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Oxygen isotopes from Chinese caves: records not of monsoon rainfall but circulation regime

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Oxygen isotopes from Chinese caves: records not of monsoon rainfall but circulation regime. / Maher, Barbara; Thompson, Roy.
In: Journal of Quaternary Science, Vol. 27, No. 6, 08.2012, p. 615-624.

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Maher B, Thompson R. Oxygen isotopes from Chinese caves: records not of monsoon rainfall but circulation regime. Journal of Quaternary Science. 2012 Aug;27(6):615-624. doi: 10.1002/jqs.2553

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Maher, Barbara ; Thompson, Roy. / Oxygen isotopes from Chinese caves : records not of monsoon rainfall but circulation regime. In: Journal of Quaternary Science. 2012 ; Vol. 27, No. 6. pp. 615-624.

Bibtex

@article{bb2335018cbf4077b10a71c59d1bc677,
title = "Oxygen isotopes from Chinese caves: records not of monsoon rainfall but circulation regime",
abstract = "Oxygen isotope variations in Chinese stalagmites have been widely interpreted as a record of the amount of East Asian summer monsoonal rainfall. This interpretation infers decreasing monsoonal rainfall from the mid-Holocene and large, dipolar rainfall oscillations within glaciations. However, the speleothem δ18O variations conflict with independent palaeoclimate proxies (cave δ13C, loess/palaeosol magnetic properties, n-alkanes), which indicate no systematic decline in rainfall from the mid-Holocene, and no glacial rainfall maxima. Using mass balance calculations, we demonstrate that the cave δ18O variations cannot be accounted for by summer rainfall changes, nor rainfall seasonality nor winter cooling, but instead reflect changes in moisture source. A possible driver of the δ18O variations in Chinese stalagmites is precessional forcing of inter-hemispheric temperature gradients, and resultant shifts in the position and intensity of the subtropical pressure cells. Through such forcing, Indian monsoon-sourced δ18O may have dominated at times of high boreal summer insolation, local Pacific-sourced moisture at low insolation. Suppression of summer monsoonal rainfall during glacial stages may reflect diminished sea and land surface temperatures and the radiative impacts of increased regional dust fluxes. ",
keywords = "Chinese caves, loess, magnetic susceptibility, mass balance calculations, monsoon rainfall, oxygen isotopes ",
author = "Barbara Maher and Roy Thompson",
year = "2012",
month = aug,
doi = "10.1002/jqs.2553",
language = "English",
volume = "27",
pages = "615--624",
journal = "Journal of Quaternary Science",
issn = "0267-8179",
publisher = "John Wiley and Sons Ltd",
number = "6",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Oxygen isotopes from Chinese caves

T2 - records not of monsoon rainfall but circulation regime

AU - Maher, Barbara

AU - Thompson, Roy

PY - 2012/8

Y1 - 2012/8

N2 - Oxygen isotope variations in Chinese stalagmites have been widely interpreted as a record of the amount of East Asian summer monsoonal rainfall. This interpretation infers decreasing monsoonal rainfall from the mid-Holocene and large, dipolar rainfall oscillations within glaciations. However, the speleothem δ18O variations conflict with independent palaeoclimate proxies (cave δ13C, loess/palaeosol magnetic properties, n-alkanes), which indicate no systematic decline in rainfall from the mid-Holocene, and no glacial rainfall maxima. Using mass balance calculations, we demonstrate that the cave δ18O variations cannot be accounted for by summer rainfall changes, nor rainfall seasonality nor winter cooling, but instead reflect changes in moisture source. A possible driver of the δ18O variations in Chinese stalagmites is precessional forcing of inter-hemispheric temperature gradients, and resultant shifts in the position and intensity of the subtropical pressure cells. Through such forcing, Indian monsoon-sourced δ18O may have dominated at times of high boreal summer insolation, local Pacific-sourced moisture at low insolation. Suppression of summer monsoonal rainfall during glacial stages may reflect diminished sea and land surface temperatures and the radiative impacts of increased regional dust fluxes.

AB - Oxygen isotope variations in Chinese stalagmites have been widely interpreted as a record of the amount of East Asian summer monsoonal rainfall. This interpretation infers decreasing monsoonal rainfall from the mid-Holocene and large, dipolar rainfall oscillations within glaciations. However, the speleothem δ18O variations conflict with independent palaeoclimate proxies (cave δ13C, loess/palaeosol magnetic properties, n-alkanes), which indicate no systematic decline in rainfall from the mid-Holocene, and no glacial rainfall maxima. Using mass balance calculations, we demonstrate that the cave δ18O variations cannot be accounted for by summer rainfall changes, nor rainfall seasonality nor winter cooling, but instead reflect changes in moisture source. A possible driver of the δ18O variations in Chinese stalagmites is precessional forcing of inter-hemispheric temperature gradients, and resultant shifts in the position and intensity of the subtropical pressure cells. Through such forcing, Indian monsoon-sourced δ18O may have dominated at times of high boreal summer insolation, local Pacific-sourced moisture at low insolation. Suppression of summer monsoonal rainfall during glacial stages may reflect diminished sea and land surface temperatures and the radiative impacts of increased regional dust fluxes.

KW - Chinese caves

KW - loess

KW - magnetic susceptibility

KW - mass balance calculations

KW - monsoon rainfall

KW - oxygen isotopes

U2 - 10.1002/jqs.2553

DO - 10.1002/jqs.2553

M3 - Journal article

VL - 27

SP - 615

EP - 624

JO - Journal of Quaternary Science

JF - Journal of Quaternary Science

SN - 0267-8179

IS - 6

ER -