Articles | Volume 14, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1805-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1805-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
27 Nov 2018
Research article |
| 27 Nov 2018
| 27 Nov 2018
Hydroclimatic variations in southeastern China during the 4.2 ka event reflected by stalagmite records
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710054, China
Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key
Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Xi'an 710061, China
Hai Cheng
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710054, China
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55455, USA
Yanjun Cai
Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key
Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Xi'an 710061, China
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710054, China
Open Studio for Oceanic-Continental Climate and Environment Changes,
Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao),
Qingdao 266061, China
Christoph Spötl
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
Gayatri Kathayat
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710054, China
Ashish Sinha
Department of Earth Science, California State University Dominguez
Hills, Carson, California 90747, USA
R. Lawrence Edwards
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55455, USA
Liangcheng Tan
Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key
Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Xi'an 710061, China
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710054, China
Open Studio for Oceanic-Continental Climate and Environment Changes,
Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao),
Qingdao 266061, China
Related authors
Pengzhen Duan, Hanying Li, Zhibang Ma, Jingyao Zhao, Xiyu Dong, Ashish Sinha, Peng Hu, Haiwei Zhang, Youfeng Ning, Guangyou Zhu, and Hai Cheng
Clim. Past, 20, 1401–1414, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1401-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1401-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We use multi-proxy speleothem records to reveal a two droughts–one pluvial pattern during 8.5–8.0 ka. The different rebounded rainfall quantity after two droughts causes different behavior of δ13C, suggesting the dominant role of rainfall threshold on the ecosystem. A comparison of different records suggests the prolonged 8.2 ka event is a globally common phenomenon rather than a regional signal. The variability of the AMOC strength is mainly responsible for these climate changes.
Nikita Kaushal, Franziska A. Lechleitner, Micah Wilhelm, Khalil Azennoud, Janica C. Bühler, Kerstin Braun, Yassine Ait Brahim, Andy Baker, Yuval Burstyn, Laia Comas-Bru, Jens Fohlmeister, Yonaton Goldsmith, Sandy P. Harrison, István G. Hatvani, Kira Rehfeld, Magdalena Ritzau, Vanessa Skiba, Heather M. Stoll, József G. Szűcs, Péter Tanos, Pauline C. Treble, Vitor Azevedo, Jonathan L. Baker, Andrea Borsato, Sakonvan Chawchai, Andrea Columbu, Laura Endres, Jun Hu, Zoltán Kern, Alena Kimbrough, Koray Koç, Monika Markowska, Belen Martrat, Syed Masood Ahmad, Carole Nehme, Valdir Felipe Novello, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Jiaoyang Ruan, Natasha Sekhon, Nitesh Sinha, Carol V. Tadros, Benjamin H. Tiger, Sophie Warken, Annabel Wolf, Haiwei Zhang, and SISAL Working Group members
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1933–1963, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1933-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1933-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Speleothems are a popular, multi-proxy climate archive that provide regional to global insights into past hydroclimate trends with precise chronologies. We present an update to the SISAL (Speleothem Isotopes
Synthesis and AnaLysis) database, SISALv3, which, for the first time, contains speleothem trace element records, in addition to an update to the stable isotope records available in previous versions of the database, cumulatively providing data from 365 globally distributed sites.
Synthesis and AnaLysis) database, SISALv3, which, for the first time, contains speleothem trace element records, in addition to an update to the stable isotope records available in previous versions of the database, cumulatively providing data from 365 globally distributed sites.
Giselle Utida, Francisco W. Cruz, Mathias Vuille, Angela Ampuero, Valdir F. Novello, Jelena Maksic, Gilvan Sampaio, Hai Cheng, Haiwei Zhang, Fabio Ramos Dias de Andrade, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 19, 1975–1992, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1975-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1975-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstruct the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) behavior during the past 3000 years over northeastern Brazil based on oxygen stable isotopes of stalagmites. Paleoclimate changes were mainly forced by the tropical South Atlantic and tropical Pacific sea surface temperature variability. We describe an ITCZ zonal behavior active around 1100 CE and the period from 1500 to 1750 CE. The dataset also records historical droughts that affected modern human population in this area of Brazil.
Charlotte Honiat, Gabriella Koltai, Yuri Dublyansky, R. Lawrence Edwards, Haiwei Zhang, Hai Cheng, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 19, 1177–1199, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1177-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1177-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
A look at the climate evolution during the last warm period may allow us to test ground for future climate conditions. We quantified the temperature evolution during the Last Interglacial using a tiny amount of water trapped in the crystals of precisely dated stalagmites in caves from the southeastern European Alps. Our record indicates temperatures up to 2 °C warmer than today and an unstable climate during the first half of the Last Interglacial.
Jinzhao Liu, Chong Jiang, Huawu Wu, Li Guo, Haiwei Zhang, and Ying Zhao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 599–612, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-599-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-599-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
What controls leaf water isotopes? We answered the question from two perspectives: respective and dual isotopes. On the one hand, the δ18O and δ2H values of leaf water responded to isotopes of potential source water (i.e., twig water, soil water, and precipitation) and meteorological parameters (i.e., temperature, RH, and precipitation) differently. On the other hand, dual δ18O and δ2H values of leaf water yielded a significant linear relationship associated with altitude and seasonality.
Jinzhao Liu, Huawu Wu, Haiwei Zhang, Guoqiang Peng, Chong Jiang, Ying Zhao, and Jing Hu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-289, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-289, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Why do leaf water isotopes can generate to be an isotopic line in a dual-isotope plot? This isotopic water line is as important as the local meteoric water line (LMWL) in the isotope ecohydrology field. We analyzed the variations of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in soil water, stem water, and leaf water along an elevation transect across seasons. We found that both seasonality and altitude affecting source water are likely to result in the generation of an isotopic water line in leaf water.
Laia Comas-Bru, Kira Rehfeld, Carla Roesch, Sahar Amirnezhad-Mozhdehi, Sandy P. Harrison, Kamolphat Atsawawaranunt, Syed Masood Ahmad, Yassine Ait Brahim, Andy Baker, Matthew Bosomworth, Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach, Yuval Burstyn, Andrea Columbu, Michael Deininger, Attila Demény, Bronwyn Dixon, Jens Fohlmeister, István Gábor Hatvani, Jun Hu, Nikita Kaushal, Zoltán Kern, Inga Labuhn, Franziska A. Lechleitner, Andrew Lorrey, Belen Martrat, Valdir Felipe Novello, Jessica Oster, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Denis Scholz, Nick Scroxton, Nitesh Sinha, Brittany Marie Ward, Sophie Warken, Haiwei Zhang, and SISAL Working Group members
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2579–2606, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2579-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2579-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents an updated version of the SISAL (Speleothem Isotope Synthesis and Analysis) database. This new version contains isotopic data from 691 speleothem records from 294 cave sites and new age–depth models, including their uncertainties, for 512 speleothems.
Haiwei Zhang, Hai Cheng, Yanjun Cai, Christoph Spötl, Ashish Sinha, Gayatri Kathayat, and Hanying Li
Clim. Past, 16, 211–225, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-211-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-211-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Few studies have paid attention to the important effect of nonsummer monsoon (NSM) precipitation on the speleothem δ18O in SE China. We find the summer monsoon precipitation is equivalent to NSM precipitation amount in the area of spring persistent rain in SE China, and we discuss the relationships between seasonal precipitation amount, moisture source, δ18O, and ENSO. Characterizing the spatial differences in seasonal precipitation is key to interpreting the speleothem δ18O record.
Juan Luis Bernal-Wormull, Ana Moreno, Yuri Dublyansky, Christoph Spötl, Reyes Giménez, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Miguel Bartolomé, Martin Arriolabengoa, Eneko Iriarte, Isabel Cacho, Richard Lawrence Edwards, and Hai Cheng
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3612, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3612, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
Short summary
Short summary
We present in this manuscript a record of temperature changes during the last deglaciation and the Holocene using isotopes of fluid inclusions in stalagmites from the northeastern region of the Iberian Peninsula. This innovative climate proxy for this study region provides a quantitative understanding of the abrupt temperature changes in southern Europe of the last 16500 years before present.
Timothy J. Pollard, Jon D. Woodhead, Russell N. Drysdale, R. Lawrence Edwards, Xianglei Li, Ashlea N. Wainwright, Mathieu Pythoud, Hai Cheng, John C. Hellstrom, Ilaria Isola, Eleonora Regattieri, Giovanni Zanchetta, and Dylan S. Parmenter
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3594, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3594, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The uranium-thorium and uranium-lead radiometric dating methods are both capable of dating carbonate samples ranging in age from about 400,000 to 650,000 years. Here we test agreement between the two methods by 'double dating' speleothems (i.e. secondary cave mineral deposits) that grew within this age range. We demonstrate excellent agreement between the two dating methods and discuss their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Alexander H. Jarosch, Paul Hofer, and Christoph Spötl
The Cryosphere, 18, 4811–4816, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4811-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4811-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Mechanical damage to stalagmites is commonly observed in mid-latitude caves. In this study we investigate ice flow along the cave bed as a possible mechanism for stalagmite damage. Utilizing models which simulate forces created by ice flow, we study the structural integrity of different stalagmite geometries. Our results suggest that structural failure of stalagmites caused by ice flow is possible, albeit unlikely.
Hu Yang, Xiaoxu Shi, Xulong Wang, Qingsong Liu, Yi Zhong, Xiaodong Liu, Youbin Sun, Yanjun Cai, Fei Liu, Gerrit Lohmann, Martin Werner, Zhimin Jian, Tainã M. L. Pinho, Hai Cheng, Lijuan Lu, Jiping Liu, Chao-Yuan Yang, Qinghua Yang, Yongyun Hu, Xing Cheng, Jingyu Zhang, and Dake Chen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2778, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2778, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
Short summary
Short summary
The precession driven low-latitude hydrological cycle is not paced by hemispheric summer insolation, but shifting perihelion.
Judit Torner, Isabel Cacho, Heather Stoll, Ana Moreno, Joan O. Grimalt, Francisco J. Sierro, Hai Cheng, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-54, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-54, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for CP
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a new speleothem record of the western Mediterranean region that offers new insights into the timeline of glacial terminations TIV, TIII, and TIII.a. The comparison among the studied deglaciations reveals differences in terms of intensity and duration and opens the opportunity to evaluate marine sediment chronologies based on orbital tuning from the North Atlantic and the Western Mediterranean.
Paul Töchterle, Anna Baldo, Julian B. Murton, Frederik Schenk, R. Lawrence Edwards, Gabriella Koltai, and Gina E. Moseley
Clim. Past, 20, 1521–1535, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1521-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1521-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present a reconstruction of permafrost and snow cover on the British Isles for the Younger Dryas period, a time of extremely cold winters that happened approximately 12 000 years ago. Our results indicate that seasonal sea ice in the North Atlantic was most likely a crucial factor to explain the observed climate shifts during this time.
Pengzhen Duan, Hanying Li, Zhibang Ma, Jingyao Zhao, Xiyu Dong, Ashish Sinha, Peng Hu, Haiwei Zhang, Youfeng Ning, Guangyou Zhu, and Hai Cheng
Clim. Past, 20, 1401–1414, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1401-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1401-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We use multi-proxy speleothem records to reveal a two droughts–one pluvial pattern during 8.5–8.0 ka. The different rebounded rainfall quantity after two droughts causes different behavior of δ13C, suggesting the dominant role of rainfall threshold on the ecosystem. A comparison of different records suggests the prolonged 8.2 ka event is a globally common phenomenon rather than a regional signal. The variability of the AMOC strength is mainly responsible for these climate changes.
Nikita Kaushal, Franziska A. Lechleitner, Micah Wilhelm, Khalil Azennoud, Janica C. Bühler, Kerstin Braun, Yassine Ait Brahim, Andy Baker, Yuval Burstyn, Laia Comas-Bru, Jens Fohlmeister, Yonaton Goldsmith, Sandy P. Harrison, István G. Hatvani, Kira Rehfeld, Magdalena Ritzau, Vanessa Skiba, Heather M. Stoll, József G. Szűcs, Péter Tanos, Pauline C. Treble, Vitor Azevedo, Jonathan L. Baker, Andrea Borsato, Sakonvan Chawchai, Andrea Columbu, Laura Endres, Jun Hu, Zoltán Kern, Alena Kimbrough, Koray Koç, Monika Markowska, Belen Martrat, Syed Masood Ahmad, Carole Nehme, Valdir Felipe Novello, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Jiaoyang Ruan, Natasha Sekhon, Nitesh Sinha, Carol V. Tadros, Benjamin H. Tiger, Sophie Warken, Annabel Wolf, Haiwei Zhang, and SISAL Working Group members
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1933–1963, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1933-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1933-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Speleothems are a popular, multi-proxy climate archive that provide regional to global insights into past hydroclimate trends with precise chronologies. We present an update to the SISAL (Speleothem Isotopes
Synthesis and AnaLysis) database, SISALv3, which, for the first time, contains speleothem trace element records, in addition to an update to the stable isotope records available in previous versions of the database, cumulatively providing data from 365 globally distributed sites.
Synthesis and AnaLysis) database, SISALv3, which, for the first time, contains speleothem trace element records, in addition to an update to the stable isotope records available in previous versions of the database, cumulatively providing data from 365 globally distributed sites.
Hubert Vonhof, Sophie Verheyden, Dominique Bonjean, Stéphane Pirson, Michael Weber, Denis Scholz, John Hellstrom, Hai Cheng, Xue Jia, Kevin Di Modica, Gregory Abrams, Marjan van Nunen, Joost Ruiter, Michèlle van der Does, Daniel Böhl, and Jeroen van der Lubbe
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-27, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-27, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for CP
Short summary
Short summary
The sedimentary sequence in Scladina Cave (Belgium) is well-known for its rich archeological assemblages and its numerous faunal remains. Of particular interest is the presence of a nearly complete jaw bone of a Neandertal child. In this study, we present new Uranium-series ages of stalagmites from the archeological sequence which allow more precise dating of the archeological finds. One key result is that the Neandertal child may be slightly older than previously thought.
Miguel Bartolomé, Ana Moreno, Carlos Sancho, Isabel Cacho, Heather Stoll, Negar Haghipour, Ánchel Belmonte, Christoph Spötl, John Hellstrom, R. Lawrence Edwards, and Hai Cheng
Clim. Past, 20, 467–494, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-467-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-467-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Reconstructing past temperatures at regional scales during the Common Era is necessary to place the current warming in the context of natural climate variability. We present a climate reconstruction based on eight stalagmites from four caves in the Pyrenees, NE Spain. These stalagmites were dated precisely and analysed for their oxygen isotopes, which appear dominated by temperature changes. Solar variability and major volcanic eruptions are the two main drivers of observed climate variability.
Heather M. Stoll, Chris Day, Franziska Lechleitner, Oliver Kost, Laura Endres, Jakub Sliwinski, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Hai Cheng, and Denis Scholz
Clim. Past, 19, 2423–2444, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2423-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2423-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Stalagmites formed in caves provide valuable information about past changes in climate and vegetation conditions. In this contribution, we present a new method to better estimate past changes in soil and vegetation productivity using carbon isotopes and trace elements measured in stalagmites. Applying this method to other stalagmites should provide a better indication of past vegetation feedbacks to climate change.
Giselle Utida, Francisco W. Cruz, Mathias Vuille, Angela Ampuero, Valdir F. Novello, Jelena Maksic, Gilvan Sampaio, Hai Cheng, Haiwei Zhang, Fabio Ramos Dias de Andrade, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 19, 1975–1992, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1975-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1975-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstruct the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) behavior during the past 3000 years over northeastern Brazil based on oxygen stable isotopes of stalagmites. Paleoclimate changes were mainly forced by the tropical South Atlantic and tropical Pacific sea surface temperature variability. We describe an ITCZ zonal behavior active around 1100 CE and the period from 1500 to 1750 CE. The dataset also records historical droughts that affected modern human population in this area of Brazil.
Anika Donner, Paul Töchterle, Christoph Spötl, Irka Hajdas, Xianglei Li, R. Lawrence Edwards, and Gina E. Moseley
Clim. Past, 19, 1607–1621, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1607-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1607-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the first finding of fine-grained cryogenic cave minerals in Greenland, a type of speleothem that has been notably difficult to date. We present a successful approach for determining the age of these minerals using 230Th / U disequilibrium and 14C dating. We relate the formation of the cryogenic cave minerals to a well-documented extreme weather event in 1889 CE. Additionally, we provide a detailed report on the mineralogical and isotopic composition of these minerals.
Charlotte Honiat, Gabriella Koltai, Yuri Dublyansky, R. Lawrence Edwards, Haiwei Zhang, Hai Cheng, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 19, 1177–1199, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1177-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1177-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
A look at the climate evolution during the last warm period may allow us to test ground for future climate conditions. We quantified the temperature evolution during the Last Interglacial using a tiny amount of water trapped in the crystals of precisely dated stalagmites in caves from the southeastern European Alps. Our record indicates temperatures up to 2 °C warmer than today and an unstable climate during the first half of the Last Interglacial.
Miguel Bartolomé, Gérard Cazenave, Marc Luetscher, Christoph Spötl, Fernando Gázquez, Ánchel Belmonte, Alexandra V. Turchyn, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, and Ana Moreno
The Cryosphere, 17, 477–497, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this work we study the microclimate and the geomorphological features of Devaux ice cave in the Central Pyrenees. The research is based on cave monitoring, geomorphology, and geochemical analyses. We infer two different thermal regimes. The cave is impacted by flooding in late winter/early spring when the main outlets freeze, damming the water inside. Rock temperatures below 0°C and the absence of drip water indicate frozen rock, while relict ice formations record past damming events.
Jinzhao Liu, Chong Jiang, Huawu Wu, Li Guo, Haiwei Zhang, and Ying Zhao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 599–612, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-599-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-599-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
What controls leaf water isotopes? We answered the question from two perspectives: respective and dual isotopes. On the one hand, the δ18O and δ2H values of leaf water responded to isotopes of potential source water (i.e., twig water, soil water, and precipitation) and meteorological parameters (i.e., temperature, RH, and precipitation) differently. On the other hand, dual δ18O and δ2H values of leaf water yielded a significant linear relationship associated with altitude and seasonality.
Paul Töchterle, Simon D. Steidle, R. Lawrence Edwards, Yuri Dublyansky, Christoph Spötl, Xianglei Li, John Gunn, and Gina E. Moseley
Geochronology, 4, 617–627, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-617-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-617-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Cryogenic cave carbonates (CCCs) provide a marker for past permafrost conditions. Their formation age is determined by Th / U dating. However, samples can be contaminated with small amounts of Th at formation, which can cause inaccurate ages and require correction. We analysed multiple CCCs and found that varying degrees of contamination can cause an apparent spread of ages, when samples actually formed within distinguishable freezing events. A correction method using isochrons is presented.
Maria Wind, Friedrich Obleitner, Tanguy Racine, and Christoph Spötl
The Cryosphere, 16, 3163–3179, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3163-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3163-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present a thorough analysis of the thermal conditions of a sag-type ice cave in the Austrian Alps using temperature measurements for the period 2008–2021. Apart from a long-term increasing temperature trend in all parts of the cave, we find strong interannual and spatial variations as well as a characteristic seasonal pattern. Increasing temperatures further led to a drastic decrease in cave ice. A first attempt to model ablation based on temperature shows promising results.
Jan Pfeiffer, Thomas Zieher, Jan Schmieder, Thom Bogaard, Martin Rutzinger, and Christoph Spötl
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2219–2237, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2219-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2219-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The activity of slow-moving deep-seated landslides is commonly governed by pore pressure variations within the shear zone. Groundwater recharge as a consequence of precipitation therefore is a process regulating the activity of landslides. In this context, we present a highly automated geo-statistical approach to spatially assess groundwater recharge controlling the velocity of a deep-seated landslide in Tyrol, Austria.
Caroline Welte, Jens Fohlmeister, Melina Wertnik, Lukas Wacker, Bodo Hattendorf, Timothy I. Eglinton, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 17, 2165–2177, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2165-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2165-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Stalagmites are valuable climate archives, but unlike other proxies the use of stable carbon isotopes (δ13C) is still difficult. A stalagmite from the Austrian Alps was analyzed using a new laser ablation method for fast radiocarbon (14C) analysis. This allowed 14C and δ13C to be combined, showing that besides soil and bedrock a third source is contributing during periods of warm, wet climate: old organic matter.
Kathleen A. Wendt, Xianglei Li, R. Lawrence Edwards, Hai Cheng, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 17, 1443–1454, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1443-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1443-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we tested the upper limits of U–Th dating precision by analyzing three stalagmites from the Austrian Alps that have high U concentrations. The composite record spans the penultimate interglacial (MIS 7) with an average 2σ age uncertainty of 400 years. This unprecedented age control allows us to constrain the timing of temperature shifts in the Alps during MIS 7 while offering new insight into millennial-scale changes in the North Atlantic leading up to Terminations III and IIIa.
Jinzhao Liu, Huawu Wu, Haiwei Zhang, Guoqiang Peng, Chong Jiang, Ying Zhao, and Jing Hu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-289, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-289, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Why do leaf water isotopes can generate to be an isotopic line in a dual-isotope plot? This isotopic water line is as important as the local meteoric water line (LMWL) in the isotope ecohydrology field. We analyzed the variations of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in soil water, stem water, and leaf water along an elevation transect across seasons. We found that both seasonality and altitude affecting source water are likely to result in the generation of an isotopic water line in leaf water.
Gabriella Koltai, Christoph Spötl, Alexander H. Jarosch, and Hai Cheng
Clim. Past, 17, 775–789, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-775-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-775-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper utilises a novel palaeoclimate archive from caves, cryogenic cave carbonates, which allow for precisely constraining permafrost thawing events in the past. Our study provides new insights into the climate of the Younger Dryas (12 800 to 11 700 years BP) in mid-Europe from the perspective of a high-elevation cave sensitive to permafrost development. We quantify seasonal temperature and precipitation changes by using a heat conduction model.
Chao-Jun Chen, Dao-Xian Yuan, Jun-Yun Li, Xian-Feng Wang, Hai Cheng, You-Feng Ning, R. Lawrence Edwards, Yao Wu, Si-Ya Xiao, Yu-Zhen Xu, Yang-Yang Huang, Hai-Ying Qiu, Jian Zhang, Ming-Qiang Liang, and Ting-Yong Li
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-20, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-20, 2021
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Xianglei Li, Kathleen A. Wendt, Yuri Dublyansky, Gina E. Moseley, Christoph Spötl, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Geochronology, 3, 49–58, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-49-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-49-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we built a statistical model to determine the initial δ234U in submerged calcite crusts that coat the walls of Devils Hole 2 (DH2) cave (Nevada, USA) and, using a 234U–238U dating method, extended the chronology of the calcite deposition beyond previous well-established 230Th ages and determined the oldest calcite deposited in this cave, a time marker for cave genesis. The novel method presented here may be used in future speleothem studies in similar hydrogeological settings.
Laia Comas-Bru, Kira Rehfeld, Carla Roesch, Sahar Amirnezhad-Mozhdehi, Sandy P. Harrison, Kamolphat Atsawawaranunt, Syed Masood Ahmad, Yassine Ait Brahim, Andy Baker, Matthew Bosomworth, Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach, Yuval Burstyn, Andrea Columbu, Michael Deininger, Attila Demény, Bronwyn Dixon, Jens Fohlmeister, István Gábor Hatvani, Jun Hu, Nikita Kaushal, Zoltán Kern, Inga Labuhn, Franziska A. Lechleitner, Andrew Lorrey, Belen Martrat, Valdir Felipe Novello, Jessica Oster, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Denis Scholz, Nick Scroxton, Nitesh Sinha, Brittany Marie Ward, Sophie Warken, Haiwei Zhang, and SISAL Working Group members
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2579–2606, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2579-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2579-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents an updated version of the SISAL (Speleothem Isotope Synthesis and Analysis) database. This new version contains isotopic data from 691 speleothem records from 294 cave sites and new age–depth models, including their uncertainties, for 512 speleothems.
Yue Hu, Xiaoming Sun, Hai Cheng, and Hong Yan
Clim. Past, 16, 597–610, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-597-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-597-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Tridacna, as the largest marine bivalves, can be used for high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction in its carbonate skeleton. In this contribution, the modern δ18O shell is suggested to be a proxy for sea surface temperature in the Xisha Islands, South China Sea. Data from a fossil Tridacna (3673 ± 28 BP) indicate a warmer climate and intense ENSO-related variability but reduced ENSO frequency and more extreme El Niño winters compared to modern Tridacna.
Ole Valk, Michiel M. Rutgers van der Loeff, Walter Geibert, Sandra Gdaniec, S. Bradley Moran, Kate Lepore, Robert Lawrence Edwards, Yanbin Lu, Viena Puigcorbé, Nuria Casacuberta, Ronja Paffrath, William Smethie, and Matthieu Roy-Barman
Ocean Sci., 16, 221–234, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-221-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-221-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
After 2007 230Th decreased significantly in the central Amundsen Basin. This decrease is accompanied by a circulation change, indicated by changes in salinity. Ventilation of waters is most likely not the reason for the observed depletion in 230Th as atmospherically derived tracers do not reveal an increase in ventilation rate. It is suggested that these interior waters have undergone enhanced scavenging of Th during transit from Fram Strait and the Barents Sea to the central Amundsen Basin.
Haiwei Zhang, Hai Cheng, Yanjun Cai, Christoph Spötl, Ashish Sinha, Gayatri Kathayat, and Hanying Li
Clim. Past, 16, 211–225, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-211-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-211-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Few studies have paid attention to the important effect of nonsummer monsoon (NSM) precipitation on the speleothem δ18O in SE China. We find the summer monsoon precipitation is equivalent to NSM precipitation amount in the area of spring persistent rain in SE China, and we discuss the relationships between seasonal precipitation amount, moisture source, δ18O, and ENSO. Characterizing the spatial differences in seasonal precipitation is key to interpreting the speleothem δ18O record.
Gina E. Moseley, Christoph Spötl, Susanne Brandstätter, Tobias Erhardt, Marc Luetscher, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 16, 29–50, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-29-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-29-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Abrupt climate change during the last ice age can be used to provide important insights into the timescales on which the climate is capable of changing and the mechanisms that drive those changes. In this study, we construct climate records for the period 60 to 120 ka using stalagmites that formed in caves along the northern rim of the European Alps and find good agreement with the timing of climate changes in Greenland and the Asian monsoon.
Mike Rogerson, Yuri Dublyansky, Dirk L. Hoffmann, Marc Luetscher, Paul Töchterle, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 15, 1757–1769, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1757-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1757-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Rainfall in North Africa is known to vary through time and is likely to change as global climate warms. Here, we provide a new level of understanding about past rainfall in North Africa by looking at a stalagmite which formed within northeastern Libya between 67 and 30 thousand years ago. We find that at times more rain falls, and the associated moisture is mostly derived from the western Mediterranean during winter storms. Sometimes, water comes from the eastern Mediterranean.
Hanying Li, Hai Cheng, Ashish Sinha, Gayatri Kathayat, Christoph Spötl, Aurèle Anquetil André, Arnaud Meunier, Jayant Biswas, Pengzhen Duan, Youfeng Ning, and Richard Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 14, 1881–1891, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1881-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1881-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The
4.2 ka eventbetween 4.2 and 3.9 ka has been widely discussed in the Northern Hemsiphere but less reported in the Southern Hemisphere. Here, we use speleothem records from Rodrigues in the southwestern Indian Ocean spanning from 6000 to 3000 years ago to investigate the regional hydro-climatic variability. Our records show no evidence for an unusual climate anomaly between 4.2 and 3.9 ka. Instead, it shows a multi-centennial drought between 3.9 and 3.5 ka.
Gayatri Kathayat, Hai Cheng, Ashish Sinha, Max Berkelhammer, Haiwei Zhang, Pengzhen Duan, Hanying Li, Xianglei Li, Youfeng Ning, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 14, 1869–1879, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1869-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1869-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The 4.2 ka event is generally characterized as an approximately 300-year period of major global climate anomaly. However, the climatic manifestation of this event remains unclear in the Indian monsoon domain. Our high-resolution and precisely dated speleothem record from Meghalaya, India, characterizes the event as consisting of a series of multi-decadal droughts between 3.9 and 4.0 ka rather than a singular pulse of multi-centennial drought as previously thought.
Florian Adolphi, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Tobias Erhardt, R. Lawrence Edwards, Hai Cheng, Chris S. M. Turney, Alan Cooper, Anders Svensson, Sune O. Rasmussen, Hubertus Fischer, and Raimund Muscheler
Clim. Past, 14, 1755–1781, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1755-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1755-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The last glacial period was characterized by a number of rapid climate changes seen, for example, as abrupt warmings in Greenland and changes in monsoon rainfall intensity. However, due to chronological uncertainties it is challenging to know how tightly coupled these changes were. Here we exploit cosmogenic signals caused by changes in the Sun and Earth magnetic fields to link different climate archives and improve our understanding of the dynamics of abrupt climate change.
Gabriella Koltai, Hai Cheng, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 14, 369–381, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-369-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-369-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Here we present a multi-proxy study of flowstones in fractures of crystalline rocks with the aim of assessing the palaeoclimate significance of this new type of speleothem archive. Our results indicate a high degree of spatial heterogeneity, whereby changes in speleothem mineralogy and carbon isotope composition are likely governed by aquifer-internal processes. In contrast, the oxygen isotope composition reflects first-order climate variability.
Ny Riavo Gilbertinie Voarintsoa, Loren Bruce Railsback, George Albert Brook, Lixin Wang, Gayatri Kathayat, Hai Cheng, Xianglei Li, Richard Lawrence Edwards, Amos Fety Michel Rakotondrazafy, and Marie Olga Madison Razanatseheno
Clim. Past, 13, 1771–1790, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1771-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1771-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This research has been an investigation of two stalagmites from two caves in NW Madagascar to reconstruct the region's paleoenvironmental changes, and to understand the linkage of such changes to the dynamics of the ITCZ. Stable isotopes, mineralogy, and petrography suggest wetter climate conditions than today during the early and late Holocene, when the mean ITCZ was south, and drier during the mid-Holocene when the ITCZ was north.
Stef Vansteenberge, Sophie Verheyden, Hai Cheng, R. Lawrence Edwards, Eddy Keppens, and Philippe Claeys
Clim. Past, 12, 1445–1458, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1445-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1445-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The use of stalagmites for last interglacial continental climate reconstructions in Europe has been successful in the past; however to expand the geographical coverage, additional data from Belgium is presented. It has been shown that stalagmite growth, morphology and stable isotope content reflect regional and local climate conditions, with Eemian optimum climate occurring between 125.3 and 117.3 ka. The start the Weichselian is expressed by a stop of growth caused by a drying climate.
C. Spötl and H. Cheng
Clim. Past, 10, 1349–1362, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1349-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1349-2014, 2014
M. Luetscher, M. Borreguero, G. E. Moseley, C. Spötl, and R. L. Edwards
The Cryosphere, 7, 1073–1081, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1073-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1073-2013, 2013
V. E. Johnston, A. Borsato, C. Spötl, S. Frisia, and R. Miorandi
Clim. Past, 9, 99–118, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-99-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-99-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Proxy Use-Development-Validation | Archive: Terrestrial Archives | Timescale: Holocene
A continental reconstruction of hydroclimatic variability in South America during the past 2000 years
A Holocene history of climate, fire, landscape evolution, and human activity in northeastern Iceland
A global compilation of diatom silica oxygen isotope records from lake sediment – trends and implications for climate reconstruction
BrGDGT-based seasonal paleotemperature reconstruction for the last 15 000 years from a shallow lake on the eastern Tibetan Plateau
Reconstructing 15 000 years of southern France temperatures from coupled pollen and molecular (branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether) markers (Canroute, Massif Central)
Pollen-based reconstructions of Holocene climate trends in the eastern Mediterranean region
Spatiotemporal Intertropical Convergence Zone dynamics during the last 3 millennia in northeastern Brazil and related impacts in modern human history
Holocene climates of the Iberian Peninsula: pollen-based reconstructions of changes in the west–east gradient of temperature and moisture
Holocene climate and oceanography of the coastal Western United States and California Current System
Reconstructing Holocene temperatures in time and space using paleoclimate data assimilation
Long-term trends in diatom diversity and palaeoproductivity: a 16 000-year multidecadal record from Lake Baikal, southern Siberia
A 406-year non-growing-season precipitation reconstruction in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau
Climatic variations during the Holocene inferred from radiocarbon and stable carbon isotopes in speleothems from a high-alpine cave
Winter–spring warming in the North Atlantic during the last 2000 years: evidence from southwest Iceland
Climate reconstructions based on GDGT and pollen surface datasets from Mongolia and Baikal area: calibrations and applicability to extremely cold–dry environments over the Late Holocene
Sampling density and date along with species selection influence spatial representation of tree-ring reconstructions
Changes in high-intensity precipitation on the northern Apennines (Italy) as revealed by multidisciplinary data over the last 9000 years
Neoglacial trends in diatom dynamics from a small alpine lake in the Qinling mountains of central China
Centennial- to millennial-scale monsoon changes since the last deglaciation linked to solar activities and North Atlantic cooling
Algal lipids reveal unprecedented warming rates in alpine areas of SW Europe during the industrial period
Reconstructing seasonality through stable-isotope and trace-element analyses of the Proserpine stalagmite, Han-sur-Lesse cave, Belgium: indications for climate-driven changes during the last 400 years
Two millennia of Main region (southern Germany) hydroclimate variability
Combining a pollen and macrofossil synthesis with climate simulations for spatial reconstructions of European climate using Bayesian filtering
Lignin oxidation products as a potential proxy for vegetation and environmental changes in speleothems and cave drip water – a first record from the Herbstlabyrinth, central Germany
How dry was the Younger Dryas? Evidence from a coupled δ2H–δ18O biomarker paleohygrometer applied to the Gemündener Maar sediments, Western Eifel, Germany
Siberian tree-ring and stable isotope proxies as indicators of temperature and moisture changes after major stratospheric volcanic eruptions
The 4.2 ka BP Event in the Mediterranean region: an overview
Technical note: Optimizing the utility of combined GPR, OSL, and Lidar (GOaL) to extract paleoenvironmental records and decipher shoreline evolution
The onset of neoglaciation in Iceland and the 4.2 ka event
Fire, vegetation, and Holocene climate in a southeastern Tibetan lake: a multi-biomarker reconstruction from Paru Co
Climate impact on the development of Pre-Classic Maya civilisation
Synchronizing 10Be in two varved lake sediment records to IntCal13 14C during three grand solar minima
Technical note: Open-paleo-data implementation pilot – the PAGES 2k special issue
A chironomid-based record of temperature variability during the past 4000 years in northern China and its possible societal implications
Insights into Atlantic multidecadal variability using the Last Millennium Reanalysis framework
Three distinct Holocene intervals of stalagmite deposition and nondeposition revealed in NW Madagascar, and their paleoclimate implications
Examining bias in pollen-based quantitative climate reconstructions induced by human impact on vegetation in China
A dual-biomarker approach for quantification of changes in relative humidity from sedimentary lipid D∕H ratios
Pseudo-proxy tests of the analogue method to reconstruct spatially resolved global temperature during the Common Era
Development and evaluation of a system of proxy data assimilation for paleoclimate reconstruction
A chironomid-based mean July temperature inference model from the south-east margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China
Assessing performance and seasonal bias of pollen-based climate reconstructions in a perfect model world
Quantitative reconstruction of summer precipitation using a mid-Holocene δ13C common millet record from Guanzhong Basin, northern China
North Atlantic Oscillation controls on oxygen and hydrogen isotope gradients in winter precipitation across Europe; implications for palaeoclimate studies
A 368-year maximum temperature reconstruction based on tree-ring data in the northwestern Sichuan Plateau (NWSP), China
Inferring late-Holocene climate in the Ecuadorian Andes using a chironomid-based temperature inference model
A high-altitude peatland record of environmental changes in the NW Argentine Andes (24 ° S) over the last 2100 years
Technical note: The Linked Paleo Data framework – a common tongue for paleoclimatology
A Bayesian hierarchical model for reconstructing relative sea level: from raw data to rates of change
Inferring climate variability from nonlinear proxies: application to palaeo-ENSO studies
Mathurin A. Choblet, Janica C. Bühler, Valdir F. Novello, Nathan J. Steiger, and Kira Rehfeld
Clim. Past, 20, 2117–2141, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2117-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2117-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Past climate reconstructions are essential for understanding climate mechanisms and drivers. Our focus is on the South American continent over the past 2000 years. We offer a new reconstruction that particularly utilizes data from speleothems, previously absent from continent-wide reconstructions. We use paleoclimate data assimilation, a reconstruction method that combines information from climate archives and climate simulations.
Nicolò Ardenghi, David J. Harning, Jonathan H. Raberg, Brooke R. Holman, Thorvaldur Thordarson, Áslaug Geirsdóttir, Gifford H. Miller, and Julio Sepúlveda
Clim. Past, 20, 1087–1123, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1087-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1087-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Analysing a sediment record from Stóra Viðarvatn (NE Iceland), we reveal how natural factors and human activities influenced environmental changes (erosion, wildfires) over the last 11 000 years. We found increased fire activity around 3000 and 1500 years ago, predating human settlement, likely driven by natural factors like precipitation shifts. Declining summer temperatures increased erosion vulnerability, exacerbated by farming and animal husbandry, which in turn may have reduced wildfires.
Philip Meister, Anne Alexandre, Hannah Bailey, Philip Barker, Boris K. Biskaborn, Ellie Broadman, Rosine Cartier, Bernhard Chapligin, Martine Couapel, Jonathan R. Dean, Bernhard Diekmann, Poppy Harding, Andrew C. G. Henderson, Armand Hernandez, Ulrike Herzschuh, Svetlana S. Kostrova, Jack Lacey, Melanie J. Leng, Andreas Lücke, Anson W. Mackay, Eniko Katalin Magyari, Biljana Narancic, Cécile Porchier, Gunhild Rosqvist, Aldo Shemesh, Corinne Sonzogni, George E. A. Swann, Florence Sylvestre, and Hanno Meyer
Clim. Past, 20, 363–392, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-363-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-363-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents the first comprehensive compilation of diatom oxygen isotope records in lake sediments (δ18OBSi), supported by lake basin parameters. We infer the spatial and temporal coverage of δ18OBSi records and discuss common hemispheric trends on centennial and millennial timescales. Key results are common patterns for hydrologically open lakes in Northern Hemisphere extratropical regions during the Holocene corresponding to known climatic epochs, i.e. the Holocene Thermal Maximum.
Xiaohuan Hou, Nannan Wang, Zhe Sun, Kan Yuan, Xianyong Cao, and Juzhi Hou
Clim. Past, 20, 335–348, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-335-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-335-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present an ice-free season temperature based on brGDGTs over last 15 kyr on the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP). The result shows that Holocene Thermal Maximum occurred during 8–3.5 ka, which lags behind pollen-based temperature recorded in same core, indicating a significant seasonal bias between different proxies. We also investigated previously published brGDGT-based temperatures on the TP to determine the pattern of Holocene temperature changes and possible reasons for the diverse records.
Léa d'Oliveira, Lucas Dugerdil, Guillemette Ménot, Allowen Evin, Serge D. Muller, Salomé Ansanay-Alex, Julien Azuara, Colline Bonnet, Laurent Bremond, Mehmet Shah, and Odile Peyron
Clim. Past, 19, 2127–2156, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2127-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2127-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In southern Europe, Holocene climate variability is characterized by a strong heterogeneity whose patterns are still poorly understood. Here, a multi-proxy approach (pollen and biomarkers) is applied to the Canroute sequence to reconstruct the climatic variation over the last 15 000 years in southern Massif Central, France. Results reveal that reconstructions of regional climate trends notably differ depending on proxies and sites, notably concerning the presence of a Holocene thermal maximum.
Esmeralda Cruz-Silva, Sandy P. Harrison, I. Colin Prentice, Elena Marinova, Patrick J. Bartlein, Hans Renssen, and Yurui Zhang
Clim. Past, 19, 2093–2108, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2093-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2093-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We examined 71 pollen records (12.3 ka to present) in the eastern Mediterranean, reconstructing climate changes. Over 9000 years, winters gradually warmed due to orbital factors. Summer temperatures peaked at 4.5–5 ka, likely declining because of ice sheets. Moisture increased post-11 kyr, remaining high from 10–6 kyr before a slow decrease. Climate models face challenges in replicating moisture transport.
Giselle Utida, Francisco W. Cruz, Mathias Vuille, Angela Ampuero, Valdir F. Novello, Jelena Maksic, Gilvan Sampaio, Hai Cheng, Haiwei Zhang, Fabio Ramos Dias de Andrade, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 19, 1975–1992, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1975-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1975-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstruct the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) behavior during the past 3000 years over northeastern Brazil based on oxygen stable isotopes of stalagmites. Paleoclimate changes were mainly forced by the tropical South Atlantic and tropical Pacific sea surface temperature variability. We describe an ITCZ zonal behavior active around 1100 CE and the period from 1500 to 1750 CE. The dataset also records historical droughts that affected modern human population in this area of Brazil.
Mengmeng Liu, Yicheng Shen, Penelope González-Sampériz, Graciela Gil-Romera, Cajo J. F. ter Braak, Iain Colin Prentice, and Sandy P. Harrison
Clim. Past, 19, 803–834, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-803-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-803-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstructed the Holocene climates in the Iberian Peninsula using a large pollen data set and found that the west–east moisture gradient was much flatter than today. We also found that the winter was much colder, which can be expected from the low winter insolation during the Holocene. However, summer temperature did not follow the trend of summer insolation, instead, it was strongly correlated with moisture.
Hannah M. Palmer, Veronica Padilla Vriesman, Caitlin M. Livsey, Carina R. Fish, and Tessa M. Hill
Clim. Past, 19, 199–232, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-199-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-199-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
To better understand and contextualize modern climate change, this systematic review synthesizes climate and oceanographic patterns in the Western United States and California Current System through the most recent 11.75 kyr. Through a literature review and coded analysis of past studies, we identify distinct environmental phases through time and linkages between marine and terrestrial systems. We explore climate change impacts on ecosystems and human–environment interactions.
Michael P. Erb, Nicholas P. McKay, Nathan Steiger, Sylvia Dee, Chris Hancock, Ruza F. Ivanovic, Lauren J. Gregoire, and Paul Valdes
Clim. Past, 18, 2599–2629, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2599-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2599-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
To look at climate over the past 12 000 years, we reconstruct spatial temperature using natural climate archives and information from model simulations. Our results show mild global mean warmth around 6000 years ago, which differs somewhat from past reconstructions. Undiagnosed seasonal biases in the data could explain some of the observed temperature change, but this still would not explain the large difference between many reconstructions and climate models over this period.
Anson W. Mackay, Vivian A. Felde, David W. Morley, Natalia Piotrowska, Patrick Rioual, Alistair W. R. Seddon, and George E. A. Swann
Clim. Past, 18, 363–380, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-363-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-363-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated the diversity of algae called diatoms in Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest lake in the world, because algae sit at the base of aquatic foodwebs and provide energy (in the form of primary production) for other organisms to use. Diatom diversity and primary production have been influenced by both long-term and abrupt climate change over the past 16 000 years. The shape of these responses appears to be time-period specific.
Maierdang Keyimu, Zongshan Li, Bojie Fu, Guohua Liu, Fanjiang Zeng, Weiliang Chen, Zexin Fan, Keyan Fang, Xiuchen Wu, and Xiaochun Wang
Clim. Past, 17, 2381–2392, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2381-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2381-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We created a residual tree-ring width chronology and reconstructed non-growth-season precipitation (NGSP) over the period spanning 1600–2005 in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau (SETP), China. Reconstruction model verification as well as similar variations of NGSP reconstruction and Palmer Drought Severity Index reconstructions from the surrounding region indicate the reliability of the present reconstruction. Our reconstruction is representative of NGSP variability of a large region in the SETP.
Caroline Welte, Jens Fohlmeister, Melina Wertnik, Lukas Wacker, Bodo Hattendorf, Timothy I. Eglinton, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 17, 2165–2177, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2165-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2165-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Stalagmites are valuable climate archives, but unlike other proxies the use of stable carbon isotopes (δ13C) is still difficult. A stalagmite from the Austrian Alps was analyzed using a new laser ablation method for fast radiocarbon (14C) analysis. This allowed 14C and δ13C to be combined, showing that besides soil and bedrock a third source is contributing during periods of warm, wet climate: old organic matter.
Nora Richter, James M. Russell, Johanna Garfinkel, and Yongsong Huang
Clim. Past, 17, 1363–1383, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1363-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1363-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present a reconstruction of winter–spring temperatures developed using organic proxies preserved in well-dated lake sediments from southwest Iceland to assess seasonal temperature changes in the North Atlantic region over the last 2000 years. The gradual warming trend observed in our record is likely influenced by sea surface temperatures, which are sensitive to changes in ocean circulation and seasonal insolation, during the winter and spring season.
Lucas Dugerdil, Sébastien Joannin, Odile Peyron, Isabelle Jouffroy-Bapicot, Boris Vannière, Bazartseren Boldgiv, Julia Unkelbach, Hermann Behling, and Guillemette Ménot
Clim. Past, 17, 1199–1226, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1199-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1199-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Since the understanding of Holocene climate change appears to be a relevant issue for future climate change, the paleoclimate calibrations have to be improved. Here, surface samples from Mongolia and Siberia were analyzed to provide new calibrations for pollen and biomarker climate models. These calibrations appear to be more powerful than global calibrations, especially in an arid central Asian context. These calibrations will improve the understanding of monsoon Holocene oscillations.
Justin T. Maxwell, Grant L. Harley, Trevis J. Matheus, Brandon M. Strange, Kayla Van Aken, Tsun Fung Au, and Joshua C. Bregy
Clim. Past, 16, 1901–1916, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1901-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1901-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We found that increasing the density of chronologies in the tree-ring network resulted in estimated soil moisture conditions that better matched the spatial variability of the values that were instrumentally recorded for droughts and, to a lesser extent, pluvials. By sampling trees in 2010 compared to 1980, the sensitivity of tree rings to soil moisture decreased in the southern portion of our region, where severe drought conditions have been absent over recent decades.
Stefano Segadelli, Federico Grazzini, Veronica Rossi, Margherita Aguzzi, Silvia Marvelli, Marco Marchesini, Alessandro Chelli, Roberto Francese, Maria Teresa De Nardo, and Sandro Nanni
Clim. Past, 16, 1547–1564, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1547-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1547-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In an attempt to consolidate trends in the hydrological cycle induced by recent warming, we conducted a multidisciplinary study combining meteorological data, climate proxies from the literature, and original coring and pollen data acquired in an area that has been hit by record-breaking precipitation events. A detailed study of recent flash-flood deposits compared with fossil peat bog and lake sediments supports the expected increase in precipitation intensity during warm climatic phases.
Bo Cheng, Jennifer Adams, Jianhui Chen, Aifeng Zhou, Qing Zhang, and Anson W. Mackay
Clim. Past, 16, 543–554, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-543-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-543-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The Qinling mountains in China are biodiversity rich. We studied one of the high-latitude lakes on Mount Taibai with a view to looking at how aquatic diversity responded to long-term changes in climate over the past 3500 years. We specifically looked at a group of single-celled algae called diatoms, as they are very sensitive to the environment. We found that these algae changed gradually over time, but they showed abrupt change during the period known as the Little Ice Age, about 400 years ago.
Xingxing Liu, Youbin Sun, Jef Vandenberghe, Peng Cheng, Xu Zhang, Evan J. Gowan, Gerrit Lohmann, and Zhisheng An
Clim. Past, 16, 315–324, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-315-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-315-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The East Asian summer monsoon and winter monsoon are anticorrelated on a centennial timescale during 16–1 ka. The centennial monsoon variability is connected to changes of both solar activity and North Atlantic cooling events during the Early Holocene. Then, North Atlantic cooling became the major forcing of events during the Late Holocene. This work presents the great challenge and potential to understand the response of the monsoon system to global climate changes in the past and the future.
Antonio García-Alix, Jaime L. Toney, Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno, Carmen Pérez-Martínez, Laura Jiménez, Marta Rodrigo-Gámiz, R. Scott Anderson, Jon Camuera, Francisco J. Jiménez-Espejo, Dhais Peña-Angulo, and María J. Ramos-Román
Clim. Past, 16, 245–263, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-245-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-245-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we identify warming thresholds, rates, and forcing mechanisms from a novel alpine temperature record of the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Common Era in order to contextualize the modern warming and its potential impact on these vulnerable alpine ecosystems. To do so, we have developed and applied the first lacustrine temperature calibration in alpine lakes for algal compounds, called long-chain alkyl diols, which is a significant advance in biomarker paleothermometry.
Stef Vansteenberge, Niels J. de Winter, Matthias Sinnesael, Sophie Verheyden, Steven Goderis, Stijn J. M. Van Malderen, Frank Vanhaecke, and Philippe Claeys
Clim. Past, 16, 141–160, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-141-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-141-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We measured the chemical composition (trace-element concentrations and stable-isotope ratios) of a Belgian speleothem that deposited annual layers. Our sub-annual resolution dataset allows us to investigate how the chemistry of this speleothem recorded changes in the environment and climate in northwestern Europe. We then use this information to reconstruct climate change during the 16th and 17th century on the seasonal scale and demonstrate that environmental change drives speleothem chemistry.
Alexander Land, Sabine Remmele, Jutta Hofmann, Daniel Reichle, Margaret Eppli, Christian Zang, Allan Buras, Sebastian Hein, and Reiner Zimmermann
Clim. Past, 15, 1677–1690, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1677-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1677-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
With the use of precipitation sensitive oak ring-width series from the Main River region (southern Germany) a 2000-year long hydroclimate reconstruction has been developed. The ring series are sensitive to the sum of rainfall from 26 February to 6 July. This region suffered from severe, long-lasting droughts in the past two millennia (e.g., AD 500/510s, 940s, 1170s, 1390s and 1160s). In the AD 550s, 1050s, 1310s and 1480s, multi-year periods with high rainfall hit the region.
Nils Weitzel, Andreas Hense, and Christian Ohlwein
Clim. Past, 15, 1275–1301, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1275-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1275-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
A new method for probabilistic spatial reconstructions of past climate states is presented, which combines pollen data with a multi-model ensemble of climate simulations in a Bayesian framework. The approach is applied to reconstruct summer and winter temperature in Europe during the mid-Holocene. Our reconstructions account for multiple sources of uncertainty and are well suited for quantitative statistical analyses of the climate under different forcing conditions.
Inken Heidke, Denis Scholz, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Clim. Past, 15, 1025–1037, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1025-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1025-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This is the first quantitative study of lignin biomarkers in stalagmites and cave drip water. Lignin is only produced by higher plants; therefore, its analysis can be used to reconstruct the vegetation of the past. We compared our lignin results with stable isotope and trace element records from the same samples and found correlations or similarities with P, Ba, U and Mg concentrations as well as δ13C values. These results can help to better interpret other vegetation proxies.
Johannes Hepp, Lorenz Wüthrich, Tobias Bromm, Marcel Bliedtner, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Bruno Glaser, Kazimierz Rozanski, Frank Sirocko, Roland Zech, and Michael Zech
Clim. Past, 15, 713–733, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-713-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-713-2019, 2019
Olga V. Churakova (Sidorova), Marina V. Fonti, Matthias Saurer, Sébastien Guillet, Christophe Corona, Patrick Fonti, Vladimir S. Myglan, Alexander V. Kirdyanov, Oksana V. Naumova, Dmitriy V. Ovchinnikov, Alexander V. Shashkin, Irina P. Panyushkina, Ulf Büntgen, Malcolm K. Hughes, Eugene A. Vaganov, Rolf T. W. Siegwolf, and Markus Stoffel
Clim. Past, 15, 685–700, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-685-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-685-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present a unique dataset of multiple tree-ring and stable isotope parameters, representing temperature-sensitive Siberian ecotones, to assess climatic impacts after six large stratospheric volcanic eruptions at 535, 540, 1257, 1640, 1815, and 1991 CE. Besides the well-documented effects of temperature derived from tree-ring width and latewood density, stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in tree-ring cellulose provide information about moisture and sunshine duration changes after the events.
Monica Bini, Giovanni Zanchetta, Aurel Perşoiu, Rosine Cartier, Albert Català, Isabel Cacho, Jonathan R. Dean, Federico Di Rita, Russell N. Drysdale, Martin Finnè, Ilaria Isola, Bassem Jalali, Fabrizio Lirer, Donatella Magri, Alessia Masi, Leszek Marks, Anna Maria Mercuri, Odile Peyron, Laura Sadori, Marie-Alexandrine Sicre, Fabian Welc, Christoph Zielhofer, and Elodie Brisset
Clim. Past, 15, 555–577, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-555-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-555-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The Mediterranean region has returned some of the clearest evidence of a climatically dry period occurring approximately 4200 years ago. We reviewed selected proxies to infer regional climate patterns between 4.3 and 3.8 ka. Temperature data suggest a cooling anomaly, even if this is not uniform, whereas winter was drier, along with dry summers. However, some exceptions to this prevail, where wetter condition seems to have persisted, suggesting regional heterogeneity.
Amy J. Dougherty, Jeong-Heon Choi, Chris S. M. Turney, and Anthony Dosseto
Clim. Past, 15, 389–404, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-389-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-389-2019, 2019
Áslaug Geirsdóttir, Gifford H. Miller, John T. Andrews, David J. Harning, Leif S. Anderson, Christopher Florian, Darren J. Larsen, and Thor Thordarson
Clim. Past, 15, 25–40, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-25-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-25-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Compositing climate proxies in sediment from seven Iceland lakes documents abrupt summer cooling between 4.5 and 4.0 ka, statistically indistinguishable from 4.2 ka. Although the decline in summer insolation was an important factor, a combination of superposed changes in ocean circulation and explosive Icelandic volcanism were likely responsible for the abrupt perturbation recorded by our proxies. Lake and catchment proxies recovered to a colder equilibrium state following the perturbation.
Alice Callegaro, Dario Battistel, Natalie M. Kehrwald, Felipe Matsubara Pereira, Torben Kirchgeorg, Maria del Carmen Villoslada Hidalgo, Broxton W. Bird, and Carlo Barbante
Clim. Past, 14, 1543–1563, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1543-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1543-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Holocene fires and vegetation are reconstructed using different molecular markers with a single analytical method, applied for the first time to lake sediments from Tibet. The early Holocene shows oscillations between grasses and conifers, with smouldering fires represented by levoglucosan peaks, and high-temperature fires represented by PAHs. The lack of human FeSts excludes local human influence on fire and vegetation changes. Late Holocene displays an increase in local to regional combustion.
Kees Nooren, Wim Z. Hoek, Brian J. Dermody, Didier Galop, Sarah Metcalfe, Gerald Islebe, and Hans Middelkoop
Clim. Past, 14, 1253–1273, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1253-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1253-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present two new palaeoclimatic records for the central Maya lowlands, adding valuable new insights to the impact of climate change on the development of Maya civilisation. Lake Tuspan's diatom record is indicative of precipitation changes at a local scale, while a beach ridge elevation record from the world's largest late Holocene beach ridge plain provides a regional picture.
Markus Czymzik, Raimund Muscheler, Florian Adolphi, Florian Mekhaldi, Nadine Dräger, Florian Ott, Michał Słowinski, Mirosław Błaszkiewicz, Ala Aldahan, Göran Possnert, and Achim Brauer
Clim. Past, 14, 687–696, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-687-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-687-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Our results provide a proof of concept for facilitating 10Be in varved lake sediments as a novel synchronization tool required for investigating leads and lags of proxy responses to climate variability. They also point to some limitations of 10Be in these archives mainly connected to in-lake sediment resuspension processes.
Darrell S. Kaufman and PAGES 2k special-issue editorial team
Clim. Past, 14, 593–600, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-593-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-593-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We explain the procedure used to attain a high and consistent level of data stewardship across a special issue of the journal Climate of the Past. We discuss the challenges related to (1) determining which data are essential for public archival, (2) using data generated by others, and (3) understanding data citations. We anticipate that open-data sharing in paleo sciences will accelerate as the advantages become more evident and as practices that reduce data loss become the accepted convention.
Haipeng Wang, Jianhui Chen, Shengda Zhang, David D. Zhang, Zongli Wang, Qinghai Xu, Shengqian Chen, Shijin Wang, Shichang Kang, and Fahu Chen
Clim. Past, 14, 383–396, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-383-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-383-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The chironomid-inferred temperature record from Gonghai Lake exhibits a stepwise decreasing trend since 4 ka. A cold event in the Era of Disunity, the Sui-Tang Warm Period, the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age can all be recognized in our record, as well as in many other temperature reconstructions in China. Local wars in Shanxi Province, documented in the historical literature during the past 2700 years, are statistically significantly correlated with changes in temperature.
Hansi K. A. Singh, Gregory J. Hakim, Robert Tardif, Julien Emile-Geay, and David C. Noone
Clim. Past, 14, 157–174, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-157-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-157-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) is prominent in the climate system. We study the AMO over the last 2000 years using a novel proxy framework, the Last Millennium Reanalysis. We find that the AMO is linked to continental warming, Arctic sea ice retreat, and an Atlantic precipitation shift. Low clouds decrease globally. We find no distinct multidecadal spectral peak in the AMO over the last 2 millennia, suggesting that human activities may have enhanced the AMO in the modern era.
Ny Riavo Gilbertinie Voarintsoa, Loren Bruce Railsback, George Albert Brook, Lixin Wang, Gayatri Kathayat, Hai Cheng, Xianglei Li, Richard Lawrence Edwards, Amos Fety Michel Rakotondrazafy, and Marie Olga Madison Razanatseheno
Clim. Past, 13, 1771–1790, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1771-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1771-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This research has been an investigation of two stalagmites from two caves in NW Madagascar to reconstruct the region's paleoenvironmental changes, and to understand the linkage of such changes to the dynamics of the ITCZ. Stable isotopes, mineralogy, and petrography suggest wetter climate conditions than today during the early and late Holocene, when the mean ITCZ was south, and drier during the mid-Holocene when the ITCZ was north.
Wei Ding, Qinghai Xu, and Pavel E. Tarasov
Clim. Past, 13, 1285–1300, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1285-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1285-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Pollen-based past climate reconstruction for regions with long-term human occupation is always controversial. We examined the bias induced by the human impact on vegetation in a climate reconstruction for temperate eastern China by comparing the deviations in the reconstructed results for a fossil record based on two pollen–climate calibration sets. Climatic signals in pollen assemblages are indeed obscured by human impact; however, the extent of the bias could be assessed.
Oliver Rach, Ansgar Kahmen, Achim Brauer, and Dirk Sachse
Clim. Past, 13, 741–757, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-741-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-741-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Currently, reconstructions of past changes in the hydrological cycle are usually qualitative, which is a major drawback for testing the accuracy of models in predicting future responses. Here we present a proof of concept of a novel approach to deriving quantitative paleohydrological data, i.e. changes in relative humidity, from lacustrine sediment archives, employing a combination of organic geochemical methods and plant physiological modeling.
Juan José Gómez-Navarro, Eduardo Zorita, Christoph C. Raible, and Raphael Neukom
Clim. Past, 13, 629–648, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-629-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-629-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This contribution aims at assessing to what extent the analogue method, a classic technique used in other branches of meteorology and climatology, can be used to perform gridded reconstructions of annual temperature based on the limited information from available but un-calibrated proxies spread across different locations of the world. We conclude that it is indeed possible, albeit with certain limitations that render the method comparable to more classic techniques.
Atsushi Okazaki and Kei Yoshimura
Clim. Past, 13, 379–393, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-379-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-379-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Data assimilation has been successfully applied in the field of paleoclimatology to reconstruct past climate. However, data reconstructed from proxies have been assimilated, as opposed to the actual proxy values, which prevented full utilization of the information recorded in the proxies. This study propose a new data assimilation system in which actual proxy data are directly assimilated.
Enlou Zhang, Jie Chang, Yanmin Cao, Hongqu Tang, Pete Langdon, James Shulmeister, Rong Wang, Xiangdong Yang, and Ji Shen
Clim. Past, 13, 185–199, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-185-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-185-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This paper reports the first development of sub-fossil chironomid-based mean July temperature transfer functions from China. The transfer functions yield reliable reconstructions that are comparable to the instrumental record. The application of this new tool will provide long-term quantitative palaeoclimate estimates from south-western China which is a critical region for understanding the dynamic and evolution of the Indian Ocean south-west Monsoon system.
Kira Rehfeld, Mathias Trachsel, Richard J. Telford, and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 12, 2255–2270, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2255-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2255-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Indirect evidence on past climate comes from the former composition of ecological communities such as plants, preserved as pollen grains in sediments of lakes. Transfer functions convert relative counts of species to a climatologically meaningful scale (e.g. annual mean temperature in degrees C). We show that the fundamental assumptions in the algorithms impact the reconstruction results in he idealized model world, in particular if the reconstructed variables were not ecologically relevant.
Qing Yang, Xiaoqiang Li, Xinying Zhou, Keliang Zhao, and Nan Sun
Clim. Past, 12, 2229–2240, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2229-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2229-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The fossilized seeds of common millet are suited to the production of quantitative Holocene precipitation reconstructions. Our reconstructed results showed that summer precipitation from 7.7–3.4 ka BP was ~ 50 mm, or 17 % higher than present levels. Maximal mean summer precipitation peaked at 414 mm during 6.1–5.5 ka BP, ~ 109 mm, or 36 % higher than today, indicating the EASM peaked at this time. This work can provide a new proxy for further research into continuous paleoprecipitation sequences.
Michael Deininger, Martin Werner, and Frank McDermott
Clim. Past, 12, 2127–2143, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2127-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2127-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the NAO (Northern Atlantic Oscillation)-related mechanisms that control winter precipitation stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope gradients across Europe. The results show that past longitudinal stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope gradients in European rainfall stored in palaeoclimate archives (e.g. speleothems) can be used to infer the past winter NAO modes from its variations.
Liangjun Zhu, Yuandong Zhang, Zongshan Li, Binde Guo, and Xiaochun Wang
Clim. Past, 12, 1485–1498, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1485-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1485-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We present a 368-year late summer maximum temperature reconstruction based on spruce tree rings. It touches on the critical topic of climate reconstruction in the eastern edge of Tibetan Plateau and represents an extension and enhancement of climate records for this area. The Little Ice Age was well represented and 20th century warming was not obvious in this reconstruction. This temperature variation may be affected by global land–sea atmospheric circulation as well as solar and volcanic forcing.
Frazer Matthews-Bird, Stephen J. Brooks, Philip B. Holden, Encarni Montoya, and William D. Gosling
Clim. Past, 12, 1263–1280, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1263-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1263-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Chironomidae are a family of two-winged aquatic fly of the order Diptera. The family is species rich (> 5000 described species) and extremely sensitive to environmental change, particualy temperature. Across the Northern Hemisphere, chironomids have been widely used as paleotemperature proxies as the chitinous remains of the insect are readily preserved in lake sediments. This is the first study using chironomids as paleotemperature proxies in tropical South America.
Karsten Schittek, Sebastian T. Kock, Andreas Lücke, Jonathan Hense, Christian Ohlendorf, Julio J. Kulemeyer, Liliana C. Lupo, and Frank Schäbitz
Clim. Past, 12, 1165–1180, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1165-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1165-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Cushion peatlands are versatile climate archives for the study of past environmental changes. We present the environmental history for the last 2100 years of Cerro Tuzgle peatland, which is located in the NW Argentine Puna. The results reflect prominent late Holocene climate anomalies and provide evidence that Northern Hemisphere climate oscillations were extensive. Volcanic forcing at the beginning of the 19th century seems to have had an impact on climatic settings in the Central Andes
Nicholas P. McKay and Julien Emile-Geay
Clim. Past, 12, 1093–1100, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1093-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1093-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The lack of accepted data formats and data standards in paleoclimatology is a growing problem that slows progress in the field. Here, we propose a preliminary data standard for paleoclimate data, general enough to accommodate all the proxy and measurement types encountered in a large international collaboration (PAGES 2k). We also introduce a data format for such structured data (Linked Paleo Data, or LiPD), leveraging recent advances in knowledge representation (Linked Open Data).
Niamh Cahill, Andrew C. Kemp, Benjamin P. Horton, and Andrew C. Parnell
Clim. Past, 12, 525–542, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-525-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-525-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a Bayesian model for the reconstruction and analysis of former sea levels. The model provides a single, unifying framework for reconstructing and analyzing sea level through time with fully quantified uncertainty. We illustrate our approach using a case study of Common Era (last 2000 years) sea levels from New Jersey.
J. Emile-Geay and M. Tingley
Clim. Past, 12, 31–50, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-31-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-31-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Ignoring nonlinearity in palaeoclimate records (e.g. continental run-off proxies) runs the risk of severely overstating changes in climate variability. Even with the correct model and parameters, some information is irretrievably lost by such proxies. However, we find that a simple empirical transform can do much to improve the situation, and makes them amenable to classical analyses. Doing so on two palaeo-ENSO records markedly changes some of the quantitative inferences made from such records.
Cited articles
Baker, A., Ito, E., Smart, P. L., and McEwan, R. F.: Elevated and variable
values of 13C in speleothems in a British cave system, Chem. Geol.,
136, 263–270, 1997.
Baldini, J., McDermott, F., Baker, A., Baldini, L., Mattey, D., and
Railsback, L. B.: Biomass effects on stalagmite growth and isotope ratios: A
20th century analogue from Wiltshire, England, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 240,
486–494, 2005.
Bar-Matthews, M. and Ayalon, A.: Mid-Holocene climate variations revealed by
high-resolution speleothem records from Soreq Cave, Israel and their
correlation with cultural changes, Holocene, 21, 163–171, 2011.
Berkelhammer, M., Sinha, A., Stott, L., Cheng, H., Pausata, F. S., and
Yoshimura, K.: An abrupt shift in the Indian monsoon 4000 years ago, Geophys.
Monogr. Ser, 198, 75–87, 2012.
Bond, G., Kromer, B., Beer, J., Muscheler, R., Evans, M. N., Showers, W.,
Hoffmann, S., Lotti-Bond, R., Hajdas, I., and Bonani, G.: Persistent solar
influence on North Atlantic climate during the Holocene, Science, 294,
2130–2136, 2001.
Booth, R. K., Jackson, S. T., Forman, S. L., Kutzbach, J. E., Bettis Iii, E.,
Kreigs, J., and Wright, D. K.: A severe centennial-scale drought in
midcontinental North America 4200 years ago and apparent global linkages,
Holocene, 15, 321–328, 2005.
Breitenbach, S. F. M., Rehfeld, K., Goswami, B., Baldini, J. U. L., Ridley,
H. E., Kennett, D. J., Prufer, K. M., Aquino, V. V., Asmerom, Y., Polyak, V.
J., Cheng, H., Kurths, J., and Marwan, N.: COnstructing Proxy Records from
Age models (COPRA), Clim. Past, 8, 1765–1779,
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1765-2012, 2012.
Cai, Y., Tan, L., Cheng, H., An, Z., Edwards, R. L., Kelly, M. J., Kong, X.,
and Wang, X.: The variation of summer monsoon precipitation in central China
since the last deglaciation, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 291, 21–31, 2010.
Cai, Y., Zhang, H., Cheng, H., An, Z., Edwards, R. L., Wang, X., Tan, L.,
Liang, F., Wang, J., and Kelly, M.: The Holocene Indian monsoon variability
over the southern Tibetan Plateau and its teleconnections, Earth Planet. Sc.
Lett., 335, 135–144, 2012.
Chen, F., Xu, Q., Chen, J., Birks, H. J. B., Liu, J., Zhang, S., Jin, L., An,
C., Telford, R. J., and Cao, X.: East Asian summer monsoon precipitation
variability since the last deglaciation, Sci. Rep., 5, 11186, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep11186, 2015.
Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Shen, C.-C., Polyak, V. J., Asmerom, Y., Woodhead,
J., Hellstrom, J., Wang, Y., Kong, X., and Spötl, C.: Improvements in
230Th dating, 230Th and 234U half-life values,
and U–Th isotopic measurements by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma
mass spectrometry, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 371, 82–91, 2013.
Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Sinha, A., Spötl, C., Yi, L., Chen, S., Kelly,
M., Kathayat, G., Wang, X., Li, X., Kong, X., Wang, Y., Ning, Y., and Zhang,
H.: The Asian monsoon over the past 640,000 years and ice age terminations,
Nature, 534, 640–646, 2016.
Cheng, H., Edwards, R., Hoff, J., Gallup, C., Richards, D., and Asmerom, Y.:
The half-lives of uranium-234 and thorium-230, Chem. Geol., 169, 17–33,
2000.
Chiang, J. C., Fung, I. Y., Wu, C.-H., Cai, Y., Edman, J. P., Liu, Y., Day,
J. A., Bhattacharya, T., Mondal, Y., and Labrousse, C. A.: Role of seasonal
transitions and westerly jets in East Asian paleoclimate, Quaternary Sci.
Rev., 108, 111–129, 2015.
Cruz Jr, F. W., Burns, S. J., Karmann, I., Sharp, W. D., Vuille, M., and
Ferrari, J. A.: A stalagmite record of changes in atmospheric circulation and
soil processes in the Brazilian subtropics during the Late Pleistocene,
Quaternary Sci. Rev., 25, 2749–2761, 2006.
Cullen, H. M., deMenocal, P. B., Hemming, S., Hemming, G., Brown, F. H.,
Guilderson, T., and Sirocko, F.: Climate change and the collapse of the
Akkadian empire: Evidence from the deep sea, Geology, 28, 379–382, 2000.
De Choudens-Sanchez, V. and Gonzalez, L. A.: Calcite and aragonite
precipitation under controlled instantaneous supersaturation: elucidating the
role of CaCO3 saturation state and Mg∕Ca ratio on calcium
carbonate polymorphism, J. Sediment. Res., 79, 363–376, 2009.
DeMenocal, P. B.: Cultural responses to climate change during the late
Holocene, Science, 292, 667–673, 2001.
Dong, J., Wang, Y., and Cheng, H.: A high-resolution stalagmite record of the
Holocene East Asian monsoon from Mt Shennongjia, central China, Holocene, 20,
257–264, 2010.
Dong, J., Shen, C.-C., Kong, X., Wang, H.-C., and Jiang, X.: Reconciliation
of hydroclimate sequences from the Chinese Loess Plateau and low-latitude
East Asian Summer Monsoon regions over the past 14,500 years,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 435, 127–135, 2015.
Dorale, J. A. and Liu, Z.: Limitations of Hendy test criteria in judging the
paleoclimatic suitability of speleothems and the need for replication, J.
Cave Karst Stud., 71, 73–80, 2009.
Dorale, J. A., Edwards, R. L., Ito, E., and Gonzalez, L. A.: Climate and
vegetation history of the midcontinent from 75 to 25 ka: a speleothem record
from Crevice Cave, Missouri, USA, Science, 282, 1871–1874, 1998.
Edwards, R. L., Chen, J., and Wasserburg, G.:
238U-234U-230Th-232Th systematics and the
precise measurement of time over the past 500,000 years, Earth Planet. Sc.
Lett., 81, 175–192, 1987.
Fairchild, I., Borsato, A., Tooth, A., Frisia, S., Hawkesworth, C., Huang,
Y., McDermott, F., and Spiro, B.: Controls on trace element (Sr-Mg)
compositions of carbonate cave waters: implications for speleothem climatic
records, Chem. Geol., 166, 255–269, 2000.
Fairchild, I., Smith, C., Baker, A., Fuller, L., Spötl, C., Mattey, D.,
and McDermott, F.: Modification and preservation of environmental signals in
speleothems, Earth Sci. Rev., 75, 105–153, 2006.
Fleitmann, D., Cheng, H., Badertscher, S., Edwards, R., Mudelsee, M.,
Göktürk, O. M., Fankhauser, A., Pickering, R., Raible, C., and
Matter, A.: Timing and climatic impact of Greenland interstadials recorded in
stalagmites from northern Turkey, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36,
L19707, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL040050, 2009.
Frisia, S., Fairchild, I. J., Fohlmeister, J., Miorandi, R., Spötl, C.,
and Borsato, A.: Carbon mass-balance modelling and carbon isotope exchange
processes in dynamic caves, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 75, 380–400, 2011.
Gasse, F.: Hydrological changes in the African tropics since the Last Glacial
Maximum, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 19, 189–211, 2000.
Genty, D., Baker, A., Massault, M., Proctor, C., Gilmour, M., Pons-Branchu,
E., and Hamelin, B.: Dead carbon in stalagmites: carbonate bedrock
paleodissolution vs. ageing of soil organic matter. Implications for 13C
variations in speleothems, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 65, 3443–3457, 2001.
Genty, D., Blamart, D., Ouahdi, R., Gilmour, M., Baker, A., Jouzel, J., and
Van-Exter, S.: Precise dating of Dansgaard–Oeschger climate oscillations in
western Europe from stalagmite data, Nature, 421, 833–837, 2003.
Genty, D., Blamart, D., Ghaleb, B., Plagnes, V., Causse, C., Bakalowicz, M.,
Zouari, K., Chkir, N., Hellstrom, J., and Wainer, K.: Timing and dynamics of
the last deglaciation from European and North African δ13C
stalagmite profiles – comparison with Chinese and South Hemisphere
stalagmites, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 25, 2118–2142, 2006.
Hendy, C. H.: The isotopic geochemistry of speleothems – I. The calculation
of the effects of different modes of formation on the isotopic composition of
speleothems and their applicability as palaeoclimatic indicators, Geochim.
Cosmochim. Ac., 35, 801–824, 1971.
Hu, C., Henderson, G., Huang, J., Xie, S., Sun, Y., and Johnson, K.:
Quantification of Holocene Asian monsoon rainfall from spatially separated
cave records, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 266, 221–232, 2008.
Huang, C. C., Pang, J., Zha, X., Zhou, Y., Su, H., and Li, Y.: Extraordinary
floods of 4100–4000 a BP recorded at the Late Neolithic ruins in the
Jinghe River gorges, Middle Reach of the Yellow River, China,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 289, 1–9, 2010.
Huang, C. C., Pang, J., Zha, X., Su, H., and Jia, Y.: Extraordinary floods
related to the climatic event at 4200 a BP on the Qishuihe River, middle
reaches of the Yellow River, China, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 30, 460–468, 2011.
Jiang, X., He, Y., Shen, C., Kong, X., Li, Z., and Chang, Y.:
Stalagmite-inferred Holocene precipitation in northern Guizhou Province,
China, and asynchronous termination of the Climatic Optimum in the Asian
monsoon territory, Chinese Sci. Bull., 57, 795–801, 2012.
Jiang, X., He, Y., Shen, C.-C., Li, Z., and Lin, K.: Replicated
stalagmite-inferred centennial-to decadal-scale monsoon precipitation
variability in southwest China since the mid Holocene, Holocene, 23,
841–849, 2013.
Jin, G. and Liu, D.: Mid-Holocene climate change in North China, and the
effect on cultural development, Chinese Sci. Bull., 47, 408–413, 2002.
Li, T., Shen, C., Li, H., Li, J., Chiang, H., Song, S., Yuan, D., Lin, C.,
Gao, P., and Zhou, L.: Oxygen and carbon isotopic systematics of aragonite
speleothems and water in Furong Cave, Chongqing, China, Geochim. Cosmochim.
Ac., 75, 4140–4156, 2011.
Liu, F., and Feng, Z.: A dramatic climatic transition at ∼4000 cal. yr
BP and its cultural responses in Chinese cultural domains, Holocene, 22,
1181–1197, 2012.
Ma, C., Zhu, C., Zheng, C., Wu, C., Guan, Y., Zhao, Z., Huang, L., and Huang,
R.: High-resolution geochemistry records of climate changes since
late-glacial from Dajiuhu peat in Shennongjia Mountains, Central China,
Chinese Sci. Bull., 53, 28–41, 2008.
McDermott, F.: Palaeo-climate reconstruction from stable isotope variations
in speleothems: a review, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 23, 901–918, 2004.
Meyer, K. W., Feng, W., Breecker, D. O., Banner, J. L., and Guilfoyle, A.:
Interpretation of speleothem calcite δ13C variations: Evidence
from monitoring soil CO2, drip water, and modern speleothem calcite
in central Texas, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 142, 281–298, 2014.
Noronha, A. L., Johnson, K. R., Southon, J. R., Hu, C., Ruan, J., and
McCabe-Glynn, S.: Radiocarbon evidence for decomposition of aged organic
matter in the vadose zone as the main source of speleothem carbon, Quaternary
Sci. Rev., 127, 37–47, 2015.
Oster, J. L., Montanez, I. P., Guilderson, T. P., Sharp, W. D., and Banner,
J. L.: Modeling speleothem δ13C variability in a central
Sierra Nevada cave using 14C and 87Sr ∕ 86Sr, Geochim.
Cosmochim. Ac., 74, 5228–5242, 2010.
Peng, Y., Xiao, J., Nakamura, T., Liu, B., and Inouchi, Y.: Holocene East
Asian monsoonal precipitation pattern revealed by grain-size distribution of
core sediments of Daihai Lake in Inner Mongolia of north-central China, Earth
Planet. Sc. Lett., 233, 467–479, 2005.
Railsback, L. B.: A comparison of growth rate of late Holocene stalagmites
with atmospheric precipitation and temperature, and its implications for
paleoclimatology, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 187, 94–111, 2018.
Railsback, L. B., Liang, F., Brook, G., Voarintsoa, N. R. G., Sletten, H. R.,
Marais, E., Hardt, B., Cheng, H., and Edwards, R. L.: The timing, two-pulsed
nature, and variable climatic expression of the 4.2 ka event: A review and
new high-resolution stalagmite data from Namibia, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 186,
78–90, 2018.
Ruan, J., Kherbouche, F., Genty, D., Blamart, D., Cheng, H., Dewilde, F.,
Hachi, S., Edwards, R. L., Régnier, E., and Michelot, J.-L.: Evidence of
a prolonged drought ca. 4200 yr BP correlated with prehistoric settlement
abandonment from the Gueldaman GLD1 Cave, Northern Algeria, Clim. Past, 12,
1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1-2016, 2016.
Tan, L., An, Z., Cai, Y., and Long, H.: The hydrological exhibition of 4200
aBP event in China and its global linkages, Geol. Rev., 54, 94–104, 2008 (in
Chinese with English abstract).
Tan, L., Cai, Y., Cheng, H., Edwards, L. R., Gao, Y., Xu, H., Zhang, H., and
An, Z.: Centennial-to decadal-scale monsoon precipitation variations in the
upper Hanjiang River region, China over the past 6650 years, Earth Planet.
Sc. Lett., 482, 580–590, 2018a.
Tan, L., Shen, C.-C., Cai, Y., Cheng, H., and Edwards, R. L.: Great flood in
the middle-lower Yellow River reaches at 4000 a BP inferred from
accurately-dated stalagmite records, Sci Bull., 63, 206–208, 2018b.
Tan, M. and Cai, B.: Preliminary calibration of stalagmite oxygen isotopes
from eastern monsoon China with Northern Hemisphere temperatures, Pages News,
13, 16–17, 2005.
Tan, M.: Circulation background of climate patterns in the past millennium:
Uncertainty analysis and re-reconstruction of ENSO-like state, Sci. China
Earth Sci., 59, 1225–1241, 2016.
Tan, M.: Circulation effect: climatic significance of the short term
variability of the oxygen isotopes in stalagmites from monsoonal China –
dialogue between paleoclimate records and modern cliate research, Quaternary
Sci., 29, 851–862, 2009 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Tan, M.: Circulation effect: response of precipitation δ18O to
the ENSO cycle in monsoon regions of China, Clim. Dynam., 42, 1067–1077,
2014.
Thompson, L. G., Mosley-Thompson, E., Davis, M. E., Henderson, K. A.,
Brecher, H. H., Zagorodnov, V. S., Mashiotta, T. A., Lin, P.-N., Mikhalenko,
V. N., and Hardy, D. R.: Kilimanjaro ice core records: evidence of Holocene
climate change in tropical Africa, Science, 298, 589–593, 2002.
Tian, S.-F. and Yasunari, T.: Climatological aspects and mechanism of spring
persistent rains over central China, J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn. Ser. II, 76,
57–71, 1998.
Tremaine, D. M., Froelich, P. N., and Wang, Y.: Speleothem calcite farmed in
situ: Modern calibration of δ18O and δ13C
paleoclimate proxies in a continuously-monitored natural cave system,
Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 75, 4929–4950, 2011.
Walker, M., Head, M. j., Berkelhammer, M., Björck, s., Cheng, h., Cwynar,
L., Fisher, D., Gkinis, V., Long, A., Lowe, J., Newnham, R., Olander, R. S.,
Weiss, H.: Formal ratification of the subdivision of the Holocene
Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period): two new Global Boundary Stratotype
Sections and Points (GSSPs) and three new stages/subseries,
IUGS, Episodes, 1–11,
https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2018/018016, 2018.
Wan, R. and Wu, G.: Mechanism of the spring persistent rains over
southeastern China, Sci. China Ser. D, 50, 130–144, 2007.
Wan, R. and Wu, G.: Temporal and spatial distributions of the spring
persistent rains over Southeastern China, J. Meteorol. Res., 23, 598–608,
2009.
Wan, R., Wang, T., and Wu, G.: Temporal variations of the spring persistent
rains and South China Sea sub-high and their correlations to the circulation
and precipitation of the East Asian Summer Monsoon, J. Meteorol. Res., 22,
530–537, 2008.
Wang, B. and Lin, H.: Rainy season of the Asian–Pacific summer monsoon, J.
Clim., 15, 386–398, 2002.
Wang, Y., Cheng, H., Edwards, R., An, Z., Wu, J., Shen, C., and Dorale, J.: A
high-resolution absolute-dated late Pleistocene monsoon record from Hulu
Cave, China, Science, 294, 2345–2348, 2001.
Wang, Y., Cheng, H., Edwards, R., He, Y., Kong, X., An, Z., Wu, J., Kelly,
M., Dykoski, C., and Li, X.: The Holocene Asian monsoon: links to solar
changes and North Atlantic climate, Science, 308, 854–857, 2005.
Weiss, H. and Bradley, R. S.: What drives societal collapse?, Science, 291,
609–610, 2001.
Weiss, H., Courty, M.-A., Wetterstrom, W., Guichard, F., Senior, L., Meadow,
R., and Curnow, A.: The genesis and collapse of third millennium north
Mesopotamian civilization, Science, 261, 995–1004, 1993.
Wong, C. I. and Breecker, D. O.: Advancements in the use of speleothems as
climate archives, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 127, 1–18, 2015.
Wu, J., Wang, Y., and Dong, J.: Changes in East Asian summer monsoon during
the Holocene recorded by stalagmite δ18O records from Liaoning
Province, Quaternary Sci., 31, 990–998, 2011 (in Chinese with English
abstract).
Wu, L., Zhu, C., Ma, C., Li, F., Meng, H., Liu, H., Li, L., Wang, X., Sun,
W., and Song, Y.: Mid-Holocene palaeoflood events recorded at the Zhongqiao
Neolithic cultural site in the Jianghan Plain, middle Yangtze River Valley,
China, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 173, 145–160, 2017.
Xiao, J., Si, B., Zhai, D., Itoh, S., and Lomtatidze, Z.: Hydrology of Dali
lake in central-eastern Inner Mongolia and Holocene East Asian monsoon
variability, J. Paleolimnol., 40, 519–528, 2008.
Xiao, J., Zhang, S., Fan, J., Wen, R., Xu, Q., Inouchi, Y., and Nakamura, T.:
The 4.2 ka event and its resulting cultural interruption in the Daihai Lake
basin at the East Asian summer monsoon margin, Quatern. Int., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2018.06.025, 2018a.
Xiao, J., Zhang, S., Fan, J., Wen, R., Zhai, D., Tian, Z., and Jiang, D.: The
4.2 ka BP event: multi-proxy records from a closed lake in the northern
margin of the East Asian summer monsoon, Clim. Past, 14, 1417–1425,
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1417-2018, 2018b.
Xu, H., Hong, Y., Lin, Q., Zhu, Y., Hong, B., and Jiang, H.: Temperature
responses to quasi-100-yr solar variability during the past 6000 years based
on δ18O of peat cellulose in Hongyuan, eastern Qinghai–Tibet
plateau, China, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 230,
155–164, 2006.
Yan, M., Liu, J., and Ning, L.: Physical processes of cooling and megadrought
in 4.2 ka BP event: results from TraCE-21 ka simulations, Clim. Past
Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2018-131, in review, 2018.
Yao, F., Ma, C., Zhu, C., Li, J., Chen, G., Tang, L., Huang, M., Jia, T., and
Xu, J.: Holocene climate change in the western part of Taihu Lake region,
East China, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 485, 963–973,
2017.
Yao, T. and Thompson, L. G.: Trends and features of climatic changes in the
past 5000 years recorded by the Dunde ice core, Ann. Glaciol., 16, 21–24,
1992.
Zhang, E., Zhao, C., Xue, B., Liu, Z., Yu, Z., Chen, R., and Shen, J.:
Millennial-scale hydroclimate variations in southwest China linked to
tropical Indian Ocean since the Last Glacial Maximum, Geology, 45, 435–438,
2017.
Zhang, G., Zhu, C., Wang, J., Zhu, G., Ma, C., Zheng, C., Zhao, L., Li, Z.,
Li, L., and Jin, A.: Environmental archaeology on Longshan Culture
(4500–4000 a BP) at Yuhuicun Site in Bengbu, Anhui Province, J. Geogr.
Sci., 20, 455–468, 2010.
Zhang, H., Cai, Y., Tan, L., Cheng, H., Qin, S., An, Z., Edwards, R. L., and
Ma, L.: Large variations of δ13C values in stalagmites from
southeastern China during historical times: implications for anthropogenic
deforestation, Boreas, 44, 511–525, 2015.
Zhang, H., Cai, Y., Tan, L., Qin, S., and An, Z.: Stable isotope composition
alteration produced by the aragonite-to-calcite transformation in speleothems
and implications for paleoclimate reconstructions, Sediment. Geol., 309,
1–14, 2014.
Zhang, H., Cheng, H., Spötl, C., Cai, Y., Sinha, A., Tan, L., Yi, L.,
Yan, H., Kathayat, G., Ning, Y., Li, X., Zhang, F., Zhao, J., and Edwards, R.
L.: A 200-year annually laminated stalagmite record of precipitation
seasonality in southeastern China and its linkages to ENSO and PDO, Sci.
Rep., 8, 12344,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-30112-6, 2018.
Zhang, M., Lin, Y., Zhu, X., Qin, J., Yang, Y., and Luo, G.: The records of
climatic change from a stalagmite during the late time of the middle Holocene
in Ninglang area, Yunnan, Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology, 26, 35–40,
2006 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Zhang, M., Yuan, D. X., Lin, Y., Qin, J., Bin, L., Cheng, H., and Edwards, R.
L.: A 6000-year high-resolution climatic record from a stalagmite in
Xiangshui Cave, Guilin, China, Holocene, 14, 697–702, 2004.
Zhang, W. and Wu, J.: Ecological response of δ13C to Holocene
climate changes from stalagmite record in Nuanhe Cave, Liaoning, Marine
Geology & Quaternary Geology, 32, 147–154, 2012 (in Chinese with English
abstract).
Zhao, L., Ma, C., Leipe, C., Long, T., Liu, K.-b., Lu, H., Tang, L., Zhang,
Y., Wagner, M., and Tarasov, P. E.: Holocene vegetation dynamics in response
to climate change and human activities derived from pollen and charcoal
records from southeastern China, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 485, 644–660, 2017.
Zhao, Y., Chen, F., Zhou, A., Yu, Z., and Zhang, K.: Vegetation history,
climate change and human activities over the last 6200 years on the Liupan
Mountains in the southwestern Loess Plateau in central China, Palaeogeogr.
Palaeocl., 293, 197–205, 2010.
Zhong, W., Cao, J., Xue, J., and Ouyang, J.: A 15,400-year record of climate
variation from a subalpine lacustrine sedimentary sequence in the western
Nanling Mountains in South China, Quaternary Res., 84, 246–254, 2015.
Zhong, W., Wei, Z., Chen, Y., Shang, S., Xue, J., Ouyang, J., Cao, J., Chen,
B., and Zhu, C.: A 15.4-ka paleoclimate record inferred from δ13C
and δ15N of organic matter in sediments from the sub-alpine Daping
Swamp, western Nanling Mountains, South China, J. Paleolimnol., 57, 127–139,
2017.
Zhong, W., Xue, J., Cao, J., Zheng, Y., Ma, Q., Ouyang, J., Cai, Y., Zeng,
Z., and Liu, W.: Bulk organic carbon isotopic record of lacustrine sediments
in Dahu Swamp, eastern Nanling Mountains in South China: Implication for
catchment environmental and climatic changes in the last 16,000 years, J.
Asian Earth Sci., 38, 162–169, 2010a.
Zhong, W., Xue, J., Zheng, Y., Ma, Q., Cai, Y., Ouyang, J., Xu, L., Zhou, S.,
and Yu, X.: Variations of monsoonal precipitation over the last 16,000 years
in the eastern Nanling Mountains, South China, J. Paleolimnol., 44, 177–188,
2010b.
Zhong, W., Xue, J., Zheng, Y., Ouyang, J., Ma, Q., Cai, Y., and Tang, X.:
Climatic changes since the last deglaciation inferred from a lacustrine
sedimentary sequence in the eastern Nanling Mountains, south China, J.
Quaternary Sci., 25, 975–984, 2010c.
Zhou, J., Wang, S., and Lv, J.: Climatic and environmental changes from the
sediment record of Erhai Lake over the past 10000 years, J. Lake Sci., 2,
104–110, 2003 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Zhou, W., Lu, X., Wu, Z., Deng, L., Jull, A., Donahue, D., and Beck, W.: Peat
record reflecting Holocene climatic change in the Zoigê Plateau and AMS
radiocarbon dating, Chinese Sci. Bull., 47, 66–70, 2002.
Zhou, W., Yu, X., Jull, A. T., Burr, G., Xiao, J., Lu, X., and Xian, F.:
High-resolution evidence from southern China of an early Holocene optimum and
a mid-Holocene dry event during the past 18,000 years, Quaternary Res., 62,
39–48, 2004.
Short summary
The collapses of several Neolithic cultures in China are considered to have been associated with abrupt climate change during the 4.2 ka BP event; however, the hydroclimate of this event in China is still poorly known. Based on stalagmite records from monsoonal China, we found that north China was dry but south China was wet during this event. We propose that the rain belt remained longer at its southern position, giving rise to a pronounced humidity gradient between north and south China.
The collapses of several Neolithic cultures in China are considered to have been associated with...
Special issue