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The Galería Complex is a cave sediment succession at the Atapuerca paleoanthropological site (Burgos, Spain) that offers detailed environmental information about the late Middle Pleistocene, especially the period between marine oxygen isotope stages MIS10 and MIS7. Previous studies have reconstructed the chronology and detailed the environmental development of this key succession. We introduce rock magnetic climate proxies from the sedimentary units of the Galería succession that we correlate with the global climate record as represented by the marine oxygen isotope record. The cave sediment sequence consists of five infilling phases, four of which were sampled at high resolution across a 5 m thick composite profile. We propose a novel goethite climate proxy along with a frequently used ultrafine ferrimagnetic mineral proxy for paleoclimate reconstruction and detailed chronostratigraphic correlation with isotope stages and substages MIS10/MIS10-9, MIS9e-a and MIS8. The proxies reveal new paleoenvironmental information about paleoprecipitation and indicate that MIS9e was a humid (∼650 mm/year maximum annual precipitation) and intense interglacial in northern Spain that declined in steps into the globally weak glacial stage MIS8. MIS8 consisted of drier periods with 430–510 mm/year annual precipitation and at least one humid substage (600 mm/year)., Junta de Castilla y León (Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (BU235P18) and the research projects CGL2016-77560-C2, CGL2018-093925-B-C31, and CGL2017-89603-R of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and PID2019-108753 GB-C21 and PID2019-105796 GB-I00 of the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and ERDF funding (European Union). B. Bradák acknowledges financial support from project BU235P18 (Junta de Castilla y León, Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). M. Calvo-Rathert acknowledges funding from the Fulbright Commission and the Spanish Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities (PRX19/00148) for a research stay at University of Hawaii at Manoa.

The late Quaternary development of the Lower Volga region of Russia is characterized by an alternating influence of marine and continental environments resulting from fluctuations in Caspian Sea level during the last glaciation. However, sediments deposited under continental conditions have received very little research attention compared to the under- and overlying marine deposits, such that even their origin is still in debate. Detailed magnetic mineralogical analyses presented here show clear similarities to loess. The results suggest that climate during the time of loess deposition, the Atelian regression (27-80 ka, MIS 4-3), was dry and cool, similar to the modern-day Northern Caspian lowland. The magnetic properties recorded in the loess-paleosol sequences of the Lower Volga also point to short episodes of potentially more humid and warmer climate during the late Atelian. The new findings in regard to the local Caspian climate and environmental evolution support decreased river discharge from the Russian Plain and Siberian Plain as the dominant factor causing the low Caspian sea level stand during the Atelian, although local-regional climate changes might have had an additional influence.

Magnetic fabric (MF) investigations complemented by geochemical and grain surface analyses of the understudied and controversial marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 b, 4 and 3 loess deposits in the Lower Volga region, Russia show that the material has been transported and deposited by wind and to a large extent experienced post-depositional reworking. Grain surface features suggest that the material was glacially ground and fluvially transported prior to final aeolian deposition as loess. Secondary magnetic fabrics in the loess reveal pedogenic and cryogenic processes and a generally cold environment with brief shifts to warmer climate during late MIS 5 and MIS 3. Palaeowind reconstructions derived from preserved primary aeolian MF, indicate locally influenced westerly and north-westerly flow as part of a wider scale westerly wind pattern, similar to modern day winter conditions. We suggest that the climate of the last glacial in the Northern Caspian Lowland was cold and dry, with higher windspeeds and less variability during MIS 4 compared to MIS 3.

A summary of approximately three decades and greater than thirty loess magnetic fabric studies is presented here. The revised studies cover various loess regions from the Chinese Loess Plateau across the European Loess Belt to Alaska. Although there is still an ongoing argument about the feasibility of the magnetic fabric of loess in paleowind reconstructions, the determination of prevailing wind direction during various periods of the Pleistocene is the main goal of magnetic anisotropy analysis of the revised loess successions. The magnetic fabric analysis of loess from Chinese Loess Plateau provided significant information about the characteristics of paleomonsoon in East Asia, and the results from other loess regions, such as Alaska, the European Loess Belt, and Siberia, are also promising. As it is shown in this review, the synthesis of the paleowind direction results from the studied profiles may already provide a significant foundation for future climate models by the reconstruction of key climate centres and main continental level wind tracks. Besides the reconstruction of prevailing paleowind directions, there are numerous loess magnetic fabric studies using magnetic anisotropy parameters in the reconstruction of the characteristics of long-term climate trends, climate transitions and glacial- interglacial cycles. There are some lesser known aspects contributing to magnetic fabric of loess, such as the influence of various types of magnetic contributors on the overall fabric (i.e. the study of sub-fabrics) and their role in environment reconstruction. Besides the identification of aeolian magnetic fabric, not so many studies focus on the magnetic anisotropy characteristics of materials, possibly developed by water-lain sedimentation, pedogenesis, mass movements and permafrost activity. Novel results from Hungarian loess, especially from Paks, connected to some of the latter topics are also presented. Such topics includes the analysis of the nanofabric in pal, Project BU235P18 (Junta de Castilla y Leon, Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERD), project PID2019-108753GB-C21/AECI/10.13039/501100011033 of the Agencia Estatal de Investigación and project PID2019-105796GB-100/AECI/10.13039/501100011033 of the Agencia Estatal de Investigación. A fellowship was awarded to B. Bradák at Kobe University, Japan, by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS; P15328) during the period of 2015.10–2017.10.