Millennial-scale Asian monsoon variability during the late Marine Isotope Stage 6 from Hulu Cave, China

• Published in: Quaternary Research
• Main Authors: Wang, Quan, Wang, Yongjin, Shao, Qingfeng, Liang, Yijia, Zhang, Zhenqiu, Kong, Xinggong
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2018
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.75; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589418000753

Abstract A precisely 230 Th-dated stalagmite δ 13 C profile from Hulu Cave, China, is presented to characterize the frequency and pattern of millennial-scale Asian monsoon (AM) variability from 160.6 to 132.5 ka. Evidence for an antiphased relationship of the δ 13 C and δ 18 O on the millennial scale suggests that the δ 13 C is indicative of the local hydrological cycle associated with changes in AM strength. Owing to the δ 13 C responding to AM changes more sensitively than the δ 18 O, we could identify 15 strong AM events that correlate to cold intervals recorded in Antarctic ice cores within 230 Th dating uncertainty. This result supports a dynamic link of AM strength and southern hemispheric climates via the cross-equatorial airflows. Power spectrum analysis shows a predominant periodicity of 1.5–2.5 ka for the δ 13 C profile, similar to the Dansgaard-Oeschger frequency during the last glacial period. Moreover, the AM events are characterized by rapid transitions at the onset, suggesting that the observed millennial-scale AM variability is likely forced by northern high-latitude climates via north–south shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone associated with the bipolar seesaw mechanism. As evidence for a common mechanism for ice age terminations, a strong AM event (~134 ka) surrounding Termination II is analogous to the Bølling-Allerød warming interval.