Comparative study on the Late Cenozoic red clay deposits from China and Central Europe (Hungary)

Abstract

In the eastern Loess Plateau region of Northern China, the Quaternary loess-palaeosol sequences of the last 2.6 Ma are underlain by the Hipparion Red-Earth Formation (namely the "Red Clay"). The red clay is also a significant deposit in Hungary, the origin of which is controversial. This paper is a comparative study of the Central European (Hungarian) red clay succession and the Xifeng Red Clay profile, the type section for this deposits in the eastern Loess Plateau region. Optical microscopic and SEM analysis were used for grain-size measurements, and both major- and trace-element geochemical properties were analysed to address the question of the origin of Hungarian red clay as well as its environmental implication. We compare the Xifeng Upper Red-Earth (age: ~3.6 to 2.6 Ma BP) with the Hungarian, Tengelic Red Clay Formation (age: ~3.5 to 1.0 Ma BP); both are aeolian deposits genetically related to the Quaternary loess-palaeosol sequence.