Q.H. Lin

Correlation between Indian Ocean summer monsoon and North Atlantic climate during the Holocene

There has been a number of investigations for the correlation between the Asia monsoon and the North Atlantic climate for the last glacial; however, little research has been done for the present interglacial, the Holocene. Here we present for the first time a high-resolution composite proxy record for the Indian Ocean summer monsoon spanning around 12 000 years based on the δ13C time series of both a single plant species (Carex mulieensis) remains cellulose and the total plant assemblage cellulose in the Hongyuan peat bog from the Tibet Plateau. The records show that the strength of the Indian Ocean summer monsoon had abrupt variations during the last 12 000 years. The weakest monsoon occurred in the Younger Dryas period. Following rapid strengthening from around 11 200 to 10 800 a BP the monsoon kept a generally strong level for around 5300 years. From around 5500 a BP onwards the monsoon strength tended to gradual decrease. In addition, there are a series of abrupt variation events of the monsoon strength on centennial to millennial time scales, which superimpose the general tendency of the monsoon variation. In every case when the ice-rafted debris events in the North Atlantic occurred, the summer monsoon strength decreased correspondingly. These evidences show that teleconnection between the Indian Ocean summer monsoon and the North Atlantic climate is present not only in the last glacial but also in the Holocene, which may be linked to abrupt reorganizations of the ocean thermohaline circulation, leading to redistribution of energy, changing temperature and moisture gradient over the southern subtropical Indian Ocean, and eventually controlling the variability of the Indian Ocean summer monsoon.

A 6000-year record of changes in drought and precipitation in northeastern China based on a δ13C time series from peat cellulose

We report a new peat delta C-13 proxy record for humidity or precipitation based on C3 plants from northeastern China. The record reveals two times of significant climate shift and eight severe drought periods during the past 6000 years, all of which have the nature of widespread global occurrence. The variability of precipitation shows periodicities of around 70, 80, 90, 107, 110, 123, 134, 141, 162, 198, 205, 249, 278, 324, 389, 467, 584, 834 and 1060 years. The occurrence and persistent times of drought and periodicities of precipitation show good correspondence with solar variability. The remarkable correlations between peat delta C-13, peat delta O-18 and atmospheric Delta C-14 suggest that on timescales of decades to centuries the changes in drought and precipitation are likely caused by variations of atmospheric circulation and atmosphere-ocean interactions in large-scale patterns that seem to be related to solar variability

Humification degrees of peat in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and palaeoclimate change

In this article we report a new and sensitive palaeoclimate proxy indicator-humification degrees of peat. Based on the comparison of humification degrees with other climate proxy records, such as λ13C time series of theC. mulieensis remains cellulose in the same peat profile, we suggest that humification degrees of peat in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau can served as a palaeoclimate proxy indicator. The higher the humification degrees of peat, the warmer-wetter the climate; on the contrary, the lower the humification degrees, the colder-drier the climate. Due to the simple method of determination, humification degree of peat is worthy studying and applying further.

Evidence for solar forcing of climate variation from δ18O of peat cellulose

There have been a number of investigations for examining the possible link between long-term climate variability and solar activity. A continuous δ18O record of peat cellulose covering the past 6 000 years and the response of climate variation inferred from the proxy record to solar forcing are reported. Results show that during the past 5 000 years the abrupt climate variations, including 17 warming and 17 cooling, and a serious of periodicities, such as 86, 101, 110, 127, 132, 140, 155, 207, 245, 311, 820 and 1 050 years, are strikingly correlative to the changes of solar irradiation and periodicity. These observations are considered as further evidence for a close relationship between solar activity and climate variations on time scales of decades to centuries.