A contracting Intertropical Convergence Zone during the Early Heinrich Stadial 1

• Published in: Nature Communications
• Main Authors: Yiping Yang, Lanlan Zhang, Liang Yi, Fuchang Zhong, Zhengyao Lu, Sui Wan, Yan Du, Rong Xiang
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Portfolio 2023
• Subjects: Science; Q; Indian; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40377-9; https://doaj.org/article/35abdf05bd7b43debe5698326e8f02cf

Abstract Despite the fact that the response of tropical hydroclimate to North Atlantic cooling events during the Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) has been extensively studied in African, South American and Indonesia, the nature of such responses remains debated. Here we investigate the tropical hydroclimate pattern over the Indo-Asian-Australian monsoon region during the HS1 by integrating hydroclimatic records, and examining a δ18Oseawater record from Globigerinoides ruber (white) in the tropical Indian Ocean. Our findings indicate that tropical hydrological conditions were synchronously arid in both hemispheres during the early HS1 (~18.3-16.3 ka) in the Indo-Asian-Australian monsoon region, except for a narrow, wet hydrological belt in northern low latitudes, suggesting the existence of a contracted tropical precipitation belt at that time. This study reveals that the meltwater discharge and resulting changes in global temperatures and El Niño exerted a profound influence on the tropical hydroclimate in the Indo-Asian-Australian monsoon region during the early HS1.