Hydroclimate variability in the central Mediterranean during MIS 17 interglacial (Middle Pleistocene) highlights timing offset with monsoon activity

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Luca Capraro, Alessandro Incarbona, Eliana Fornaciari, Nadia Sabatino, Stéphane Scaillet, Rodolfo Sprovieri, Mario Sprovieri
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Portfolio 2023
• Subjects: Medicine; R; Science; Q; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45812-x; https://doaj.org/article/147579b7f7754a6198fcffbd125fd8bb

Abstract Mediterranean climates are characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Previous studies suggest that over the last 1.36 Myr, Mediterranean winter rainfalls were in phase with the African monsoon. Here we present a high-resolution terrestrial and marine dataset for the Marine Isotope Stage 17 interglacial (Middle Pleistocene) from Southern Italy, showing that precipitation rates and regimes in the central Mediterranean varied independently of the monsoon system. Specifically, events of extreme summer precipitation were promoted by increased regional insolation rates and/or extratropical cyclones, and their magnitude was further enhanced by the advection of cool and humid North Atlantic air during stadials. Our findings provide new information on the short- to mid-term natural hydroclimatic variability of the Mediterranean basin, and offer new critical insights on land–ocean interactions at the regional scale by complementing previous analyses on the displacement of storm tracks toward southern Europe.