PARTICLE SIZES,MAGNETIC PROPERTIES AND ORIGINS OF LOESS DEPOSITS FROM HUANGNISHAN HILL IN NANTONG, JIANGSU PROVINCE

Huangnishan hill is located in the southern area of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province. In this paper, we studied magnetic and granulometric characteristics of loess deposits from the Huangnishan hill and the origin of loess. The sediments are dominated by silty clay, and finer than those of both the Xiashu loess in Zhenjiang and the loess in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Huangnishan loess is similar to Xiashu loess in magnetic property, implying that the Huangnishan loess is the same as the Xiashu loess in Zhenjiang area, which is of aeolian origin. The fluctuation of magnetic parameters indicates that paleoenvironmental changes were recorded in the loess, too. The lower content of fine-grained ferrimagnetic minerals and higher S_-100 values of the deposits in comparison to the Xiashu loess suggest that the Huangnishan loess experienced a lower degree of pedogenic alteration than that of the Xiashu loess in Zhenjiang.