Loess records

Loess is an eolian deposit, composed mainly of silt grains, which can be identified in the field as a distinct sedimentary body. It covers a significant portion of the land surface of the Earth and is one of the most important terrestrial archives of long-term dust deposition. Loess appears on almost all continents, and ranges in thickness up to several hundred of meters. Most loess sequences include buried soils (paleosols), alternating with unaltered loess layers. As the formation of loess is controlled, at least partly, by climate, alternating loess deposits and buried soils hold valuable information of Quaternary climatic and environmental conditions, especially of past wind regimes.