The East Asian Monsoon since the Last Glacial Maximum: Evidence from geological records in northern China

Abstract. High resolution reconstructions based on productivity proxies and magnetic properties measured from sediment core 41-2 (off Kamchatka), reveal prevailing centennial-millennial productivity/climate variability in the northwestern (NW) Pacific from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the Early Holocene (EH). The core age model is established by AMS 14C dating using foraminifer shells from the core and by correlating the productivity cycles and relative paleomagnetic intensity records with those of well-dated nearby core, SO-201-12KL. Our results show a pronounced feature of centennial-millennial productivity/climate cycles of the NW Pacific had occurred synchronicity with the summer East Asian Monsoon (EAM) at sub-interstadial scale during the LGM (3 cycles), Heinrich Event 1(3 cycles), and Bølling/Allerød warming (4 cycles), and over the EH (3 cycles). Our comparison of the centennial-millennial variability to the Antarctic EDML (EPICA Dronning Maud Land) ice core suggests a “push” effect of Southern hemisphere temperature gradients on the summer EAM intensifications. Besides the linkages of NW Pacific high productivity and summer EAM, we observed that five low productivity cycles during EH are nearly synchronous with cooling in Greenland, weakening of the summer EAM, and decreases in solar irradiance. We propose that such centennial-millennial productivity/climate variability in the NW Pacific and sequence of sub-stadial/interstadials in the EAM from the LGM to EH are a persistent regional features, synchronous with the Greenland/North Atlantic short-term changes. We speculate that such climate synchronicity was forced also by changes in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation coupled with Intertropical Convergence Zone shifting and the northern westerly jets reorganization.

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OSL chronology and possible forcing mechanisms of dune evolution in the Horqin dunefield in northern China since the Last Glacial Maximum

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2012.05.002 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 78 (2) ◽

pp. 185-196 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

LinHai Yang ◽

Tao Wang ◽

Jie Zhou ◽

ZhongPing Lai ◽

Hao Long

Keyword(s):

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Asian Monsoon ◽

Northern China ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Millennial Time Scale ◽

Forcing Mechanisms ◽

The Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Multiple Episodes ◽

The Last Glacial

AbstractThe evolution processes and forcing mechanisms of the Horqin dunefield in northern China are poorly understood. In this study, systematic OSL dating of multiple sites is used together with pollen analysis of a representative section in order to reconstruct the evolution of the dunefield since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our results show that there was extensive dune mobilization 25–10 ka, transition to stabilization 10–8 ka, considerable dune stabilization 8–3 ka, and multiple episodes of stabilization and mobilization after 3 ka. Comparison of dune evolution of the dunefields in northern China during the Holocene showed that Asian monsoon and resultant effective moisture have played an important role in the evolution of dunefields at the millennial time scale. Further analysis indicated that the dune evolution in the Horqin dunefield before 3 ka was synchronous with climatic changes. However, increasing human activity has impacted dune evolution during the last 3 ka.

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Review: “Centennial to millennial climate variability in the far northwestern Pacific (off Kamchatka) and its linkage to East Asian monsoon and North Atlantic from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Early Holocene“ submitted by Sergey A. Gorbarenko et a

10.5194/cp-2016-102-rc1 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Anonymous

Keyword(s):

Climate Variability ◽

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Asian Monsoon ◽

East Asian Monsoon ◽

East Asian ◽

Northwestern Pacific ◽

Last Glacial ◽

The Last Glacial Maximum ◽

The Last Glacial

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Last Glacial Maximum East Asian Monsoon: Results of PMIP Simulations

Journal of Climate ◽

10.1175/2010jcli3526.1 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 23 (18) ◽

pp. 5030-5038 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Dabang Jiang ◽

Xianmei Lang

Keyword(s):

Last Glacial Maximum ◽

Asian Monsoon ◽

East Asian Monsoon ◽

East Asian ◽

Meridional Wind ◽

Glacial Maximum ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Ensemble Mean ◽

Intercomparison Project ◽

Glacial Periods

Abstract During glacial periods, the East Asian monsoon is typically thought to have been stronger in boreal winters and weaker in boreal summers. It is unclear, however, whether this view is true at larger scales and to what extent the East Asian monsoon responds to glacial conditions as a whole. Using all experiments conducted as part of the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP), this paper examines East Asian monsoon climatology during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), around 21 000 calendar years ago. In contrast to conclusions drawn from sparse proxy data, the intensity of the East Asian winter (December–February) monsoon (EAWM) during the LGM, as measured by regionally averaged meridional wind speed at 850 hPa, was found to vary both in sign and magnitude, with reference to baseline climate, across the PMIP simulations. It strengthened in 10 out of the 21 models but weakened in the remaining 11 models, with an average weakening of 4% for the 21-model ensemble mean (15% for the ensemble mean of the 14 models with computed sea surface temperatures). At the subregional scale, the LGM EAWM strengthened north of about 30°N but weakened south of this region in East Asia, which can be explained by changes in surface temperature. On the other hand, all of the 14 models chosen in this study consistently simulated a weaker than baseline East Asian summer (June–August) monsoon during the LGM, with an average weakening of 25%.

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