The palaeoclimitic changes inferred from Peking Man Cave deposits in comparison with the climatic sequence of other formations
Liu Zechun
1983, 2(02):
172-183.
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The deposits in the Peking Man Cave are more than 40 m thick(the bottom of the cave has not been reached yet).They constitute 17 layers of limestone breccia and non-breccia ( sand, silt, clay, travertine and ash). According to studies on detailed geological sections, sedimentology, various datings of animal fossils and pollens, it is evident that those layers can be correlated with the changes in the climate of glacial cycles in deep sea sediments. The cold climate inferred by breccia layers is identical with that of the glacial represented by the uneven numbers of the δ18 O curve of the deep-sea core and the warm climate inferred by non-breccia layers is identical with that of the interglacial represented by the even numbers. The cave deposits at Zhoukoudian, Beijing, show that the climatic variations of the Quarternary in China adhered to a certain orientation. In other words, from the Middle Pleistocene on, the climatic variations became obvious and the continental climate in tensified. Based on the principles of the development of limestone caves, a comparison between the cave deposits and the sediments outside the cave and the data of absolute datings, the deposits in the Upper Cave, the New Cave and the Peking Man Cave can be correlated to the terraces outside the caves, China's loess sections and the δ18 O stages of the deep-sea core. According to climatic stratigraphy, the 17th-15th layers of the Peking Man Cave may be correlated to the sediments of the third terrace outside the cave, while the 14th-7th layers with the second terrace, or lower gravel layer, were formed in the same period, the deposits of the Peking Man Cave, the New Cave and the Upper Cave may be correlated to the L1-L12 of the loess section in Luochun, Shanxi province, or δ18 O 16-2 stages of the deep-sea core V28-238.
