Evidence for a Relatively Warm Mid‐to Late Holocene on the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract The Holocene temperature discrepancy between paleoclimate reconstructions and climate model simulations—known as the Holocene temperature conundrum—calls for new high‐quality Holocene temperature records at high elevations. Here, we present a quantitative Holocene mean annual air temperatur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Xiaoping Feng, Cheng Zhao, William J. D'Andrea, Juzhi Hou, Xiangdong Yang, Xiayun Xiao, Ji Shen, Yanwu Duan, Fahu Chen
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022
Subjects:
BrGDGTs
paleotemperature
Holocene
alpine lake
high‐elevation region
Tibetan Plateau
Geophysics. Cosmic physics
QC801-809
Alpine Lake
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098740
https://doaj.org/article/8c7eaec40ed741f1bc07a4fa8619922d
Description
Summary:Abstract The Holocene temperature discrepancy between paleoclimate reconstructions and climate model simulations—known as the Holocene temperature conundrum—calls for new high‐quality Holocene temperature records at high elevations. Here, we present a quantitative Holocene mean annual air temperature record based on a site‐specific branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers calibration from a small remote alpine lake on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. The record reveals a temperature history comprising a relatively cool early Holocene (before 7 ka) followed by a warmer mid‐ to late‐Holocene (after 7 ka), which was likely linked to increasing local annual insolation and greenhouse gases. Three cold events punctuated the general warming trend ca. 10.4 ka, 3.7 ka, and 1.7 ka BP, and correspond closely in time to ice rafting events in the North Atlantic, and to episodes of volcanism and/or unusual solar activity. The entire Holocene temperatures are cooler than the previously identified anthropogenic warming from 1990–2015 AD.

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