Holocene temperature fluctuations in the northern Tibetan Plateau
Holocene temperature fluctuations in the northern Tibetan Plateau
Arid Central Asia (ACA) lies on a major climatic boundary between the mid-latitude westerlies and the northwestern limit of the Asian summer monsoon, yet only a few high-quality reconstructions exist for its climate history. Here we calibrate a new organic geochemical proxy for lake temperature, and present a 45-yr-resolution temperature record from Hurleg Lake at the eastern margin of the ACA in the northern Tibetan Plateau. Combination with other proxy data from the same samples reveals a distinct warm–dry climate association throughout the record, which contrasts with the warm–wet association found in the Asian monsoon region. This indicates that the climatic boundary between the westerly and the monsoon regimes has remained roughly in the same place throughout the Holocene, at least near our study site. Six millennial-scale cold events are found within the past 9000 yr, which approximately coincide with previously documented events of northern high-latitude cooling and tropical drought. This suggests a connection between the North Atlantic and tropical monsoon climate systems, via the westerly circulation. Finally, we also observe an increase in regional climate variability after the mid-Holocene, which we relate to changes in vegetation (forest) cover in the monsoon region through a land-surface albedo feedback.
Holocene, Climate variability, Arid Central Asia, Alkenones
55-65
Zhao, Cheng
ba147a60-22db-40a5-b6ba-66c673748465
Liu, Zhonghui
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Rohling, Eelco J.
a2a27ef2-fcce-4c71-907b-e692b5ecc685
Yu, Zicheng
5ce766b8-a808-4adb-93a8-023b23be23ed
Liu, Weiguo
0271fec5-3d86-4478-a2c8-27541927d47f
He, Yuxin
22c8357b-e6b0-446e-9f5a-e77398aeba27
Zhao, Yan
447eb9b9-28be-41b4-b5b6-c1e222bf9882
Chen, Fahu
5223971a-a870-4bde-9de9-1a66070bd09e
July 2013
Zhao, Cheng
ba147a60-22db-40a5-b6ba-66c673748465
Liu, Zhonghui
9cd87eaf-0cb6-466c-bdbe-f85afade35d1
Rohling, Eelco J.
a2a27ef2-fcce-4c71-907b-e692b5ecc685
Yu, Zicheng
5ce766b8-a808-4adb-93a8-023b23be23ed
Liu, Weiguo
0271fec5-3d86-4478-a2c8-27541927d47f
He, Yuxin
22c8357b-e6b0-446e-9f5a-e77398aeba27
Zhao, Yan
447eb9b9-28be-41b4-b5b6-c1e222bf9882
Chen, Fahu
5223971a-a870-4bde-9de9-1a66070bd09e
Zhao, Cheng, Liu, Zhonghui, Rohling, Eelco J., Yu, Zicheng, Liu, Weiguo, He, Yuxin, Zhao, Yan and Chen, Fahu
(2013)
Holocene temperature fluctuations in the northern Tibetan Plateau.
Quaternary Research, 80 (1), .
(doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2013.05.001).
Abstract
Arid Central Asia (ACA) lies on a major climatic boundary between the mid-latitude westerlies and the northwestern limit of the Asian summer monsoon, yet only a few high-quality reconstructions exist for its climate history. Here we calibrate a new organic geochemical proxy for lake temperature, and present a 45-yr-resolution temperature record from Hurleg Lake at the eastern margin of the ACA in the northern Tibetan Plateau. Combination with other proxy data from the same samples reveals a distinct warm–dry climate association throughout the record, which contrasts with the warm–wet association found in the Asian monsoon region. This indicates that the climatic boundary between the westerly and the monsoon regimes has remained roughly in the same place throughout the Holocene, at least near our study site. Six millennial-scale cold events are found within the past 9000 yr, which approximately coincide with previously documented events of northern high-latitude cooling and tropical drought. This suggests a connection between the North Atlantic and tropical monsoon climate systems, via the westerly circulation. Finally, we also observe an increase in regional climate variability after the mid-Holocene, which we relate to changes in vegetation (forest) cover in the monsoon region through a land-surface albedo feedback.
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Published date: July 2013
Keywords:
Holocene, Climate variability, Arid Central Asia, Alkenones
Organisations:
Paleooceanography & Palaeoclimate
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 355026
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/355026
ISSN: 0033-5894
PURE UUID: d2d89622-abd5-490f-8f54-acd419100457
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Date deposited: 25 Jul 2013 08:55
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:47
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Contributors
Author:
Cheng Zhao
Author:
Zhonghui Liu
Author:
Zicheng Yu
Author:
Weiguo Liu
Author:
Yuxin He
Author:
Yan Zhao
Author:
Fahu Chen
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