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East Asian monsoon variations in the loess–desert transitional zone (northern China) during the past 14 ka and their comparison with TraCE21K simulation results

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2024

Yao Gu ,
Huayu Lu Open the ORCID record for Huayu Lu [Opens in a new window] ,
Jingjing Wang ,
Hongyan Zhang ,
Wenchao Zhang ,
Chenghong Liang  and
Jiang Wu
Yao Gu
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Huayu Lu*
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Jingjing Wang
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Hongyan Zhang
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Wenchao Zhang
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Chenghong Liang
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Jiang Wu
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
*
Corresponding author: Huayu Lu; Email: huayulu@nju.edu.cn
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Abstract

The Holocene is a critical period for understanding the East Asian monsoon system (EAM) over long timescales, but high-precision dating and high-resolution records from the Holocene epoch at monsoonal margins of East Asia are lacking. Here, on the basis of closely spaced radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating results obtained from a typical loess–paleosol sequence on the northern Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), we provide an independent age-based, high-resolution depositional record of East Asian summer (EASM) and winter monsoons (EAWM) variations over the past ~14 ka. We find that both the EASM and EAWM simultaneously strengthened sometime during the Holocene optimum (~7–5 ka BP), with greater seasonality, and weakened during the Late Holocene. These findings are counterintuitive to our understanding of the EAM variations based on loess records at suborbital scales during interglacial periods, providing an alternative scenario of the monsoon system evolution. We postulate that high-latitude forcing and surface feedbacks, such as vegetation change, have modulated the EAM variations during the Holocene warmth.

Keywords

East Asian monsoonRadiocarbon datingHoloceneLoessTraCE21K
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 120: Loess Environments: Generation, Transport, and Deposition , July 2024 , pp. 53 - 61
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Quaternary Research Center

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