Fig. 2.

Stratigraphic column, median grain size (Md), magnetic susceptibility (SUS), and δ¹³C of bulk organic matter for the 21 loess sections (Fig. 1) across the Chinese Loess Plateau, and correlation with a stacked Chinese loess grain-size record [Chinese Loess Millennial-Scale Oscillation Stack (CHILOMOS) (22)] and a stacked benthic δ¹⁸O record (23). The stratigraphic positions of the selected samples used in Figs. 4 and 5 are indicated by solid triangles in each section. Median calibrated radiocarbon ages of the bulk organic fraction for 10 of those selected samples are labeled beside the triangles. Marine isotope stages (MIS) 1–3 are labeled. The shaded zones indicate the Holocene soil (S₀). The gray lines indicate the top of MIS 3 (L_1-2).