Timing and structure of the 8.2 kyr B.P. event inferred from δ18 O records of stalagmites from China, Oman, and Brazil

• Main Authors: Cheng, Hai, Fleitmann, Dominik, Edwards, R. Lawrence
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Digital Commons @ University of South Florida 2009
• Subjects: Timing And Structure Of The 8.2 Kyr B.P; Δ18o Records; Stalagmites; China; Oman; Brazil; Glacial Lake; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/5403; https://doi.org/10.1130/G30126A

Oxygen isotope records of stalagmites from China and Oman reveal a weak summer monsoon event, with a double-plunging struc- ture, that started 8.21 ± 0.02 kyr B.P. An identical but antiphased pattern is also evident in two stalagmite records from eastern Brazil, indicating that the South American Summer Monsoon was intensi- fied during the 8.2 kyr B.P. event. These records demonstrate that the event was of global extent and synchronous within dating errors of <50 years. In comparison with recent model simulations, it is plau- sible that the 8.2 kyr B.P. event can be tied in changes of the Atlan- tic Meridional Overturning Circulation triggered by a glacial lake draining event. This, in turn, affected North Atlantic climate and lati- tudinal position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, resulting in the observed low-latitude monsoonal precipitation patterns.