Strong coupling of centennial-scale changes of Asian monsoon and soil processes derived from stalagmite δ 18 O and δ 13 C records, southern China

• Published in: Quaternary Research
• Main Authors: Liu, Dianbing, Wang, Yongjin, Cheng, Hai, Edwards, R. Lawrence, Kong, Xinggong, Li, Ting-Yong
• Other Authors: National Nature Science Foundation of China, NBRP, Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment (Nanjing Normal University)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2016
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Earth-Surface Processes; Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); Greenland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2016.02.008; http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589416000223?httpAccept=text/xml; http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589416000223?httpAccept=text/plain; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400000090

The paleoclimate application of speleothem δ 13 C is influenced by site-specific processes. Here we present four stalagmite δ 13 C records from two caves in southern China, covering early and late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and the Holocene, to investigate the spatio-temporal pattern of calcite δ 13 C changes and the relationship with Asian monsoon (AM) variability. In each growth period, precessional- to millennial-scale changes are clear in the δ 18 O record. In contrast, millennial variability is absent in the δ 13 C record, which characterizes persistent centennial oscillations. However, centennial-scale δ 18 O variations agree well with those of δ 13 C, with a larger amplitude in δ 13 C changes (about twice that of δ 18 O). This suggests that soil humidity balance associated with regional hydrological circulations is important for these centennial δ 13 C changes, although evaporation-related kinetic fractionation can induce concurrent enrichments in δ 18 O and δ 13 C. In frequency, the detrended δ 18 O and δ 13 C records are coupled at a periodicity of about 300 yr during the last glacial period and 150 yr during the Holocene. Those centennial-scale δ 13 C variations are generally consistent with Greenland temperature variability, indicating a climate response over broad regions. Thus, strong co-variation of δ 18 O and δ 13 C records should have a climatic origin, even if it is amplified by kinetic effects.