Jeffrey J. McDonnell

Temperature proxies for paleoclimate reconstruction have been made typically via ice cores, tree rings, stalagmites, and lake sediments. While extremely useful, these proxies can be limited spatially. Here we sampled a 98 m “soil core” from Loess Plateau of China and examined the relationship between pore water isotopic values and hydroclimate history. We extracted soil pore water for δ 18 O, δ 2 H, and 3 H and measured chloride concentration. The 3 H‐peak at 6 m and chloride mass balance were used to turn depth into calendar year. A 1000 year span was revealed. δ 18 O and δ 2 H values between 14–50 m were anomalously low—bracketing well the Little Ice Age period from 1420 to 1870. The identification was consistent with other standard proxies in the region and showed the same temporal dynamics of temperature anomalies. Our study shows the potential of stable isotopes of soil water for paleoclimate reconstruction in deep soils.