East Asian hydroclimate modulated by the position of the westerlies during Termination I

East Asian monsoon mysteries What exactly does the oxygen isotopic composition of speleothems tell us about the East Asian monsoon? They provide magnificent, detailed records of hydroclimate, but precisely what aspects of hydroclimate they record is unclear. Zhang et al. present data from two speleothems from central eastern China for the period from 21,000 to 10,000 years ago and suggest that the cause of the oxygen isotopic variability that they observe is more complex than simple changes in monsoon strength or intensity (see the Perspective by McGee). Alternatively, this variation may reflect the lengths of various phases of the monsoon and the regional heterogeneity of the East Asian hydroclimate. Science, this issue p. 580; see also p. 518 The paleorecord of the East Asian monsoon reflects much more than simply the amount of rain that fell. Speleothem oxygen isotope records have revolutionized our understanding of the paleo East Asian monsoon, yet there is fundamental disagreement on what they represent in terms of the hydroclimate changes. We report a multiproxy speleothem record of monsoon evolution during the last deglaciation from the middle Yangtze region, which indicates a wetter central eastern China during North Atlantic cooling episodes, despite the oxygen isotopic record suggesting a weaker monsoon. We show that this apparent contradiction can be resolved if the changes are interpreted as a lengthening of the Meiyu rains and shortened post-Meiyu stage, in accordance with a recent hypothesis. Model simulations support this interpretation and further reveal the role of the westerlies in communicating the North Atlantic influence to the East Asian climate.

[1]  M. Stein,et al.  Late Quaternary climate in southern China deduced from Sr–Nd isotopes of Huguangyan Maar sediments , 2018, Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

[2]  Ting-Yong Li,et al.  Geochemical characteristics of cave drip water respond to ENSO based on a 6-year monitoring work in Yangkou Cave, Southwest China , 2018, Journal of Hydrology.

[3]  Xiuli Li,et al.  Evaluation of the Heshang Cave stalagmite calcium isotope composition as a paleohydrologic proxy by comparison with the instrumental precipitation record , 2018, Scientific Reports.

[4]  John C. H. Chiang,et al.  Role of seasonal transitions and the westerlies in the interannual variability of the East Asian summer monsoon precipitation , 2017 .

[5]  R. Drysdale,et al.  Investigating the hydrological significance of stalagmite geochemistry (Mg, Sr) using Sr isotope and particulate element records across the Late Glacial-to-Holocene transition , 2017 .

[6]  W. Broecker,et al.  Northward extent of East Asian monsoon covaries with intensity on orbital and millennial timescales , 2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[7]  D. Breecker.  Atmospheric pCO 2 control on speleothem stable carbon isotope compositions , 2017 .

[8]  M. Griffiths,et al.  Antarctic link with East Asian summer monsoon variability during the Heinrich Stadial–Bølling interstadial transition , 2016 .

[9]  R. Edwards,et al.  High-resolution Holocene South American monsoon history recorded by a speleothem from Botuverá Cave, Brazil , 2016 .

[10]  B. Cook,et al.  Western Pacific hydroclimate linked to global climate variability over the past two millennia , 2016, Nature Communications.

[11]  Christopher C. Day,et al.  Calcium isotopes in caves as a proxy for aridity: Modern calibration and application to the 8.2 kyr event , 2016 .

[12]  R. Edwards,et al.  Indian monsoon variability on millennial-orbital timescales , 2016, Scientific Reports.

[13]  R. Edwards,et al.  Correction: Corrigendum: The Asian monsoon over the past 640,000 years and ice age terminations , 2016, Nature.

[14]  J. Chiang,et al.  Seasonal Transitions and the Westerly Jet in the Holocene East Asian Summer Monsoon , 2015 .

[15]  Chuan‐Chou Shen,et al.  Reconciliation of hydroclimate sequences from the Chinese Loess Plateau and low-latitude East Asian Summer Monsoon regions over the past 14,500years , 2015 .

[16]  R. Edwards,et al.  Abrupt changes in Indian summer monsoon strength during 33,800 to 5500 years B.P. , 2015 .

[17]  Heping Zhao,et al.  Processes controlling dripwater hydrochemistry variations in Xueyu Cave, SW China: implications for speleothem palaeoclimate signal interpretations , 2015 .

[18]  H. Birks,et al.  East Asian summer monsoon precipitation variability since the last deglaciation , 2015, Scientific Reports.

[19]  I. Fung,et al.  Coupling of South and East Asian Monsoon Precipitation in July–August* , 2015 .

[20]  L. Tang,et al.  High-resolution magnetic and palynological records of the last deglaciation and Holocene from Lake Xiarinur in the Hunshandake Sandy Land, Inner Mongolia , 2015 .

[21]  Weijian Zhou,et al.  Variability of stalagmite-inferred Indian monsoon precipitation over the past 252,000 y , 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[22]  Thomas F. Stocker,et al.  Revision of the EPICA Dome C CO2 record from 800 to 600 kyr before present , 2015 .

[23]  I. Fung,et al.  Role of seasonal transitions and westerly jets in East Asian paleoclimate , 2015 .

[24]  A. Atwood.  Mechanisms of Tropical Pacific Climate Change During the Holocene , 2015 .

[25]  Chuan‐Chou Shen,et al.  Decoupling of the East Asian summer monsoon and Indian summer monsoon between 20 and 17 ka , 2014, Quaternary Research.

[26]  M. Prange,et al.  North Atlantic forcing of tropical Indian Ocean climate , 2014, Nature.

[27]  S. Xie,et al.  Tropical Biases in CMIP5 Multimodel Ensemble: The Excessive Equatorial Pacific Cold Tongue and Double ITCZ Problems* , 2014 .

[28]  Ge Yu,et al.  Chinese cave records and the East Asia Summer Monsoon , 2014 .

[29]  Christopher C. Day,et al.  Controls on trace-element partitioning in cave-analogue calcite , 2013 .

[30]  R. Evershed,et al.  Concordant monsoon-driven postglacial hydrological changes in peat and stalagmite records and their impacts on prehistoric cultures in central China , 2013 .

[31]  R. Edwards,et al.  Improvements in 230Th dating, 230Th and 234U half-life values, and U–Th isotopic measurements by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry , 2013 .

[32]  A. Timmermann,et al.  Links between tropical rainfall and North Atlantic climate during the last glacial period , 2013 .

[33]  G. Henderson,et al.  Links between the East Asian monsoon and North Atlantic climate during the 8,200 year event , 2013 .

[34]  Åsmund Rinnan,et al.  Bootstrap based confidence limits in principal component analysis: a case study , 2013 .

[35]  S. Burns,et al.  Climatic backdrop to the terminal Pleistocene extinction of North American mammals , 2012 .

[36]  R. Edwards,et al.  Timing and structure of the Younger Dryas event in northern China , 2012 .

[37]  A. Baker,et al.  Speleothem Science: From Process to Past Environments , 2012 .

[38]  C. Bitz,et al.  Chinese stalagmite δ 18 O controlled by changes in the Indian monsoon during a simulated Heinrich event , 2011 .

[39]  Daniel J. Sinclair,et al.  Two mathematical models of Mg and Sr partitioning into solution during incongruent calcite dissolution: Implications for dripwater and speleothem studies , 2011 .

[40]  Andrea Borsato,et al.  Carbon mass-balance modelling and carbon isotope exchange processes in dynamic caves , 2011 .

[41]  W. Boos,et al.  Orographic controls on climate and paleoclimate of Asia: thermal and mechanical roles for the Tibetan Plateau. , 2010 .

[42]  R. Edwards,et al.  Precise dating of abrupt shifts in the Asian Monsoon during the last deglaciation based on stalagmite data from Yamen Cave, Guizhou Province, China , 2010 .

[43]  M. Griffiths,et al.  Evidence for Holocene changes in Australian–Indonesian monsoon rainfall from stalagmite trace element and stable isotope ratios , 2010 .

[44]  R. Edwards,et al.  A high-resolution stalagmite record of the Holocene East Asian monsoon from Mt Shennongjia, central China , 2010 .

[45]  W. Broecker,et al.  Ice Age Terminations , 2009, Science.

[46]  I. Isola,et al.  Evidence for Obliquity Forcing of Glacial Termination II , 2009, Science.

[47]  Gavin A. Schmidt,et al.  Sources of Holocene variability of oxygen isotopes in paleoclimate archives , 2009 .

[48]  I. Fairchild,et al.  Trace elements in speleothems as recorders of environmental change , 2009 .

[49]  M. Shelley,et al.  Initial performance metrics of a new custom-designed ArF excimer LA-ICPMS system coupled to a two-volume laser-ablation cell , 2009 .

[50]  Akiyo Yatagai,et al.  A 44-Year Daily Gridded Precipitation Dataset for Asia Based on a Dense Network of Rain Gauges , 2009 .

[51]  Gideon M. Henderson,et al.  Quantification of Holocene Asian monsoon rainfall from spatially separated cave records , 2008 .

[52]  Xiaohua Shao,et al.  Millennial- and orbital-scale changes in the East Asian monsoon over the past 224,000 years , 2008, Nature.

[53]  H. Hsu,et al.  Asymmetry of the Tripole Rainfall Pattern during the East Asian Summer , 2007 .

[54]  S. Burns,et al.  Evidence of rainfall variations in Southern Brazil from trace element ratios (Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca) in a Late Pleistocene stalagmite , 2007 .

[55]  Yunyao Li,et al.  LAKE LEVEL STUDIES | Asia , 2007 .

[56]  J. Hellstrom,et al.  Timing and dynamics of the last deglaciation from European and North African δ13C stalagmite profiles—comparison with Chinese and South Hemisphere stalagmites , 2006 .

[57]  G. Henderson,et al.  Seasonal trace-element and stable-isotope variations in a Chinese speleothem: The potential for high-resolution paleomonsoon reconstruction , 2005 .

[58]  R. Edwards,et al.  Variability of Southwest Indian summer monsoon precipitation during the Bølling-Ållerød , 2005 .

[59]  J. Chan,et al.  The East Asian summer monsoon: an overview , 2005 .

[60]  Bin Wang,et al.  Tropospheric cooling and summer monsoon weakening trend over East Asia , 2004 .

[61]  R. Edwards,et al.  Timing, Duration, and Transitions of the Last Interglacial Asian Monsoon , 2004, Science.

[62]  J. McManus,et al.  Collapse and rapid resumption of Atlantic meridional circulation linked to deglacial climate changes , 2004, Nature.

[63]  H. Hsu,et al.  Relationship between the Tibetan Plateau heating and East Asian summer monsoon rainfall , 2003 .

[64]  Manfred Mudelsee,et al.  Estimating Pearson's Correlation Coefficient with Bootstrap Confidence Interval from Serially Dependent Time Series , 2003 .

[65]  R. L. Edwards,et al.  A High-Resolution Absolute-Dated Late Pleistocene Monsoon Record from Hulu Cave, China , 2001, Science.

[66]  Freysteinn Sigmundsson,et al.  Deformation of Grímsvötn volcano, Iceland: 1998 eruption and subsequent inflation , 2001 .

[67]  N. Cassidy,et al.  Seasonal variations in Sr, Mg and P in modern speleothems (Grotta di Ernesto, Italy) , 2001 .

[68]  Hai Cheng,et al.  The half-lives of uranium-234 and thorium-230 , 2000 .

[69]  B. Spiro,et al.  Controls on trace element Sr-Mg compositions of carbonate cave waters: implications for speleothem climatic records , 2000 .

[70]  Bin Wang,et al.  Pacific–East Asian Teleconnection: How Does ENSO Affect East Asian Climate? , 2000 .

[71]  J. Kutzbach,et al.  Asynchronous Holocene optimum of the East Asian monsoon , 2000 .

[72]  S. Eggins,et al.  Deposition and element fractionation processes during atmospheric pressure laser sampling for analysis by ICP-MS , 1998 .

[73]  P. Xie,et al.  Global Precipitation: A 17-Year Monthly Analysis Based on Gauge Observations, Satellite Estimates, and Numerical Model Outputs , 1997 .

[74]  G. Wasserburg,et al.  Precise Timing of the Last Interglacial Period from Mass Spectrometric Determination of Thorium-230 in Corals , 1987, Science.