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A call for Australian loess
Author(s) -
Haberlah David
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
area
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1475-4762
pISSN - 0004-0894
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4762.2007.00730.x
Subject(s) - loess , aeolian processes , geology , context (archaeology) , earth science , pleistocene , terminology , arid , mainland , geography , geomorphology , archaeology , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy
The term ‘loess’ for silty terrestrial deposits of aeolian origin is widely avoided in the Australian context. This seems to be linked to a prevailing notion among Australian geoscientists that loess is an inherently periglacial late Pleistocene sediment and hence negligible on the mainland. Addressing this conception, loess is presented here as a product of both cold and hot semi‐arid environments and therefore a widespread feature in Australia. The adoption of a non‐prescriptive definition of loess will align the variety of local descriptions with overseas terminology. More importantly, it will relate hitherto only vaguely defined wind‐blown dust occurrences to a broader palaeoenvironmental concept.