
within thick deposits of aeolian (wind-transported) loess along the Central Asian piedmonts. This proposal will systematically investigate
the indicators of change using a range of both novel and established techniques, with a particular focus on provenance analysis and
environmental magnetism to reconstruct sediment sources and past environmental conditions.