Impact of centennial-scale solar activity reduction on the weakened Asian monsoon event at 9.2 ka BP.

The weakened Asian monsoon event at 9.2 ka has been documented in many proxy-based reconstructions, but its underlying causes are uncertain. In this study, we investigated this event from a regional monsoon perspective by analysing simulations of Holocene transient solar activity forcing using the Community Earth System Model and high-resolution proxies. Our results revealed two separate periods of decreasing precipitation in the western North Pacific (WNP) and South Asian (SA) monsoons from 9.5 to 9.2 ka, each lagging behind two remarkable weakening events (0.38 and 0.21 W m−2) in solar forcing. However, there was no significant change in East Asian summer monsoon precipitation at 9.2 ka based on our experiment. Moisture budget analysis indicated that the dynamic effects term (i.e., anomalous descending motion) figured prominently in decreasing WNP and SA monsoon precipitation. Such a change was affected by an anomalous WNP anticyclone, which was maintained by the 'wind-evaporation-sea surface temperature' feedback during the decay phase of the centennial-scale El Niño-like event. The development of centennial El Niño-like conditions was caused by a reduction in solar irradiance. Reduced solar irradiance induced cooling over northern Australia, generating anomalous zonal sea level pressure gradients and westerlies over the tropical Pacific, ultimately resulting in the development of an El Niño-like pattern. • During abrupt solar decline, the NNU-12 ka experiment simulates drought in South Asian (SA) and Western North Pacific (WNP) monsoon regions. • A reduction in solar irradiance on a centennial scale can cause El Niño-like patterns and an anomalous WNP anticyclone. • WNP anticyclonic anomalies are maintained by the 'wind-evaporation-SST' feedback, delaying precipitation over the WNP and SA monsoon regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]