Interdecadal to Centennial Climate Variability Surrounding the 8.2 ka Event in North China Revealed Through an Annually Resolved Speleothem Record From Beijing

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Pengzhen Duan, Hanying Li, Zhibang Ma, Jingyao Zhao, Xiyu Dong, Ashish Sinha, Peng Hu, Haiwei Zhang, Yanjun Cai, Youfeng Ning, R. Lawrence Edwards, Hai Cheng
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2023
• Subjects: Geophysics. Cosmic physics; QC801-809; Greenland; Greenland ice core; ice core; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101182; https://doaj.org/article/70c07b8aebc542a18643187dc027b9f9

Abstract The 8.2 ka event has been extensively studied, whereas its structure is ambiguous in North China. Here we present a high‐resolution (∼1 year) δ18O record from annual laminated speleothem from Beijing to characterize the detailed variability across this event in North China. Our record indicates a dry 8.2 ka event spanning 8.254–8.107 ka BP with a two‐stage structure superimposed by three prominent high δ18O excursions. The identical structure of speleothem δ18O records between North and central China during the event suggests a common forcing/response in East China, whereas the progressively increased offset between their average values may reflect changes in moisture source or rainout effect. A close comparison with the Greenland ice core records suggests a strong linear response of the Asian summer monsoon to the North Atlantic climate changes across the early and middle stages of the event, but a different mechanism in the termination processes.