The 4.2 ka BP event: multi-proxy records from a closed lake in the northern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon
The 4.2 ka BP event has been widely investigated since it was suggested to be a possible cause for the collapse of ancient civilizations. With the growth of proxy records for decades, however, both its nature and its spatial pattern have become controversial. Here we examined multi-proxy data of the...
Published in: | Climate of the Past |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1417-2018 https://doaj.org/article/c37406e5edfc4156aeddae2ae55a38a6 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c37406e5edfc4156aeddae2ae55a38a6 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c37406e5edfc4156aeddae2ae55a38a6 2023-05-15T17:31:41+02:00 The 4.2 ka BP event: multi-proxy records from a closed lake in the northern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon J. Xiao S. Zhang J. Fan R. Wen D. Zhai Z. Tian D. Jiang 2018-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1417-2018 https://doaj.org/article/c37406e5edfc4156aeddae2ae55a38a6 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.clim-past.net/14/1417/2018/cp-14-1417-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324 https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332 doi:10.5194/cp-14-1417-2018 1814-9324 1814-9332 https://doaj.org/article/c37406e5edfc4156aeddae2ae55a38a6 Climate of the Past, Vol 14, Pp 1417-1425 (2018) Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1417-2018 2022-12-31T16:22:26Z The 4.2 ka BP event has been widely investigated since it was suggested to be a possible cause for the collapse of ancient civilizations. With the growth of proxy records for decades, however, both its nature and its spatial pattern have become controversial. Here we examined multi-proxy data of the grain-size distribution, ostracode assemblage, pollen assemblage, and the pollen-reconstructed mean annual precipitation from a sediment core at Hulun Lake in northeastern Inner Mongolia spanning the period between 5000 and 3000 cal. yr BP to identify the nature and the associated mechanism of the 4.2 ka BP event occurring in the monsoonal region of eastern Asia. Higher sand fraction contents, littoral ostracode abundances, and Chenopodiaceae pollen percentages together with lower mean annual precipitation reveal a significant dry event at the interval of 4210–3840 cal. yr BP that could be a regional manifestation of the 4.2 ka BP event in the northern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). We suggest that the drought would be caused by a decline in the intensity of the EASM on millennial-to-centennial scales that could be physically related to persistent cooling of surface waters in the western tropical Pacific and the North Atlantic. The cooling of western tropical Pacific surface waters could reduce moisture production over the source area of the EASM, while the cooling of North Atlantic surface waters could suppress northward migrations of the EASM rain belt, both leading to a weakened EASM and thus decreased rainfall in the northern margin of the EASM. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Pacific Climate of the Past 14 10 1417 1425 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 J. Xiao S. Zhang J. Fan R. Wen D. Zhai Z. Tian D. Jiang The 4.2 ka BP event: multi-proxy records from a closed lake in the northern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon |
topic_facet |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
The 4.2 ka BP event has been widely investigated since it was suggested to be a possible cause for the collapse of ancient civilizations. With the growth of proxy records for decades, however, both its nature and its spatial pattern have become controversial. Here we examined multi-proxy data of the grain-size distribution, ostracode assemblage, pollen assemblage, and the pollen-reconstructed mean annual precipitation from a sediment core at Hulun Lake in northeastern Inner Mongolia spanning the period between 5000 and 3000 cal. yr BP to identify the nature and the associated mechanism of the 4.2 ka BP event occurring in the monsoonal region of eastern Asia. Higher sand fraction contents, littoral ostracode abundances, and Chenopodiaceae pollen percentages together with lower mean annual precipitation reveal a significant dry event at the interval of 4210–3840 cal. yr BP that could be a regional manifestation of the 4.2 ka BP event in the northern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). We suggest that the drought would be caused by a decline in the intensity of the EASM on millennial-to-centennial scales that could be physically related to persistent cooling of surface waters in the western tropical Pacific and the North Atlantic. The cooling of western tropical Pacific surface waters could reduce moisture production over the source area of the EASM, while the cooling of North Atlantic surface waters could suppress northward migrations of the EASM rain belt, both leading to a weakened EASM and thus decreased rainfall in the northern margin of the EASM. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. Xiao S. Zhang J. Fan R. Wen D. Zhai Z. Tian D. Jiang |
author_facet |
J. Xiao S. Zhang J. Fan R. Wen D. Zhai Z. Tian D. Jiang |
author_sort |
J. Xiao |
title |
The 4.2 ka BP event: multi-proxy records from a closed lake in the northern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon |
title_short |
The 4.2 ka BP event: multi-proxy records from a closed lake in the northern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon |
title_full |
The 4.2 ka BP event: multi-proxy records from a closed lake in the northern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon |
title_fullStr |
The 4.2 ka BP event: multi-proxy records from a closed lake in the northern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon |
title_full_unstemmed |
The 4.2 ka BP event: multi-proxy records from a closed lake in the northern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon |
title_sort |
4.2 ka bp event: multi-proxy records from a closed lake in the northern margin of the east asian summer monsoon |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1417-2018 https://doaj.org/article/c37406e5edfc4156aeddae2ae55a38a6 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Climate of the Past, Vol 14, Pp 1417-1425 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://www.clim-past.net/14/1417/2018/cp-14-1417-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324 https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332 doi:10.5194/cp-14-1417-2018 1814-9324 1814-9332 https://doaj.org/article/c37406e5edfc4156aeddae2ae55a38a6 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1417-2018 |
container_title |
Climate of the Past |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
1417 |
op_container_end_page |
1425 |
_version_ |
1766129388270649344 |