The summer monsoon evolution recorded by carbon isotope of organic matter from the Yuanbao loess section during the Last Interglaciation

Based on the carbon isotope record of organic matter from the Yuanbao loess section, northwestern China, five enhanced summer monsoon events were observed at this area during the Last Interglaciation. Such events were also recorded by the paleosol layers, pollen assemblage and magnetic susceptibility. It is suggested that the enhanced summer monsoon leads to the shift of vegetation type, which results in the change of δ¹³C value of organic matter in the paleosol layer. It appears that the δ¹³C of organic matter is a good indicator for the summer monsoon variation. Among these five events, the first, second and the fifth reached their maximum smoothly, but the other two had experienced a less cold stage before reaching their peaks, which suggests that the mechanisms of such events may be different.