Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

A Holocene East Asian winter monsoon record at the southern edge of the Gobi Desert and its comparison with a transient simulation

Journal Article · · Climate Dynamics
 [1];  [2]
  1. Lanzhou Univ., Lanzhou (China). College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Center for Hydrologic Cycle and Water Resources in Arid Region; Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
  2. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). National Climatic Data Center; Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

The East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) exhibits significant variability on intraseasonal, interannual, and interdecadal time scales and the variability can be extended to Holocene centennial and millennial scales. Previous Holocene EAWM proxy data records, which were mostly located in Central, Eastern and Southern China, did not show a consistent Holocene EAWM history. Therefore, it is difficult to provide insights into mechanisms of the long-term winter monsoon variability on the basis of the records. Eolian sediments at the southern edge of the Gobi Desert, Western China, are sensitive to the EAWM changes and less affected by the East Asian summer monsoon due to an obstruction of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Here, this paper presents a comparison between a well-dated Holocene EAWM record and coupled climate model simulations, so as to explore physical processes and influencing factors of the Holocene EAWM. Sediment samples from two Holocene eolian sedimentary sections [Huangyanghe (a) and Huangyanghe (b)] were acquired at the southern edge of the Gobi Desert. Chronologies were established based on twenty bulk organic matter AMS 14C ages and five pollen concentrates AMS 14C ages. Proxy data, including grain-size, total organic carbon, magnetic susceptibility and carbonate content were obtained from the two eolian sections. The grain-size standard deviation model was applied to determine components sensitive to variability of the Holocene EAWM. After a comparison of environmentally-sensitive grain-size components and proxy data, the 20–200 μm component at the Huangyanghe (a) and the 20–159 μm component at the Huangyanghe (b) section were selected as indicators of the Holocene EAWM, which show a strong early Holocene winter monsoon and a decline of the winter monsoon since the mid-Holocene. We also present equilibrium and transient simulations of the climate evolution for the Holocene using a state-of-art coupled climate model: the Community Climate System Model version 3 (CCSM3). Indices for the Holocene EAWM were calculated and are consistent with the reconstructed Holocene EAWM intensity. The simulations indicate that orbital forcing effects on the land-sea temperature and sea level pressure contrast can account for the observed EAWM trends. Other forcings that were present in the early Holocene, including the remnant Laurentide ice sheet and meltwater forcing in the North Atlantic, were not responsible for the Holocene trends.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI ID:
1565283
Journal Information:
Climate Dynamics, Journal Name: Climate Dynamics Journal Issue: 5-6 Vol. 45; ISSN 0930-7575
Publisher:
Springer-VerlagCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (71)

The horizontal and vertical structure of east Asian winter monsoon pressure surges journal January 1999
The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system journal April 2011
Grain Size of Quartz as an Indicator of Winter Monsoon Strength on the Loess Plateau of Central China during the Last 130,000 Yr journal January 1995
Ice-Volume Forcing of East Asian Winter Monsoon Variations in the Past 800,000 Years journal September 1995
Build-up, air mass transformation and propagation of Siberian high and its relations to cold surge in East Asia journal January 1990
Recent 2000-year geological records of mud in the inner shelf of the East China Sea and their climatic implications journal March 2005
Possible impacts of winter Arctic Oscillation on Siberian high, the East Asian winter monsoon and sea–ice extent journal March 2002
Causes of early Holocene desertification in arid central Asia journal May 2011
Grain size records reveal variability of the East Asian Winter Monsoon since the Middle Holocene in the Central Yellow Sea mud area, China journal July 2012
Reworking effects in the Holocene Zhuye Lake sediments: A case study by pollen concentrates AMS 14C dating journal July 2012
Inverse correlation between ancient winter and summer monsoons in East Asia? journal October 2009
Magnetic granulometry of recent sediments from the Huguang Maar and its implication for provenience journal November 2009
East Asian monsoon change for the 21st century: Results of CMIP3 and CMIP5 models journal December 2012
Long-Term Variations of Caloric Insolation Resulting from the Earth's Orbital Elements journal March 1978
Insolation values for the climate of the last 10 million years journal January 1991
The nature, origin and accumulation of loess journal January 1995
Late quaternary dust flow on the chinese Loess Plateau journal April 1991
Stepwise coupling of monsoon circulations to global ice volume variations during the late Cenozoic journal May 1993
Holocene climate changes over the desert/loess transition of north-central China journal March 2002
Asian summer monsoon instability during the past 60,000 years: magnetic susceptibility and pedogenic evidence from the western Chinese Loess Plateau journal May 1999
Controls on terrigenous sediment supply to the Arabian Sea during the late Quaternary: the Makran continental slope journal October 2000
Grain-size distribution function of polymodal sediments in hydraulic and aeolian environments, and numerical partitioning of the sedimentary components journal October 2002
Bimodal grain-size distribution of Chinese loess, and its palaeoclimatic implications journal February 2004
A high-resolution, absolute-dated Holocene and deglacial Asian monsoon record from Dongge Cave, China journal April 2005
Advance–retreat history of the East-Asian summer monsoon rainfall belt over northern China during the last two glacial–interglacial cycles journal October 2008
Late Holocene forcing of the Asian winter and summer monsoon as evidenced by proxy records from the northern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau journal April 2009
The variation of summer monsoon precipitation in central China since the last deglaciation journal March 2010
Tracking millennial-scale climate change by analysis of the modern summer precipitation in the marginal regions of the Asian monsoon journal September 2012
Grain-size and accumulation rate records from Late Cenozoic aeolian sequences in northern China: Implications for variations in the East Asian winter monsoon and westerly atmospheric circulation journal July 2008
East Asian winter monsoon variability over the last glacial cycle: Insights from a latitudinal sea-surface temperature gradient across the South China Sea journal June 2010
Paleohydraulics of the last outburst flood from glacial Lake Agassiz and the 8200BP cold event journal February 2004
Periodicities of palaeoclimatic variations recorded by loess-paleosol sequences in China journal October 2004
Late Quaternary environmental changes in the Taklamakan Desert, western China, inferred from OSL-dated lacustrine and aeolian deposits journal May 2006
Quaternary environmental changes in the drylands of China – A critical review journal November 2011
The East Asian winter monsoon over the last 15,000 years: its links to high-latitudes and tropical climate systems and complex correlation to the summer monsoon journal January 2012
Holocene variations in the Asian monsoon inferred from the geochemistry of lake sediments in central Tibet journal March 2006
Constraints from strontium and neodymium isotopic ratios and trace elements on the sources of the sediments in Lake Huguang Maar journal September 2009
Millennial-scale dynamics of the winter cold tongue in the southern South China Sea over the past 26 ka and the East Asian winter monsoon journal January 2011
Radiocarbon AMS Dating of Pollen Concentrated from Eolian Sediments: Implications for Monsoon Climate Change Since the Late Quaternary journal January 1997
Impact of global warming on the Asian winter monsoon in a coupled GCM journal February 2000
East Asian Winter Monsoon and Arctic Oscillation journal May 2001
Arctic oscillation signals in the East Asian summer monsoon journal January 2003
Diatom-based inference of variations in the strength of Asian winter monsoon winds between 17,500 and 6000 calendar years B.P. journal January 2008
Carbonate leaching processes in the Red Clay Formation, Chinese Loess Plateau: Fingerprinting East Asian summer monsoon variability during the late Miocene and Pliocene: CARBONATE LEACHING AND PLIOCENE MONSOON journal January 2013
Monsoons: Processes, predictability, and the prospects for prediction journal June 1998
Influence of the intertropical convergence zone on the East Asian monsoon journal January 2007
Influence of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation on the East Asian winter monsoon journal November 2011
Rates of change in natural and anthropogenic radiative forcing over the past 20,000 years journal February 2008
Holocene Forcing of the Indian Monsoon Recorded in a Stalagmite from Southern Oman journal June 2003
Transient Simulation of Last Deglaciation with a New Mechanism for Bolling-Allerod Warming journal July 2009
Geologic Approach to the Long-Term History of Atmospheric Circulation journal February 1985
Millennial-scale climatic oscillations during the last interglaciation in central China journal January 1997
Chinese Loess and the Paleomonsoon journal May 1998
GLOBAL GLACIAL ISOSTASY AND THE SURFACE OF THE ICE-AGE EARTH: The ICE-5G (VM2) Model and GRACE journal May 2004
Pacific–East Asian Teleconnection: How Does ENSO Affect East Asian Climate? journal May 2000
Variations of the East Asian Jet Stream and Asian–Pacific–American Winter Climate Anomalies journal February 2002
Rainy Season of the Asian–Pacific Summer Monsoon* journal February 2002
A New East Asian Winter Monsoon Index and Associated Characteristics of the Winter Monsoon journal February 2004
Northeasterly Cold Surges and Near-Equatorial Disturbances over the Winter MONEX Area During December 1974. Part II: Planetary-Scale Aspects journal March 1980
Short-Term Planetary-Scale Interactions over the Tropics and Midlatitudes during Northern Winter. Part I: Contrasts between Active and Inactive Periods journal August 1982
Heat Budget of the Siberian High and the Winter Monsoon journal October 1987
Climatology and Interannual Variation of the East Asian Winter Monsoon: Results from the 1979–95 NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis journal October 1997
Freshwater Discharge, Sediment Transport, and Modeled Climate Impacts of the Final Drainage of Glacial Lake Agassiz journal April 2009
A Dynamical Index for the East Asian Winter Monsoon journal August 2010
Interdecadal Change in the Relationship between ENSO and the Intraseasonal Oscillation in East Asia journal July 2010
A Simulated Climatology of Asian Dust Aerosol and Its Trans-Pacific Transport. Part II: Interannual Variability and Climate Connections journal January 2006
Last Glacial Maximum and Holocene Climate in CCSM3 journal June 2006
Millennial-Scale Climatic Oscillations during the Last Interglaciation in Central China journal August 1998
Comparison of East Asian winter monsoon indices journal April 2007
Distinct responses of East Asian summer and winter monsoons to astronomical forcing journal January 2011
Holocene Forcing of the Indian Monsoon Recorded in a Stalagmite from Southern Oman text January 2003

Cited By (8)

Pre-industrial Holocene (pi-HOL) paleo-dust record dataset January 2024
Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) paleo-dust record dataset January 2024
Asian Winter Monsoon Imprint on Holocene SST Changes at the Northern Coast of the South China Sea journal November 2019
The impact of Arctic sea ice loss on mid-Holocene climate journal November 2018
A study of Holocene Asian summer and winter monsoon change by an analog of climate factors between millennial and modern interannual scales journal October 2019
The Asian Summer Monsoon: Teleconnections and Forcing Mechanisms—A Review from Chinese Speleothem δ18O Records journal July 2019
Neoglacial climate anomalies and the Harappan metamorphosis journal January 2018
Neoglacial Climate Anomalies and the Harappan Metamorphosis journal April 2018

Similar Records

Cold surges and dust events: Establishing the link between the East Asian Winter Monsoon and the Chinese loess record
Journal Article · Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Quaternary Science Reviews · OSTI ID:1565569

Impacts of interactive dust and its direct radiative forcing on interannual variations of temperature and precipitation in winter over East Asia
Journal Article · Thu Aug 24 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres · OSTI ID:1398195

A New Method for Interpreting Nonstationary Running Correlations and Its Application to the ENSO‐EAWM Relationship
Journal Article · Sun Jan 07 23:00:00 EST 2018 · Geophysical Research Letters · OSTI ID:1416397