Paleomagnetic evidence for the Gothenburg geomagnetic excursion during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition recorded in the Paleo-Danyang Lake, eastern China

[Display omitted] •The BZK0402 core from the southern edge of the Paleo-Danyang Lake records the Gothenburg geomagnetic excursion.•This excursion occurs during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition and is recorded in an area with high sedimentation rates.•The Gothenburg excursion can be used to correlate between sedimentary cores in East Asia.•It also has potentially wider correlative and chronostratigraphic uses.•The Gothenburg geomagnetic excursion is contemporaneous with an abrupt temperature decrease since the last deglaciation. This paper aims to identify the Gothenburg geomagnetic excursion as a stratigraphic marker and presents the results of a paleomagnetic investigation of deposits within the southern part of the Paleo-Danyang Lake area of eastern China. These paleomagnetic data provide evidence for the Gothenburg geomagnetic excursion at 12,494 to 13,081 cal year BP at depths of 6.5–7.2 m within the paleo-lake. We also analyzed the spatial distribution of localities that both record and do not record the excursion event and the estimated timing of this excursion event in East Asia. The presence of uninterrupted sedimentation at a high depositional rate during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition appears to be the key factor in preserving evidence for this excursion in the localities that record this event. The non-existence of the excursion appears to be the result of low sedimentation rates, under-sampling and the presence of sedimentary hiatuses associated with erosion. The fact that these types of excursions can be correlated between sedimentary cores separated by angular distances of less than 30° on Earth’s surface means that the Gothenburg excursion can be used to correlate between lacustrine and marine deposits in East Asia (and potentially further afield) as well as being useful for chronostratigraphic purposes. Comparisons between cave stalagmite δ18O records and the polarities of the lacustrine sediments also indicate that the timing of the Gothenburg geomagnetic excursion is consistent with an abrupt decrease in temperature since the last deglaciation although the meaning of this correlation requires further research.