1. Millennial-scale Asian monsoon variability during the late Marine Isotope Stage 6 from Hulu Cave, China.
- Author
-
Wang, Quan, Wang, Yongjin, Shao, Qingfeng, Liang, Yijia, Zhang, Zhenqiu, and Kong, Xinggong
- Subjects
HYDROLOGIC cycle ,CONVERGENCE (Meteorology) ,STALACTITES & stalagmites ,GLACIAL Epoch ,MONSOONS - Abstract
A precisely
230 Th-dated stalagmite δ13 C profile from Hulu Cave, China, is presented to characterize the frequency and pattern of millennial-scale Asian monsoon (AM) variability from 160.6 to 132.5 ka. Evidence for an antiphased relationship of the δ13 C and δ18 O on the millennial scale suggests that the δ13 C is indicative of the local hydrological cycle associated with changes in AM strength. Owing to the δ13 C responding to AM changes more sensitively than the δ18 O, we could identify 15 strong AM events that correlate to cold intervals recorded in Antarctic ice cores within230 Th dating uncertainty. This result supports a dynamic link of AM strength and southern hemispheric climates via the cross-equatorial airflows. Power spectrum analysis shows a predominant periodicity of 1.5–2.5 ka for the δ13 C profile, similar to the Dansgaard-Oeschger frequency during the last glacial period. Moreover, the AM events are characterized by rapid transitions at the onset, suggesting that the observed millennial-scale AM variability is likely forced by northern high-latitude climates via north–south shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone associated with the bipolar seesaw mechanism. As evidence for a common mechanism for ice age terminations, a strong AM event (~134 ka) surrounding Termination II is analogous to the Bølling-Allerød warming interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF