Overview

Abstract

Eolian sediments (sand, loess, and long-range-transported or aerosolic dust) are important archives of the Quaternary geologic and paleoclimatic record. They are extensive on the Earth's surface at all latitudes and can be dated using luminescence methods that require only the sediment itself. Unlike many Quaternary sediments, eolian deposits are direct indicators of atmospheric circulation. Furthermore, they are robust indicators of past aridity.Soils are naturally occurring bodies that mantle most of the land surface of Earth. Soil geography is a function of the combined effects of climate and vegetation, as well as parent material composition, parent material age, and topography. Because of their close links to climate, vegetation, and age of parent material, soils are powerful tools in Quaternary stratigraphy, geomorphology and landscape evolution, archeology, and paleoclimatology. Soils of the past, called paleosols, are particularly important in stratigraphy, interpreting past conditions of climate or vegetation, and the duration of land surface stability.