A thin layer of yellow-brown-colored earth was generally found on Quaternary red clay in Jiujiang,Jiangxi Province. A typical profile was established. Both particle size distribution and REE (rare earthelements) characteristics of the yellow-brown-colored earth of the profile fully suggested its aeolian origin andclose similarity to Naming Xiashu loess. The study also implied aeolian origin of the underlying Quaternaryred clap Compared with the red clay, the yellow- brown- colored earth was less weathered because of its lowercontent of free iron and higher mole ratios of SiO2/A12O3 and SiO2/(Fe2O3+A12O3 ) as well as its lessdeveloped chemical microtextures of quartz grains.In order to study the aged of the two deposits comparatively, the thermoluminescent dating method wasused. As a result, the bottom of the yellow-brown-colored esrth was dated to 6015 ka B. P. and the upperpart of the red clay 38854 ka B. P. It was suggested that the yellow- browm- colored earth was formed inthe Late Pleistocene and was probably the aeolian deposit of the Last Glacial, which corresponded with theMalan loess in the Loess Plateau of the northwestern part of China; while the underlying red clay was formedin the Middle Pleistocene.A "yellow cap" on Quaternary red clay in Jiujiang implied a great climatic and environmental varistionin the beginning of the Late Pleistocene in the southern pot of China, especially in the middle and lowerreaches of the Yangtze River. The eveal not only halted the rubification, once dominating the region, butalso produced a widespread covering of aeolian deposit, as only occurred in the cold and dry environment.
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